MEDIA AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT: WHY BRILA FM IS NOT ON MPS...LARRY IZAMOJE

 

On January 19, 2022, Dr. Larry Izamoje was one of 63 people inducted as fellows of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). It came at a time when Brila Media’s online and social media platforms, particularly Sports Radio Brila FM, the company’s page on Facebook had increasing numbers. With the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, one post alone that captured imagination was the arrival of Nigeria’s Super Eagles for final training before their match against Guinea Bissau. 

That post had 20,000 likes.Other posts like “Predict and Win”, “Eagles in Training”, etc, also attracted likes and comments in thousands. It led to the curiosity to know why a man who had been a member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) since the year 2000 and now inducted as a fellow refused to have his organization, Brila FM on the Media Planning Services (MPS) ranking of media organizations across Nigeria. Dr. Izamoje explained why Brila is not on MPS.

“We are not on MPS because we are a specialized station and they rank with a general template. Our licence limits us to just one sector principally and that is sports but their ranking is based on total numbers from  music, news, politics, sports and society/family . Scoring each of the categories and collating figures therefrom is limiting because we can only be scored in  sports service. That places us at a huge disadvantage and from the beginning tells that we can only score at most twenty percent. That is clearly why we do not work with MPS. 

They have a general research template that is not in sync with our sports-only licence.It is not their fault.They have been using the format before we came onboard in 2002 and ,perhaps,given the cost of a category-only research they have not come up with what we can accept.

We only qualify for one of their 5 or 6 points-gathering categories and when summed up, we are disadvantaged. 

Yes, we agree that this has cost us media campaigns that would have come to us but we are happy that so many advertisers on their own know we are the leaders in our sports sector. Indeed, the recent report of Sterling Business Research Consulting shows that 50% of those who tune to radio only or mainly for sports depend on us for their stories.All others share the remaining 50% that research done in October 2021  showed. 

Also heart-thumping is the fact that our sports-listeners-only figures on social media are huge. Those who tune to us or follow us online do so mainly because they want to listen to sports.It is the only thing we are licensed to fully do .We see asking people who tune to radio because of music,news,politics,little sports and others which their station of choice is as research bias.It is also unacceptable to ask general interest listeners where they hear sports.They hear sports as an excusable dose of the general interest offering for which they had chosen a station. 

In research,your sample population must be right.You do not go to a Mercedes factory expecting to see a Jaguar .So we asked MPS not to rank us. If I like a station for music and they do sports in between it becomes where I hear sports, not the best sports station. Get a research instrument that identifies those who tune to radio only or mainly because of sports and ask them their station of choice for sports. 

Dr Izamoje explained how sports radio is perceived in the USA. ‘It is a format that targets the 18-35 year old who while being a normal being is expressive of his first passion(sports). He or she baths, uses daily needs, commutes, communicates, does banking, eats and drinks ete.So brands use his or her first passion to reach him or her quickly. At a time, WFAN New York was America’s most popular radio station.Sports radio listeners are normal,everyday human beings who just display their passion while using products and services  every other person uses.”

Calls for specialized stations ratings is something we think will eventually happen because even the Nigerian government through the Ministry of Information and Culture is unhappy with the kind of audience measurement we have in Nigeria. It is why the Honorable Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on January 18, 2022 seeing how audience measurement has fared and with nothing for new media   and digitization beginning inaugurated a committee to look at audience measurement specifically and generally. You don’t rank a specialized licence with  general licences. Those whose main reason for tuning to radio is sports must first be separated to have a good sample population before asking them which their favourite station for sports is.If the sample population or size is wrong,your research is already defective’said Izamoje who hold the Business School ,Lausanne ,Switzerland doctorate for academic research in changing work values and labour mobility in Lagos,Nigeria. 

‘I took Brila out of MPS and communicated reasons to them. Sadly, so many industry players who wonder why Brila is not on MPS  see rankings but do not know how they are arrived at .Some now do their own research and know if you want to more easily reach millions using sports,it has to be Brila.We thank God social media engagement figures are now also used.The other day just one our social media posts on the Super Eagles had 20,000 likes and a predict and win post just before match kickoff got over 5,000 likes in 3 hours.

Dr Izamoje stresses that audience measurement in Nigeria must evolve with changes in the industry.”When MPS started for example,there was no sports radio,no social media. Audience measurement has to specifically incorporate these.’

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Gov David Umahi : The Road To Nigeria Eldorado In 2023

 GOVERNOR DAVID UMAHI: THE ROAD TO NIGERIA ELDORADO IN 2023

Thomas Jefferson referred to the term good government as:

"...one that most effectively secures the rights of the people and the rewards of their labor, which promotes their happiness, and also does their will". 

It means that for a government to be appealing to the governed, it must have these qualities.

In the words of the United States civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. :

"Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love" 

Ideology, on the other hand, is said to be a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy. Hence, we have different politico-economic-cum social ideologies. These form the basis with which the propounder(s) is(are) known, while they lived and even after his/their demise. 

Nigeria at its current state is fragmented, at a crossroad and earnestly needs a man to turn its fortunes around as 2023 beckons. Anybody denying these visible signs is not wishing the country well.

The drums of ethnic agitations and numbers of non-state actors bearing arms is geometrically  on the increase. If the country can get it right in 2023, it will put to rest a greater percentage of the challenges confronting the nation. This is where the question, "how do we do it" comes in. 

Like in all the critical cases that have bedeviled the human race, some leaders have shown the capabilities of solving such problems. And they have been called upon to wade in and help in taking the nations out of the political/economic quagmire. These are men whom Martin Luther King Jr. described as people with 'hearts full of grace and souls generated by love'. 

At the height of cluelessness in Singapore's political/economic history, Lee Kuan Yew was prevailed upon. At the end, the Singaporeans were the best for it. The same could be said of the former German Chancellor, Angela Markel, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, Patrice Lumumba of Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, etc. 

Umahi is a political thought hinged on certain cardinal points. These are: excessive infrastructural developments, adequate security, human empowerment, intentional fiscal responsibility, international camaraderie, equitable and inclusive distribution of the commonwealth, obeying the rule of law, transparency, accountability, etc.

The uniqueness of Nigeria's challenges does not require a political neophyte, or one who is improvident or one who is indifferent to the challenges or even an ethnic bigot. It much requires a frugal nationalist who is very much concerned with making the nation the "beautiful bride" in Africa and the world. And this is where the experiences Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi comes to play. 

Gov. Umahi has proved to be a good manager of human and economic resources as Deputy Governor and Governor in a stretch. His management of the meagre resources of his state has left many in awe and a dynamism that many people have been studying. This attribute is what Nigeria needs.

In the area of infrastructures, Gov. Umahi has proved his capabilities most. He has turned Ebonyi into Dubai of Nigeria and placed the state on a high pedestal that has made a once-obscure Ebonyi come into the limelight. He has even taken his infrastructural drive to the domains of people who did not vote for him in 2015 and 2019. Have we imagined what he would do with bigger resources at his disposal when he becomes Nigeria's President? 

As a servant-leader, Gov. Umahi has made it a point of duty to always carry along his subjects in all his plans for the state. He has severally organized town hall meetings to get the inputs of Ebonyians on budgets, critical projects, and overall running of the state. Although he enjoys the constitutional power to override their inputs, he never did.

The issue of insecurity in Nigeria has seen the country drawn in same category with countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Cambodia, Syria, Yemen etc. It is said that a good dancer is known by his first dancing steps. With the way Gov. Umahi has handled the numerous security challenges that faced Ebonyi, ranging from communal crises to farmers-herders clashes, it is proof that he would restore peace in Nigeria and cause the citizens to sleep with their eyes closed. 

Direct Foreign Investment (FDI) mostly occur when foreign investors see the leader of a country as incorruptible, where their businesses are secure, and where return on investment is guaranteed. Gov. Umahi has made Ebonyi a haven for investors. Love him or hate him, you cannot dispute the fact that he is a good human manager who is friendly to his foes. This quality has endeared him to many outside his party or geopolitical zone. With this quality, Nigeria will regain the trust of her estranged partners in Africa and the world. 

As the heat of the 2023 is getting hotter, it behooves on Nigerians to make this one giant leap to select the best hand to transform the country exponentially. The Umahi - Divine Mandate ideology has become a movement that will lead to Nigeria's Eldorado. The idea has come to stay and has proved to be the best bet to revamp Nigeria in every aspect.

Francis Nwaze

Special Assistant to the Governor

(Media and Publicity)

 January 21, 2022

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NPF Partners Akwa Ibom Govt As IGP Convenes Conference And Retreat For DIGs , AIGs , CPs In Uyo

The Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc (+), NPM, fdc, with the support of His Excellency, Udom Emmanuel, the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, will on 7th and 8th February, 2022, host a 2-day Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers comprising Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs), Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police, and other Heads of Police Formations, in the beautiful city of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Capital. 

The Conference and Retreat, themed “The New Police Vision: A Roadmap for Stabilizing Internal Security in Nigeria”, is part of efforts by the current Police leadership to collaborate with critical stakeholders in driving a policing vision that would amongst other benefits, avail Police Strategic Managers with contemporary and vantage opportunities to effectively deliver on their mandates. It will also afford the Police leadership the opportunity to identify and set measurable crime fighting agenda for the Force in the year 2022. 

The IGP notes that the Conference and Retreat will equally provide a unique opportunity for the Strategic Managers of the Force and carefully selected Public Safety Experts to engage in peer review and cross fertilization of ideas for improved internal security management in the country. This is in addition to providing new traction for driving the new NPF policy aimed at modernization, re-orientation and re-tooling of the Force. 

The IGP, while assuring the nation of concerted efforts at improving Police service delivery, public safety and crime management in the year 2022 and beyond, expresses belief that the Retreat will help to evolve new pathways to tackling crimes and other law enforcement challenges in the Country. 

The Conference and Retreat is being coordinated by Matchmakers Consult International – the approved facilitators of the event. 

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Obi Felicitates With Bishop Okeke @ 75, Retires From Active Service

 

Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2019 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has felicitated with the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Most Rev Hilary Paul Odili Okeke, on the occasion of his 75th and retirement from active service as the bishop of Nnewi Diocese.

Obi, who was represented at Bishop Okeke’s Thanksgiving Mass in Nnewi by Chief Barr. Joe-Martins Uzodike, former Commissioner for Information and former Commissioner for Transport, Dr Chike Ohamobi, expressed his joy at what he described as a landmark in the life of the bishop.

The former Governor praised Bishop Okeke for his dedication and commitment in the Lord's vineyard over the years.

Obi eulogised the cleric, saying: “Greater part of your life has been dedicated to the service of the Lord right from your ordination as a priest in 1974. You have left positive legacies in all the places you have had pastoral experiences, whether as a parish priest, a canon lawyer, a writer, a teacher and as the Bishop of Nnewi Diocese. You are indeed a gift of God to the universal Church. 

“As your celebrate your 75th birthday that also marks your retirement, the debt we owe you is to look back to your life and imbibe so many wonderful legacies of yours and apply same  in whatever we do for the good of our society and  ultimately for our salvation. You shall always remain a beacon of light.

“Even in your retirement, I shall always cherish your friendship deeply as I recall your unalloyed support during my challenging tenure as the Governor of Anambra State. The memories of our trip to Haiti to assist them in rebuilding their Church after the catastrophic earthquake will remain evergreen.”

Obi prayed God to continue to bless the cleric with abundant health and wisdom

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Charles Soludo Rejects : His Excellency Title Opts For " Mr Governor"

Anambra State Governor-elect, Prof Chukwuma Soludo has rejected the title ‘His Excellency’, opting to be addressed as Prof Chukwuma Soludo.

The governor-elect, however, directed that those who find it inappropriate to call him by his name can feel free to address him as Mr Governor.

The former Central Bank Governor who was speaking during the inauguration of the transition committee said some of such little mistakes were things that would be addressed during the meeting of the transition committee.

Speaking during the inauguration, Soludo said: “I was called His Excellency a while ago, but may I plead that the Excellency tag waits for now.

“That is part of what we will discuss in this committee. You may just need to learn how to call me by my name, but if that isn’t good for you, then, may I request that you simply call me ‘Charlie Nwangbafor’.

“If that one is so difficult for you that you must be formal in addressing me, then you can address me as Mr Governor,” Soludo told the guests.

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Gov Masari Demands N10bn From FCT NUJ Over Allegations

 Katsina state governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has written to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) demanding the sum of N10bn as damages over their accusation that he ordered the arrest of one Nelson Omonu, a Journalist working in Abuja.

In the letters which were sent to the Chairman and Secretary of the Council, Comrade Emmanuel Ogbeche, and Ochiaka Ugwu, the governor also demanded an apology and retraction to be published in eight national newspapers.

This was made known by the Counsel to the governor, Chief Earnest Ogbunadike, Esq, who briefed newsmen in Katsina on Thursday.

He said the accusation was centred around the person of the governor.

“On January 2, 2022, in a bid to spite and diminish the reputation of our client, they alleged mischievously that he (Masari) engineered, in a commando form, the whisking away of a Journalist in the name of Nelson Omonu, from Abuja to Katsina, wherein he was Detained for committing no offence.”

“Our client vehemently denied this allegation. Even if there was such incident on January 1 in relation to the said Nelson, bit has nothing whatsoever to do with our client.

“As far as we are concerned, the said allegation has seriously damaged the reputation of our client.

“Notwithstanding the comical and watery apology/retraction by the two gentlemen, we felt that that is not in line with what our client want.

“Even if there should be any retraction and apology, it should be in accordance with the terms and conditions of our client,” he said.

He said of the conditions is that the retraction/apology must be published in eight national newspapers, adding that “at the same time pay the sum of N10bn for this malicious, spiteful and hateful press release which aim was just to tarnish the image of our client.”

He added that the letter was served on the two persons for them to act failure to do that, Mr Ogbonidike said, would left them with no option other than to file an action in court to seek for the same demand.

The FCT NUJ has apologized to the Governor over its earlier claim that he was responsible for the arrest and detention of the Abuja-based journalist.

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Toyin Lawani's Near Nude Video Condemned By Fans

Celebrity stylist and fashion designer, Toyin Lawani, aka Tiannah, posted a video of herself barely clad in anticipation of her 40th birthday which is coming soon, but some of her followers criticised her for exposing her body despite being married.

The caption that accompanied the post read, “Unapologetic me. If you wish, hit your heads on the wall. I will stress you guys so much. Should I go back to size eight? This was from my last shoot which I told you I was going to diet (sic) till I was size eight. I feel like doing the same now. I will post my current size next. Beauty with brains, who says you can’t be sexy and be a mum and a wife? You just need to be loved by who understands you and loves you for who you are.”

Few minutes after she made the post, some of her followers bashed her in the comments section. Razziechazy wrote, “Why didn’t you go naked? Do you need to go naked before you know that you’re beautiful? We have children here on Instagram, stop all this madness in the name of fashion, I beg you in the name of God, madam.”

Good_goods_12 wrote, “Our women are losing their values because of imitation and ignorance. Why can’t we imitate better things, rather than cheap awareness in the name of civilisation?”

Uzo_nana added, “I am not a hater but this is not natural and you don’t need this exposure to feel good. You look good anyway”

Benkaybaby_real wrote, “Must you show all these?”

Raphaeljoy_quotes commented, “You are 40; shouldn’t you be thanking God, or is this a way to thank Him?”

Cindylox wrote, “What are you trying to prove? I don’t know what some of you celebrities want us to learn from you.”

People said I'd die carrying you, Toyin Lawani celebrates two-month-old daughter

Chrisgospel7 commented, “Is that why you are almost naked on Instagram?”

Marvell_dinma wrote, “Someone’s mum. This is sad.”

Baby_glitters2 added, “So because she is 40, she wants to go naked. Why don’t you remove the pant?

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