Research firms, advertisers, and measurement bodies are rapidly adopting ISEC to target households. It has replaced the old tool called the New Consumer Classification System (NCCS) which was implemented in 2011.
“As a marketer, you need sharper targeting abilities in order to show the right product portfolio, right communication to the right consumer base, says Shuvadip Banerjee, General Secretary, MSRI and Chief Digital Marketing Officer of ITC Ltd and adds, “Those all came through came categorically when we turned towards ISEC. As marketers, we are grappling with various targeting issue. Now we will have a stable socio-economic definition for us to take forward.”
Banerjee confirms that the industry stakeholders such as media buyers, research agencies, media agencies and FMCG majors like Dabur, Marico and ITC are all aligned with the proposed ISEC framework. “As advertisers, we have this body called the Indian Society of Advertisers. We all agreed that this is the way forward. We reached out to BARC to make this shift. Everyone including people from consumer market research teams of various organizations, research agencies, CEOS, advertisers all align towards ISEC.”
While talking about foreseeable potential impacts with the transition from NCCS to ISEC on market research methodologies and data interpretation, Banerjee says, “We will only be looking at consumptions and behavioral patterns in the right way. We have to just recast some of the past data from a measurement point of view. It’s not a big hurdle any father. It was about everybody believing in it and ageing to adapt; that milestone has been achieved.”