Kuwait: GfK, the fourth largest market research company in Europe and in the world, has announced today during a launch conference held at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Kuwait, its partnership with ARA Research & Consultancy to set up GfK Media Research Middle East (GfK MRME) and to launch a series of studies targeting Arab countries.
The newly set up company will enable GfK to broaden its activities in the Middle East and to focus in particular on the media sector. GfK MRME will offer information services on media consumer behavior and attitudes to all emerging and established media. The services will include quantitative research on the usage of print, TV and radio media.
Dr. Tanja Hackenbruch, Managing Director, GfK Telecontrol AG, commented: "We are thrilled to launch our operations in the Middle East and to put GfK's state of the art media research approaches and 30 years of experience in the media research field at the benefit of this market. As an independent global company with deep knowledge of the local market, GfK is able to provide customized solutions to every country and customer needs. "
During the launch conference, Dr. Tanja Hackenbruch illustrated the highly sophisticated measurement technologies developed by GfK Telecontrol, GfK's center of expertise for electronic media research based in Switzerland: the UMX devise, a highly modular fixmeter for an unlimited number of TV sets per household, the TV Logger Devices and The Mediawatch, a portable electronic measurement device in the shape of a wristwatch, which can be used to measure radio, TV, print, billboards and cinema consumption.
Dr. Hackenbruck also presented the brand new media studies that GfK MRME will launch in the Middle East. GfK MRME's offering includes:
Print Research in Lebanon and in Kuwait, delivering an accurate picture of the readers of newspapers, magazines and special interests groups, the regularity and frequency of reading.
Radio Media Tracker Research in Kuwait, UAE and Jordan. The methodology used for the study is based on the Day-After-Recall (DAR) and collects listenership by 15-minute time segment, while the interviews are made through CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews).
TV Research: quantitative and qualitative TV research, innovative measurement hardware and flexible evaluation software tools to offer a complete solution.
"GfK MRME' s audience measurement data serve as currency for TV, radio as well as for newspapers and magazines. Our state-of-the-art instruments are reflecting the developments of the international markets, including the Arab one. They are designed to deliver reliable results and neutral information as a basis for a well-founded decision-making and thus to improve our clients' market positions, said Dr. Hackenbruch."
The event, which was attended by representatives of the advertising, media and private sectors, was also the occasion to present the current media researches conducted by GfK MRME in the Middle East.
The TV Ramadan Viewership Study has been launched by GfK MRME in the Middle East in August 2011, and conducted in Lebanon, Kuwait, KSA and Egypt. The GfK MRME Ramadan TV Viewership study has been specifically designed to cover TV audience viewership habits during the holy month of Ramadan. It has been conducted using CATI with over 3,000 respondents from Lebanon, Kuwait, KSA and Egypt. The study covered several topics such as programs watched, Arabic series, religious programs, game shows, comedy and talk shows, most preferred male and female artists, among others.
Tarek Ammar, Regional Director of GfK MRME said: "Our offer is unique since we have analyzed the viewership patterns during Ramadan across TV channels and programs in order to develop and provide the TV, agencies and advertisers the right tool to measure the audience behavior during Ramadan. The methodology was specially designed and tested for the holy month audience after long talks with programmers, producers, and MBU's".
GfK MRME is also conducting a Daily Newspaper Readership Study in Kuwait and Lebanon to provide readership patterns able to help newspapers improving their editorials, topics coverage, look, and distribution strategy, and a Radio Audience Measurement, a daily tracking of radio audience in Kuwait.
"GfK MRME's experience in audience research enables us to provide the targeted markets with the most comprehensive and accurate data and competitive intelligence - added Tarek Ammar - We are highly committed to the media sector and confident to provide our clients with added value.
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About GfK Group
The GfK Group offers the fundamental knowledge that industry, retailers, services companies and the media need to make market decisions. The No. 4 market research organization worldwide operates in more than 100 countries and employs over 10,000 staff. In 2010, the GfK Group's sales amounted to EUR 1.29 billion. For further information, visit our website: www.gfk.com.
For further information please contact:
Dr. Tanja Hackenbruch
Tel: +41 31 380 80 47
Fax: + 41 31 380 80 44
email: hackenbruch@telecontrol.ch
Donatella Donatelli
Tel: + 971 (0) 4 7017-241
Fax: + 971 (0) 4 7017-246
email: d_donatella@ararac.com
Tarek Ammar
Tel: + 971 (0) 4 7017-241
Fax: + 971 (0) 4 7017-246
email: tarek.ammar@gfk.com
© Press Release 2011
