The third quarterly release of 2025 features population and weighting updates, critical to ensuring the highest levels of quality. These follow comprehensive audit procedures and quality control measures designed to maintain MAPS®' position as the industry standard for consumer insights and media planning. The data is available from Thursday, 11 September at 12:00, says the MRF.

Population Framework Updated

MAPS® implements a population update utilising Statistics South Africa's 2024 mid-year population estimates, aiming to ensure the survey continues to represent the complexities of South African society accurately. The updated framework reveals that the total population aged 15 years and older has increased by approximately 2-million people from 2022, this is a growth of 4.6% and increases Age 15+ to over 45-million individuals, says the MRF.

International auditors Robert Ruud and Brenda Wortley from 3M3A verify that all processes and procedures meet international standards, ensuring the results achieve maximum precision and reliability, adds the MRF.

Weighting Methodology

The current release also introduces an updated weighting system; this follows recommendations from the international auditors and with approval from the MRF Research Committee and Board, says the MRF.

"We've prioritised data integrity over speed of delivery," explains Koster. "These weighting improvements provide our users with more reliable insights into how consumers interact with products, services and brands across South Africa."

Industry Impact and Applications

MAPS®, while not a media currency, does however aim to serve as strategic input for media planning, brand strategy and market research across South Africa's marketing and advertising sectors. The survey's comprehensive coverage of consumer behaviour, media consumption patterns and demographic insights aims to enable businesses to make informed decisions about market positioning, media investment and consumer targeting, says the MRF.

MAPS® aims to deliver improved accuracy for market penetration analysis and brand performance measurement. These improvements hope to be particularly valuable for businesses navigating South Africa's diverse and evolving consumer landscape, adds the MRF.

Data Analysis Recommendations

Users should employ careful analytical approaches when conducting comparative studies with the updated dataset. The organisation recommends utilising percentages, proportions and indexing rather than absolute numbers when performing trend analyses to account for population changes, advises the MRF.

"Users should triangulate their results and exercise caution when interpreting shifts in penetration or market share," notes Koster. "Some variations may reflect the population updates rather than actual market changes, so comprehensive analysis techniques are essential."

Future Releases

The MRF has confirmed that the fourth and final release for 2025 is scheduled for mid-November, incorporating fieldwork conducted until Monday, 30 June 2025. This release will be accompanied by a webinar presentation providing detailed insights and analysis of annual trends, concludes the MRF.

For more information, visit www.mrfsa.org.za. You can also follow MRF on Facebook, or on LinkedIn.

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