MRUC to extend outdoor media measurement across metros

Media Research Users Council (MRUC) is in the process of inviting bids from research agencies, including the incumbent Hansa Research, as it plans to extend its pilot of outdoor media measurement that it did in 2009 at Mumbai and Pune.

Media Research Users Council (MRUC) is in the process of inviting bids from research agencies, including the incumbent Hansa Research, as it plans to extend its pilot of outdoor media measurement that it did in 2009 at Mumbai and Pune.

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It now plans to cover all metros including Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Chennai, besides Mumbai and Pune.

Joseph Eapen, CEO, MRUC, said, “We will, for the first time ever, be able to help advertisers, their media agencies and the outdoor media industry with a common currency to enable better planning, buying, selling and evaluating advertising investment in the medium. With the improvement in infrastructure and more cars on the roads, outdoor is no longer a mere support medium and helps break advertising clutter significantly.” He put the value of outdoor advertising at R1,000 crore-plus and growing fast.

“IOS (Indian Outdoor Survey) not only will provide a reach and frequency model for media planning/selling but also provide insights into the quality of an outdoor site through a Visibility Index. It will, in addition, serve as a comprehensive and up-to-date inventory of OOH sites by market and by format,” he added.

For MRUC, the IOS comes in addition to its Indian Readership Survey (IRS), which releases print media reports quarterly. Eapen said that MRUC prioritised the IOS after print because both radio and television measurements were already covered by other agencies, while outdoor media decisions were based more on gut feel so far. “It highlights MRUC’s mandate to provide economical, cost-effective and credible media research in India.”