Measurement Systems in Media need to be Robust and Reflective of Demographic Reality

DAVP to be Professionalised to Match Private Sector- Ambika Soni
Minister Inaugurates Adasia 2011 Conference.

Smt. Ambika Soni, Minister for Information & Broadcasting has said, measurement of parameters was critical to the growth of advertising sector. However, media measurement systems in readership as well as TV ratings need to be robust and reflective of the country’s demographic realities and its socio-cultural and economic diversities. In view of the given situation, the measurement process needs to be constantly assessed and upgraded. Elaborating further, the Minister stated, that everyone was conscious of the priorities of the advertisers who as part of their business plans intended to spend their resources in the right places at the right time and at the right prices. A case in point was the rapid growth of the advertising market which had grown from under Rs. 10,000 crores to almost Rs. 30,000 crores in the last 10 years, a growth rate which many countries would envy. The Minister stated this while delivering the inaugural address at the ‘AdAsia 2011 Conference’ here today.

Highlighting the business opportunities available in the media and entertainment industry, the Minister said the policy initiatives undertaken recently offered a perfect platform for growth. The growth in the Print Media Sector reflected the growing literacy levels in the country with more than 107 million copies of newspapers circulated daily. Similarly, in India, over a 100 million users accessed the internet, a number which was growing exponentially. In order to facilitate greater access to communication facilities at the grass roots level, the Government recently approved the creation of a National Optical Fiber Network for providing Broadband connectivity to the lowest rung of administration at the village level.

Elaborating further, Smt. Soni said the numbers in the Broadcast industry, both radio and TV spoke of the growth levels. From 10 TV channels to 800 channels at national and regional levels, in more than 20 major languages, TV today was covering approximately a 140 million homes and with the introduction of Digital Addressable Systems in the Cable TV services, leading to a complete sunset of the analogue cable TV services by 31st December 2014, quality of services was bound to improve. FM-III policy offered opportunities with over 839 radio stations covering over 280 cities, which had a population of over hundred thousand.

On the advertising initiatives of the Government, the Minister said that the Ministry was in the process of revamping the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) in an effort to horn its skills and professional abilities to match the private sectors’ capabilities. The initiatives of the Government regarding the Bharat Nirman campaigns and the ‘Incredible India’ campaigns both nationally and internationally had created a positive impression and brand equity for the Government’s initiatives.

During the course of her address, the Minister also referred to advertising being an integral part of the freedom of expression. She emphasized that the current scenario, it was impossible in a democracy to separate the freedom of publishing or broadcasting news, opinions or entertainment, from the freedom of advertising. Nonetheless, as a tool it was critical to use it with sensitivity and responsibility as the interest of the consumer was paramount.

Smt. Soni also called upon the assembled advertising fraternity to utilize the platform of Corporate Social Responsibility for devising messages especially in the areas of health and education for betterment of weaker sections of society in collaboration with private advertisers. New mediums, like Community Radio System, should be utilized to enable direct access to the beneficiary groups in a large country like India.