The BARB panel is the most sophisticated audience measurement system in the world.   The panel design is representative of the whole UK, with each home on average representing about 5,000 of the 26 million in the UK.

The panel is made up of 5,100 homes, returning data from 11,300 viewers.  At present c.300 channels are reported on the BARB panel.

With a multi billion pound industry using the audience data provided by the BARB panel to trade, it is vital the panel evolves with the times and becomes more aligned with the evolving TV landscape.

BARB 2010; Key facts

• Not intended as a seismic change more a progression to keep pace with the changing times we live & work in.
• The new BARB service commenced on January 1st 2010
• The service will be based around non – overlapping regional geography for reporting purposes
• Regional definitions will now work from Sky digital EPG 103: Sky ITV1 digital default
• Better representation for ethnic population on the new panel
• All channels reported against the network universe (MCH universe will cease to exist)
• Revised panel control to include free to air reception, PVR, HD & Widescreen ownership
• All homes now capable of monitoring catch up VOD services

ARM Viewpoint
I would describe the developments to the BARB panel as subtle but necessary.  As technological advancement continues apace it is vital our currency of measurement adapts and considers changes in viewing habits.

The last panel change earlier in the millennium was arguably more dramatic as we saw a marked increase in physical panel size.  As a consequence audience fluctuations were more dramatic. The fact this new set of developments takes place at a time when audiences are more established, 90% of the country now receives digital TV in some form with the remainder having access to digital platforms by the beginning of 2012,  means in theory fluctuations should be less dramatic.

So what benefits will advertisers gain from the new panel?  First, the ability to target regions more succinctly could encourage regional businesses back to TV.  There has always been a high degree of overlap in key regions such as London making concise targeting via TV difficult.

Second, the ability to generate cost effective cover will improve.  The new panel has dispensed with the multi channel universe (potential audience) as switchover moves towards completion.  In theory, this means as many people can watch Motors TV as Channel 4, an extreme example but one that is technically feasible all the same.

No longer will ITV1 be the sole domain of those illusive quick cover points.  ITV1 will certainly remain the home of ‘Event TV’ such as the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent and the only commercial broadcaster that can regularly deliver audiences in excess of six million and on occasions between 15 & 20 million. However this all costs.

For advertisers that need to acquire customers cost efficiently, (and let’s face it in the current climate that’s predominantly what businesses are interested in!) some of the so called smaller stations, the likes of Dave & Yesterday from the UKTV stable now offer greater opportunity to generate cost efficient cover due to rapid audience growth, a result of a continual presence on all digital platforms.  They maintain high levels of response efficiency, a result of proportionally cheaper entry costs in relation to ITV1 and C4.

A further area where significant strides have been made is representation of the ethnic population.  It’s long been an industry criticism that this growing market is so poorly represented. The fact that strides are being made in this area will make it far easier for agencies to sell the proposition to clients and vice versa for media owners to sell to agencies.   We’ve generally shied away from this market due to the disproportionate cost of accessing ethnic channels in relation to those more conventional.  Understandably the channels themselves have been reluctant to pay the annual cost for BARB representation, £13,000 annually, only to be under reported.  With improved representation I for one will be happier to recommend the use of ethnic channels in the future.

To date we have focussed on the potential implications, mainly positive, of the new panel but what’s the evidence a month since the new panel's inception?  It proved  difficult to establish any concrete learning’s during the first two weeks of the new panel  as viewing patterns were so erratic, a result of the exceptional weather conditions in early January.

Looking at the first three weeks of what might be termed untainted data in comparison to the same period in 2009 the following patterns emerged; across all channels adult audiences grew by 3% with 10% growth in daytime audience specifically.  ITV1 and GMTV have shown nominal audience growth and five a slight decline.  Not unexpectedly the biggest audience gains are reported against digital stations where overall audiences have grown 7% year on year.

Only time will allow us to establish the real benefits of the new panel but being advocates of change we see revisions and developments that allow industry reporting to become better aligned with modern technologies and people’s changing viewing habits as a positive progression.

Rumours had been floating around the Out Of Home sector for some considerable time but it has finally been announced that JC Decaux (JCD) has bought the remaining share of the Titan business, which consisted of inventory within the Rail, Shopping Mall and Point Of Sale environments.

ARM Viewpoint
There are two key areas that are likely to impact on advertisers moving forward as a result of the change of ownership.

The first concerns the environments themselves. Many within the Titan stable had started to look a little tired in recent times and the movement to a new owner provides the opportunity to ‘freshen’ them up, consider innovative new ideas and solutions or repackage them to address different demand for certain audiences or formats. All of which are potentially positive steps for clients looking to utilise such environments in the future.

The second area directly relates to the first. JCD have always tended to operate towards the more premium end of the Out Of Home sector, and as such market rates for their general formats and inventory are towards the upper end of the scale compared to other key contractors.

Advertisers can expect an attempt to increase prices at some point down the line. In the longer term, this will undoubtedly be directly related to the quality of the product they are selling – and of course, if they can’t increase demand, they won’t be able to increase prices dramatically. However, any short term attempts at upward price re-alignment over the next few months are more likely to be made on the basis of less desperation compared to Titan in their recent final death throes.

Regardless of these potential considerations, there are also likely to be opportunities for advertisers. Short term deals will still exist with JCD, as we see across their roadside portfolio on occasions for example, while there will potentially be incentives for early laydown on ex Titan inventory while JCD bed it in.

Additionally, with JCD’s increased market share, the opportunity exists to leverage improved value by diverting greater shares of campaign budget towards them. Plus through wider choice in terms of formats and environments, potentially stronger and more integrated multi-format campaigns can be planned and delivered.

We all know that media consumption has changed over the years. Digital and Mobile are ever changing with emerging technologies changing the way we live, work and play. And television viewing habits have changed with the advent of digital TV with an infinite number of channels, recording ability through Sky Plus and Virgin’s V+ boxes, etc. Even newspapers and magazines have progressed in the new age, embracing digital technology by creating ‘virtual’ publications through digital and mobile media, allowing us to cherry pick the bits we want to read and see. Now, as established online brands in their own right, publications are starting to charge for everyday news and reviews content. With the FT and Wall Street Journal leading the way in the US, and a trend which is steadily growing in the UK.

However, there is one medium which has struggled in moving forward – Radio. The advent of digital radio has not taken off in the same way as digital TV and is to a certain extent being hampered by other media such as the iPod and iPhone, which allows users to create their own playlists and share music with others instantly. Currently digital radio’s share of listening is a very low 21%, which means it is not on target for the switchover date of 2013.

ARM Viewpoint
So what can radio companies do? It is clear that established analogue radio brands, both nationally and regionally, will survive during the digital switchover and stand to gain the most by extending their Total Station Areas. Digital has seen several brands flourish against the odds, such as Planet Rock, The Hits, Smash Hits and Jazz FM. However, when this is compared to the number of closures on a regular basis, with stations blaming expensive licence fees and being unable to attract listeners or advertising revenue, this is not really much to shout about.

There are a handful of companies that are embracing digital technologies, and moreover adapting their model to incorporate user generated playlists, as well as recommended playlists. The new Dabbl station from Absolute Radio uses a model which consists entirely of user generated content from online voting. Other stations such as Last FM and We 7 offer the opportunity to download and purchase individual tracks they have just listened to.

More recently, the newly launched Spotify has created a buzz by taking a traditional radio platform of 30” spot advertising, and mixing it with online radio models similar to those above. By embracing online techniques and traditional online formats such as banners, sky’s, and MPU’s etc, advertisers have the ability to use traditional radio ads to push traffic immediately to the online formats, which is already open due to the streaming, enabling users to watch videos or purchase products immediately. Going further, Spotify will also allow users to interact with the brand, allowing them to create play lists indicating the mood/attitude towards an advertiser's brand, which can then be shared across its European network.

Currently, none of these hybrid stations are running with presenters at the moment, allowing the "on demand" usability that other media’s offer. However, it will only be a matter of time that they start inserting DJ promotions and links and pushing brands equating them with radio stations.

How can this work for you? It seems that Spotify, out of all of those mentioned, are making the most commercial advertising push. From case studies it appears that adapting a radio advert for this method of advertising will lead to greater CTR’s and user engagement than either radio or online activity on their own. Even though the cost is high when compared to standard radio CPT’s, it is not too far away from the traditional online pricing.

Spotify will not work for everyone but is definitely something that current brands doing either activity should test, as it can be tracked to an ROI where the result may surprise all. And as the user base grows, the costs will decrease, making it a prime candidate to test on a DR basis.