MRUC to extend Indian Outdoor Survey to more markets

Media Research Users Council (MRUC) is in the process of extending the Indian Outdoor Survey (IOS) this year. This move will not only expand the reach of the outdoor survey but, will also give a fillip to MRUC’s initiative to measure the otherwise untracked outdoor advertising space.
 
After covering two major cities last year Mumbai and Pune, IOS will expand its reach to cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Chennai, thus covering all metros. MRUC also conducts the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) for the media.

MRUC is set to invite fresh bids from research agencies, including incumbent Hansa Research to conduct a broader IOS, which will cover more markets. The RFP is available on the MRUC’s website.
 
“Outdoor advertising has shown promise to break the clutter of advertising on traditional mediums. Through IOS, MRUC aims to build a common currency for the Indian outdoor media industry for planning, buying, selling and evaluating advertising investment in the medium. IOS not only will provide a reach & frequency model for media planning/selling but also provides insights into the quality of an outdoor site through a Visibility Index. It will also serve as a comprehensive, credible and up-to-date inventory of OOH sites by market and by format” said Joseph Eapen, CEO of MRUC.
 
In its phase I, IOS 2009 had covered over 5,500 sites of nearly 1,000 stretches in Mumbai alone and 2,250 sites in Pune.