It’s always important for any company to maintain a reputation of integrity and credibility, more so in a business environment plagued by corruption and questionable practices. At the very least, a business should be perceived by the public as honest and trustworthy—even if not all its practices meet the strictest of legal, financial and moral standards.

Research and data-mining companies as well as polling or survey firms are particularly prone to allegations of dishonest practices, with the misperception that those paying for the research or the survey can get their “desired” results. After all, research methodology and data may be manipulated in exchange for cash or favors.

Often enough, political surveys are quickly discredited by many as the work of guns-for-hire. Always, the first question is who paid for the survey. In fact, in one election survey in the past, even the family relationship between the survey subject and the head of the survey company was questioned and scrutinized. Even media surveys or exit polls are taken with a grain of salt.

In the end, the real major determinants of credibility and integrity, particularly of research companies, are precision and experience. While one cannot always be accurate, one can still be precise, and the historical record of precision determines the believability of its output. Credibility and integrity are not a matter of credentials or pedigree—they are the embodiment of one’s honest and reliable work over a period of time.

Take the case of AGB Nielsen Media Research, or AGB, for short, which is in the news and which actually found itself in court recently because of allegations of wrongdoing brought against it by one of its many clients. As a global company, AGB is not likely to encourage bias in favor of any local client at the expense of another, as alleged. That, obviously, does not make good business sense, more so given the fact that many AGB clients are media organizations themselves. Imagine defrauding media themselves.

One must also recall that AGB is the merger of two leading global media-rating agencies, the AGB Group and the television measurement arm of Nielsen Media Research, which has been in the business of TV ratings for over 50 years. AGB is considered a global authority on television audience measurement, or TAM, which is currently implemented in 30 countries worldwide. It provides television audience ratings to broadcasters, advertising agencies and advertisers.

But this is not to say that the TAM is not without shortcomings. After all, no research methodology can actually be considered fool-proof or not susceptible to influence. In fact, while a research mechanism may be considered reliable, the fact that the process involves people means manipulation can still occur. In the end, however, what’s more important is the credibility of the data, and not so much whether the process was totally free of influence.

Just last November, Network A, an AGB client, wrote to complain that its rival, Network B, had allegedly launched a house-to-house promotional campaign in one city down south. And in that promo, TV viewers currently the subject of TAM by AGB can get cash and prizes in a contest that requires them to view shows on Network B. Obviously, the promo can influence the results of the TAM. So this prompted AGB to investigate the matter. Meantime, Network A went to court to stop AGB from releasing any TAM. Incidentally, the court plea was later junked.

It is highly doubtful if AGB can be made accountable for what happened until such time there is hard evidence to indicate that the TAM data had been unduly influenced by the promo activities allegedly by Network B. Moreover, any allegations of attempts to influence results of TV ratings through unethical practices can adversely impact on AGB’s business. As such, it is assumed that the company takes all the necessary precautions to protect the integrity of its services. It is illogical to think otherwise.

In the course of investigating the matter, AGB Nielsen even reportedly “reprocessed” its data by excluding sample TV viewers from the southern city where the promo activities were held. A resurvey was likewise done, the results of which reportedly indicated that the original TAM was not at all influenced by the promo activities.

In this particular case, it is easy enough to conclude that manipulation occurred, and that someone should be held liable. But this is the Philippines. In the case of elections past, money changed hands even in polling places. But could one reliably predict election results simply by finding out who got what? In this country, many voters normally take the money and run. Some take the money and still vote according to their conscience. Very few take the money and actually vote for the bribe source. After all, voters reckon that if the bribe source gets elected, then he is likely to take back what he gave to voters by stealing from government coffers—or stealing from the people. Obviously, the Filipino voter now knows better. Perhaps the same can be said of TV audiences. 

Comments to matort@yahoo.com

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