UK ‘Apollo' on the cards
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Talks are to be held soon to explore the possibility of fusing data from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising's (IPA) multi-media Touchpoints survey with TNS's Worldpanel consumer purchase data.
The combined dataset could give UK advertisers a better understanding of how best to target marketing messages at consumers of particular brands, products and categories.
It would be similar in scope to Arbitron and Nielsen's joint Apollo initiative in the US – however Apollo differs in that it is collecting both media usage and purchase data from a single panel of 5,000 households.
Speaking to Research, TNS's head of media Jennie Beck seemed to rule out the possibility of replicating the Apollo model by recruiting Worldpanel homes to take part in the next Touchpoints hub survey.
The first hub survey in 2005 had a sample of 5,000 adults. Each participant was given a PDA to record their media use and activities at half-hour intervals over a period of seven days. They also had to complete a 48-page questionnaire.
Although PDAs are already used in Worldpanel homes to track purchases, Beck suggested panellists could be overburdened by the additional requirements of Touchpoints, possibly impacting on data quality.
In fact, initial plans to run the hub survey off the back of NOP's financial survey in 2004 proved unworkable because of the demands placed on participants. Soon after, TNS was brought in to run Touchpoints as a standalone survey.
Beck said a meeting would be held in the next few weeks to thrash out ideas for fusing the Worldpanel and Touchpoints data. TNS will work with RSMB – the agency responsible for tying together the hub survey data with the UK's various media currencies to create an integrated planning database.
Meanwhile, work is progressing on Touchpoints 2 – with TNS again named preferred supplier following a tender. The IPA has said previously that any follow-up would employ a larger sample to improve reliability.
At a conference this morning, the IPA's senior media research manager Belinda Beeftink said findings from the second hub survey were expected early next year, with an updated planning database due sometime in the first quarter 2008.
Author: Brian Tarran
Related links:
How has Touchpoints stacked up – from the Features Archive
IPA gives go-ahead to Touchpoints 2
TNS replaces NOP of IPA's multi-media survey
