RAM Penetrace has developed RAID, the new industry platform for audience measurement and media planning in UK local media. RAID measures the total audience of local media, both digital and print, and covers 16 publishers, 468 newspapers and 348 websites.
RAM Penetrace, based in Oslo and Stockholm, has launched Regional Audience Intelligence Data (RAID). The platform replaces JICREG, which has been the industry standard for readership of UK local and regional press since 1990, and gives media agencies and advertisers a detailed picture of local media’s total reach – across digital and print – right down to postcode level. Titles measured in both print and digital include the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo from Reach plc, the UK’s largest news publisher, as well as The Herald, The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post. RAID is built on Inviso, RAM Penetrace’s own proven platform for digital audience and effectiveness measurement, already used by publishers and advertisers in several countries. RAID has been adapted to the UK market in collaboration with key industry players and is already in use by both publishers and media agencies. RAM Penetrace sees significant potential for similar solutions in other markets.
“RAID is an important milestone for RAM Penetrace. We are very proud to have been entrusted with delivering the measurement infrastructure for an entire media sector in one of Europe’s largest advertising markets. RAID will become a central part of how local news media are planned and valued in the UK”, says Henning Tunsli, Chief Growth Officer at RAM Penetrace.
The same challenge in the Nordics
The challenge RAID addresses is also well known in the Nordic markets. Local media reach large parts of the population and enjoy a high level of trust. Even so, it has been difficult to document their combined reach across print and digital in a way that makes it easy for agencies to plan and buy. In Norway and Sweden, official readership figures are currently based mainly on large surveys, with figures published a couple of times a year. RAM Penetrace already provides ongoing media analysis to a number of Nordic publishers.
RAID takes a digital-first approach to this. Measurement tags on local news websites capture reach, frequency and demographics for digital audiences, while readership surveys provide print readership figures. Together, this delivers fresher data, less reliance on modelled readership and a unified view of each title’s total audience. The data is presented in a new, purpose-built user interface.
“The challenge is the same for local media and agencies in many countries, including Norway and Sweden, and we believe the lessons from the UK are highly relevant there. We have already started planning entry into new markets”, says Axel Tenvik, CEO of RAM Penetrace and Orbify.AI.
He adds that the agreement runs for five years with an option to extend.
“It is among the five largest agreements RAM Penetrace has signed outside the Nordics, and provides recurring revenue throughout the contract period”, Tenvik concludes.
Broad industry support
Ahead of the launch, RAM Penetrace ran training webinars for more than 100 UK publishers and media planners. The launch is supported by an advertising campaign in the trade press and in local media.
“Local news media offer advertisers a unique and attractive opportunity. Local titles are high-trust environments with strong ties to the communities and people they cover. RAID gives planners a clear and dynamic picture of this market, allowing them to see the scale of local media and connect brands with the right audiences. It is an important innovation at a time when the advertising model is changing, and will deliver significant benefits for both publishers and agencies”, says Theo Bamber, Chief Executive of the News Media Association.
