Over time, all stakeholders will adopt ISEC as a basic classification tool: Amit Adarkar

The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) has announced the adoption and implementation of its latest Socio-economic Classification System, ‘ISEC’. The need to redefine the key variables led to the formation of a more stable, and more robust construct, ‘ISEC.’ Among the various industry stakeholders on track to adopt ISEC are The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), research users of various organisations such as ITC, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Marico, Dabur India, etc., research agencies including Kantar, IPSOS, as well as key media agencies.

Stressing on the need for a robust SEC system, Amit Adarkar, CEO, IPSOS India, said, “Socio-economic classifications are the starting point of any planning or decision-making, impacting almost all industries. Following a SEC system that is relevant, evolved and representative is hence critical. NCCS was introduced at the time when digitisation was gaining momentum and women’s representation in household decisions was marginal. Our country has evolved greatly since then and it is essential that we follow a SEC that is equally evolved.”

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In an email interaction with Adgully, Amit Adarkar sheds more light on ISEC and what it means or various industry stakeholders.

With women’s education considered as a key definer of social capital in ISEC, how will it impact brands’ engagement with women consumers? 

By including ‘education of highest educated female adult’, we will have a more robust way to classify households. ISEC is a classification tool and there is no impact on brands’ engagement as such.

What are the parameters used in ISEC to make it truely representative of the urban and rural markets, which have very distinctive sets of consumer groups? How does it differ from the SEC ad NCCS classifications? 

The earliest system (SEC) had different variables/ calculations for urban and rural consumers. The next system (NCCS) had a unified way to cover both urban & rural consumers. The issue with NCCS is around stability and discrimination. ISEC takes care of this.

What role do you see mindset and behaviour mapping playing in the new order of socio-economic classification? 

ISEC is a classification tool. Once the right consumer is selected, it is up to us to use various research techniques to explore and measure various behaviours/ attitudes.

Being an open-source system, what is the scope for modifications and further fine-tuning by industry stakeholders to suit their unique requirements? 

Over time, it is expected that all stakeholders will adopt ISEC as a basic classification tool. Additional criteria could always be added on a case-by-case basis to get a sharper understanding.

What kind of recalibration will brands need to do to identify and target their TG as per ISEC? How challenging will the shift be? 

Any change will necessarily take some time to settle. MRSI/ research industry will provide initial hand-holding. Going by past experience, the adoption would be fast given the technical superiority of ISEC.