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the early evening. The NLO concluded that diary
respondents tend to overestimate their morning
listening somewhat. The NLO also found that av-
erage listening to advertising minutes was higher
than for programming, which is accounted for by
the placement of advertising around high listening
moments such as news bulletins.
Following an evaluation of the trial, the NLO de-
cided that this hybrid methodology would not be
adopted, as it did not meet its criteria for introduc-
ing an innovation on the market. Instead, the ambi-
tion is to press ahead with full electronic measure-
ment in the Netherlands, and tests of app-based
solutions from a number of suppliers are currently
taking place with a view to implementing a new
currency measurement in 2017.
For further insights on the Dutch experience,
please see an interview with Nicole Engels, Man-
aging Director of NLO, on page 14.
/ / Italy: CATI & MediaCell
Following a two-year period during which there
was no measurement regime in the country, Italy
launched its new RadioMonitor study in 2012,
combining CATI and an electronic meter. How-
ever, the use of the meter stopped in late 2014,
and CATI is now the sole methodology in use. For
further explanation, see an overview of these de-
velopments in a contribution from Giorgio Licastro,
Head of Product Radio at GfK Eurisko, on page 17.
/ / The advantages and
disadvantages of declarative and
electronic RAM methodologies
Each measurement system has its own character-
istics, strengths and weaknesses, and RAM by its
nature requires a compromise to find the solution
that best matches a particular market. Declara-
tive methodologies are cheaper to implement and
maintain than electronic systems, they allow large
samples sizes and they are able to deliver robust
encoding and decoding technology, with sugges-
tions that the system fails to accurately detect all
legitimate listening, leading to under reporting
1
.
/ / The emergence of hybrid
methodologies
Several markets use a number of different mea-
surement methodologies in parallel, and in recent
years a few have tested hybrid systems that com-
bine electronic systems with other methods. How-
ever, neither the Netherlands nor Italy, the two
markets that pioneered this approach, continue to
use a hybrid currency methodology today.
/ / The Netherlands: Diary &
Mediawatch
In 2012-2013, the Dutch radio measurement or-
ganisation, NLO, trialled a hybrid methodology us-
ing the existing diary alongside the Mediawatch,
with samples of approximately 7,500 and 300
individuals for each respectively. The currency
continued to be based on the diary data, with min-
ute-by-minute variations from the Mediawatch
overlayed in the form of an index. This offered ad-
ditional granularity whilst retaining the advantages
of the robust diary data.
The trial indicated that personal recruitment is
very important with electronic measurement, and
telephone interviews therefore replaced the on-
line recruitment process that was used initially.
Furthermore, active management and overnight
delivery of data is essential to maintain high lev-
els of panellist compliance. A significant challenge
is posed by listening through headphones, which
accounts for a significant amount of Time Spent
Listening (TSL) for younger people, as this was not
registered by the watch. Comparing the data from
the Mediawatch and the diary, the watch records
higher listening levels early in the morning and
lower levels during the mid morning. The watch
also records higher levels than the diary during