Media buyers see scope for television ratings apps

Beerajaaj Sswain, part of the board at Omnicom in South Asia, has launched an application called Floats, which is currently available in beta. The application functions independently on any smartphone and allows users to converse, emote and comment on any television show being broadcast. According to Sswain, the app not only provides target rating points (TRPs) but also an engagement score on every programme based on real-time conversations.

All live TV content is synchronised with the application. For instance, if a brand runs a campaign during a cricket match, at the time the commercial appears, users will be asked to answer a question pertaining to it. Thereby the users who interact with the ad can be easily measured, informing the advertisers of their campaign efficacy along with qualitative feedback.  Floats has integrated 500 odd channels through an electronic programming guide (EPG), which it receives through an EPG data provider. It is not integrated at an individual broadcaster level.

The app makers are currently in talks with a few advertisers in the FMCG and telecom space for the upcoming Indian Premier League. Sswain added that since it is a market first, he couldn’t divulge names.

However, some media owners are working on similar initiatives to tap the smartphone's potential as a ratings device. Globally, TV channels are launching similar apps. BBC Sport launched its new smartphone application, allowing fans to stay connected to its sports coverage anytime. This followed the success of its 2012 London Olympics app, which was downloaded by two million people in the UK. The application provided up to 24 hours live coverage, detailed schedules, news stories and results. In India, NDTV, the media company sparring with TAM, took a big step when it launched its own application to make in roads with smartphone users.

At present 130 billion INR (close to US$2.5 billion) worth of advertising money in India is allocated according to viewer numbers. Television ratings are complicated with a multitude of genres and regions. For starters, the parameters set out by the TAM may be insufficient. TAM sample size in India is currently 3,454 out of 125,000,000 TV sets. Moreover, the shift to online viewing has made measurement of total audiences that much more challenging. TAM is a joint venture between Nielsen and Kantar, the research arm of WPP. TAM has reportedly said it is working on including a wider sample in its measurement.

“I think anyone who is interested in campaign effectiveness research would be interested in this,” said Ashley Nin, tools and research manager, IPG Mediabrands. “However, more would need to be known about the cost, technology, design and the panel of respondents.” Nin added that he would encourage clients to invest in this if it could ensure that respondents matched their target audience.

Naman Sharma, research and analytics director at Havas Media, Asia-Pacific, said that agencies will be excited with the various engagement metrics this new system can provide. “It has the potential to significantly change the way content integration, product placement and sponsorships are evaluated.”

"It is in a brilliant new territory of media and research co-existing real time," said Pinaki Dutt, regional director for Mediacom. "The key is how effectively it allures the viewer, rather than interrupt him or her," he added. 

Sharma was skeptical about the representation of the TV viewing universe. In its current avatar, mobile applications are better suited for developed marets with high smart phone usage. “TV is ubiquitous and hence to be accurate the measurement system needs to be similarly well penetrated otherwise it will be difficult for advertisers to use the measurement as a currency to evaluate content popularity,” he warned.

Nin agreed, “It will be useful in most APAC markets, but especially those with high smartphone penetration.”