Structure
RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd) was set up in 1992 to align, design and operate a single audience measurement system for the UK radio industry serving both the BBC and licensed commercial stations.
The company is jointly owned by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and by the RadioCentre (the trade body representing the vast majority of Commercial Radio stations in the UK).
Whilst the Board’s focus is on strategy, governance and decisions of policy, more detailed technical research matters, and where relevant, decision-making, takes place at the meetings of a Technical Management Group (TMG). This group is made up of representatives of the BBC,commercial radio and the advertising community.
RAJAR's Mission
RAJAR is responsible for setting the research specification, the awarding of the research contracts to third party suppliers and the overall quality control , management and delivery of the service. The day to day operations are overseen by the Chief Executive and Research Director.
Contractors
The current research contracts were awarded in 2007 and extensively reviewed and then extended for 3 years in 2011. The current RAJAR research contractors are Ipsos for fieldwork and reporting and RSMB for weighting and sample design.
Decision Making
RAJAR is structured as a 'deadlocked' company whereby Board decisions require the agreement of all shareholders. The RAJAR Board is chaired by a non-executive independent Chairman. The day to day operations of RAJAR are the responsibility of the Chief Executive and Research Director. It is a not for profit company, funded by an annual fee payable in part by the BBC and the balance from the commercial operators via subscription fees payable by the participating stations who subscribe to the service.
RAJAR is set up as a JIC (Joint Industry Currencies) that represents in addition to the BBC and the commercial sector, the interests of the wider advertising community. A representative of the IPA and a representative of ISBA (the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers) attend Board meetings and their input is sought on all major issues.
Joint Industry Currencies
The Joint Industry Currencies are unique. The industry created them to provide audience numbers and trading metrics for each advertising medium. They are owned and developed by the communications industry. Advertisers, agencies and media owners work in concert to deliver one, credible and objective trading currency for each medium.
As well as creating the standard metrics that serve as the bedrock for evaluating and trading advertising media, the Joint Industry Currencies also provide critical inputs that enable advertisers and their agencies to understand the effectiveness of cross-media marketing campaigns.
How they are built and how they work is open to scrutiny – they are transparent in what they do. The currencies are the most robust and comprehensive datasets available. Each is produced and offered at cost, delivering unrivalled value for money.
The UK Joint Industry Currencies are ABC, BARB, JICPOPS, JICREG, JICWEBS, PAMCO, RAJAR and ROUTE.
