Local competitors take up mantle following Nielsen’s departure

Major corporations rely on media monitoring in order to verify advertising and keep track of their media expenditure 

Earlier this year, The Nielsen Corporation or AC Nielsen, a global research firm decided to discontinue their services in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic leaving the door wide open to local research firms to move in and expand their client bases.

Nielsen offered valuable insights into what consumers watch, listen to and buy; collecting data on consumer behaviour and confirming them through market information. Founded all the way back in 1923, Nielsen is a world leader in research and has provided an invaluable service to the country, helping local businesses grow by improving their marketing prowess. 

British market research company Kantar just acquired Nielsen’s local media monitoring business hoping to pose stiff competition to Survey Research Lanka and Lanka Monitoring Agency which have been the power houses in this branch of research. 

Established back in 1989, Survey Research Lanka is on the forefront of the research industry, having contributed significantly to the development of marketing and social research. Over the years, it has its range of services, introducing things like media monitoring, TV rating services and tracking services. Thus, harbouring an immense database of market research on clients, customers and products, SRL provides an extensive level of knowledge which makes it easy for it to offer holistic marketing strategies. 

Meanwhile, Lanka Monitoring Agency was founded in 2008 and despite being relatively new, has become the undisputed leader in specialised media monitoring services. LMA established its unique online archive early and orchestrated a move that saw the company stretching clear of its rivals. Tracking newspapers, TV, radio and social media with all this data kept online in a web archive, LMA offers clients free access to all stored data and a toolkit for data analytics.

These tools to analyse data can convert results and representations into handy graphs, colourful charts and tables. Illuminating insights into a client’s relevant industry; early indications of trends, news and ads specific to the sector are available to clients. Speeches and pronouncements by industry and thought leaders, the general trajectory of one’s competitors and an analysis of one’s own promotional efforts and PR practices are needs satisfied through this service.  

Media monitoring is a simply a vital step in developing a competent PR strategy as it allows you to be aware of everything that goes on in your own industry in order to be foretelling of upcoming trends. What puts LMA over the edge though is the advantages of its daily mail service which delivers a comprehensive and customisable report of industry activity. For print media, this report is delivered on the very same day at 9 a.m. There is even the option of requesting for a synopsis of the published media which can be translated to English, Sinhala or Tamil. 

Overall, while both local companies have given Nielsen a run for its money, in its absence 

Lanka Monitoring Agency provides a more specialised service that gives clients the information they need to run better marketing campaigns themselves. Nevertheless, this does not discount the contribution of SRL, whose service is a better option for those with limited marketing teams and capabilities. 

Now facing Kantar’s entry, these local competitors are standing their ground. Historically, Kantar started off as a company specialised in TV audience measurement. With branches in over 100 countries, Kantar is a globally recognised brand with an immense range of services. However, considering the intricacies of the Sri Lankan market, it is safe to say that Kantar does not have the same capabilities as SRL or LMA in terms of understanding the local market, making this fight one where the winner has already been called.