Maltese telco criticised over survey claims

MALTA-- The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has voiced concern over advertisements from telecoms company Go citing survey results that are not in the public domain.

Go's rival Vodafone Malta asked the communications regulator to intervene over adverts claiming that Go is the country's best-rated provider for innovation, customer experience and reliability.

In a statement, MCA said: “Any surveys which serve as the basis for any claims made in the media should be in the public domain,” in order that the claims can be verified. It also said that if a firm makes claims based on a survey it commissioned itself, this should be made clear.

Go said in a written response that the claims are based on surveys commissioned last summer from research agency GfK. It gave a brief overview of how the research was carried out but did not go into detail on the methodology or results, and made no mention of making this information public.

“Go reiterates its view that it is completely correct for it, or any other organisation for that matter, to base promotional campaigns on scientifically valid research that it commissions,” it said.

The firm said the study used GfK's Loyalty Plus methodology among a sample of 1,000 people, as well as mystery calling and shopping, in depth interviews and focus groups.

Author: Robert Bain