Internet panel on shaky ground

Market research Am
Wemf and SRG's internet research should be ready by January 1. But whether the necessary
4.5 million francs is uncertain.
The deadline was December 9. Until then
All providers of the approximately 180 advertising-relevant websites and
other interested parties in writing for offers from Wemf and the
SRG research service. The prices in the offers were
which future Internet research will cost per website
would. But even on December 12, Wemf Director René Schmutz
not yet provide any information, neither on the number of offers sent
nor about the number of responses, let alone the trends
in terms of finances. Just this much: not all the answers have been given yet.
received.
This means that it remains uncertain whether Internet research is so
as announced in September and October, can be launched.
SRG and Wemf wanted to establish a joint company on January 1, 2006.
that will finally provide the market with a standardized Internet currency.
and also provides more comprehensive and detailed statements on the
Internet use. But the sticking point is not the date
(according to Schmutz, this cannot be adhered to anyway), but
the funding. This is because the research model requires 4.5
million francs are needed. According to various
industry experts as much as the entire Internet research in the
Switzerland - consisting of Net Audit, MA Comis and MA Net of Wemf as well as
the panel of MMXI Switzerland - has already cost so far. A
However, there is a difference: the MMXI panel was organized by a consortium
subsidized under SRG management and is still not self-supporting.
This funding will definitely expire at the end of 2005, which is why the
data recipients will have to bear the entire costs in future - provided the
market still wants a panel. Divided over an estimated 180 to
250 data recipients, this amounts to an average of 18,000 to 25,000 francs.

Inexpensive research possible
Internet research would also be possible without an expensive panel.
But then you would just be collecting data on the advertising-relevant market - like
the AGOF model in Germany. The Swiss online industry wanted to
but more than that: a future-oriented research model that provides an approximate
complete picture of Internet usage. This is exactly what
SRG, which has just awarded its contract to the SRG Research Service
confirmed in this sense. Without a panel, however, this mandate would not
achievable.
One could therefore expect the industry to find the necessary money
together. Manuel Dähler, Head of the SRG Research Service, is
confident in any case. Likewise Martin Radelfinger, Managing Director
of the online marketer Adlink, which is based on the total online advertising revenue in
in Switzerland: In 2005, this accounted for just under one percent of the
of the advertising pie. "The online market is large enough to be able to
to be able to pay for research," says Radelfinger. Rather pessimistic
says Ueli Weber, Managing Director of online marketer Web2Com.
"It will be difficult because the costs are high for small and medium-sized sites.
probably too high," he says. René Schmutz, on the other hand
do not get carried away with speculation.
It remains to be seen what will happen if the financial commitments are not
are sufficient. "We don't have any scenarios for this," says Manuel Dähler.
Perhaps the individual elements would be staggered over time
introduced. "But research is ultimately composed as a unit
and cannot be separated," he says. One thing is certain: The MMXI panel delivers
January 1, 2006, the Wemf tools, on the other hand, can no longer be used.
continue to run.    

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