José de la Rosa, director of Watch Operations at Nielsen IBOPE Mexico, explained that beyond the technology and sophisticated methodology used to report audiences, human relations play an essential role in the success of the measuring. In Mexico, Nielsen IBOPE has a sample of 2148 homes, distributed in 28 cities, including Mexico, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, and they are in the process of taking the panel to 68 locations this year.
“The People Meter is the technical part, but there is a human side behind the installation. Homes are chosen statistically, after, the home is interviewed and finally, participation is voluntary. How we handle ourselves is important so that they allow us to enter,” explained the executive, who started in the company 23 years ago as a technician.Homes remain a maximum of four years on the panel and throughout this time, each member of the family has the responsibility of indicating who is watching TV, through a button assigned to a control.
“Our gauge works with audio firms and between 2 and 6am, the equipment sends the information to our offices. In the end, the relation is what determines how successful this home is going to be in terms of rating production, of data.”With experience in the markets in the US, Puerto Rico and now Mexico, the executive explained that Nielsen already has the technology to report Total Audience and the expansion of the panel is the first approach to reach it in Mexico. “Nielsen has evolved and changed along with TV because it is our job to say how it is being watched and what is coming,” he concluded.