FOCUS N° 17 / NOVEMBER 2008
CFI is once more conducting audience studies
From December 2007 to July 2008, CFI conducted a series of audience studies in 13 African cities: Douala, Bamako, Abidjan, Dakar, Niamey, Maradi, Zinder, Ouagadougou, Bobodioulasso, Cotonou, Parakou, Abomey/Bohicon and Kinshasa. This long-standing CFI initiative has been revamped under the aegis of the “Images Afrique” plan, backed by the French Ministry for European and Foreign Affairs (MAEE) television fund, but also thanks to a new joint subscription scheme put forward by TNS-SOFRES. The ensuing club, henceforth known as Africascope, comprises five founder members: CFI, TV5Monde, France Télévisions Publicité Internationale, Canal+ Horizon and RFI.
These quantitative studies aim to measure and qualify the audiences for local, national and international radio stations and television channels, among people aged 15 and over, residing in these large cities and capitals.
It gives figures on spontaneous and prompted awareness of local and international media, as well as qualifying this audience according to a certain number of socio-demographical characteristics and equipment. It provides data on the equipment and reception levels of the various radio stations and television channels, specifying total listening and watching times plus a breakdown according to 15-minute segments, for radio stations and television channels respectively.
Tried and tested for over 25 years, the quota method is used to reconstitute a representative population sample of around 800 to 1,000 persons according to criteria including gender, age, level of education, profession and buying power, based on the latest demographic data available in each country. Interviews take place on a one-to-one basis, in the interviewee’s home. They have to be conducted in the language the interviewee is most comfortable speaking. A team of local interviewers is thus put together for several days and supervised by a local technical manager and group managers. This phase takes place within a specific reference period, thus providing a snapshot of audience behaviour at that precise moment. The data collated is then processed by French institutes using statistics software.
The results are available some two months later: CFI draws up a presentation of the data in percentage form, making this data available to our TV partners. For broadcasters, these studies are a basic marketing tool needed to negotiate advertising rates with agencies and advertisers, as well as a guide to help organise programming and broadcasting. They are above all a reliable reference in a context in which truly professional local institutes are finding it tough to establish a footing.
Alongside providing consulting on supply and commercial strategy for TV channels, making these studies available is well and truly part of CFI’s remit.