NewsDay withdraws from Zamps after the latest readership survey

Alpha Media Holdings chairman Trevor Ncube yesterday announced the group's formal withdrawal from ZAMPS.

This comes just after the two big Zimbabwean daily newspapers claim leadership in sales.

NewsDay quoted Prove Market Research report claiming '2 out of 3 readers of daily newspapers in Zimbabwe, wake up to NewsDay. While the Heralds quotes Zamps as saying they are the market leader.

The Advertising Research Foundation yesterday issued a statement to clarify the market position of Zimbabwe's media products, following claims and counter claims by NewsDay that they have the best products.

The statement reads:
The Herald remains the market leader, according to the latest Zimbabwe All Media and Products' Survey, released on Tuesday.

This did not sit down well with the Alpha Media management who believe that Zamps results might be doctored to favour the government controlled Herald.

ZAMPS surveys the viewing, listening and buying habits of urban, peri-urban and rural Zimbabweans.

According to Major Tikiwa, chairman of the ZARF board, the survey provides advertisers with hard facts on which to base their campaigns: the twice-yearly data makes it easy to work out how to reach target markets. We are proud that we were able to produce ZAMPS throughout the hyperinflationary era, giving advertisers historical data on which to base their advertising campaigns.

Zamps says it developed their research questionnaire based on the South African All Media and Products Survey which has become the continents standard. This enables companies to compare like with like throughout Africa and to make their marketing decisions based on solid fact: we are the only continent to provide such a service. Research companies have been invited to tender for the four surveys in 2011 and 2012. Interested researchers should collect the relevant documentation from the ZARF office in Hatfield, Harare.

The survey cover all Zimbabwe meadia, including TV and radio diaries and a separate survey of teenagers. It is financed by a 1.5% levy payable by advertisers and remitted to ZARF by the media and advertising agencies.

The scope of the survey does depend on the amount of advertising being placed and the willingness of agencies and media houses to remit the levy, said Colin Moxham, executive chairman. The print media is conscientious about this, probably because there is competition in this field and advertisers do use ZAMPS data to decide which newspaper is best suited to their target markets.

Established advertising agencies are meticulous about paying the levy, appreciating that all major advertising campaigns are booked according to the data. There are so many new agencies opening up that we struggle to keep abreast of them, particularly when they dont include keys on their advertising, Moxham said. We will be making a concerted effort in the new year to bring them into the fold and to demonstrate the benefit to them of supporting this research, which is the only way they will benefit from multinational advertisers.

ZARF is a founder member of the Pan African Market Research Organisation (PAMRO) that encourages similar research throughout the African continent. At its last meeting in Botswana in August, Zimbabwe was recognised as undertaking some of the best research overall, a compliment to the current researcher, Research Bureau International based in Harare.

For more questions on the survey contact Jill Day, +263 (0)4 480455, +263 (0)771 224 165 from ZARF