SAARF Announces New Tech Team

Following last year's retirement of veteran researcher Piet Smit, the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) has formed a new team and appointed Lucas Raganya and Claire Milne as Technical Support Executives reporting to Technical Manager Dr Michelle Boehme.

Boehme has 13 years of research experience with companies such as Nielsen Media Research, where she was the TAMS Senior Research Executive, and at Research Surveys as Sampling and Demographic specialist. She has a PhD in Sociology.

Raganya joins from Tiger Brands, where he worked as Research Manager. Prior to this he was Senior Researcher at African Response, Research Executive at ACNielsen Customised Research, and was previously a fieldworker for Mictert Marketing Research and the HSRC, Pretoria. He holds a Masters degree in Research Psychology from UNISA, and is a qualified psychologist.

Milne joins from Nielsen Media Research where she worked on SAARF AMPS/RAMS and SAARF's new electronic outdoor measurement, OHMS. She was previously a Research Associate and Project Manager at Rhodes University's Sol Plaatje Media Leadership Institute. She has a Masters in Research Psychology and Internship from Rhodes University. While studying, she also worked at Rhodes' Centre for Applied Social Research and Action (CASRA).

'It has taken SAARF a long time to finalise the appointment of the new technical team that will have to take SAARF into the next decade, but it has been worth the wait,' says CEO Dr Paul Haupt. 'I have high expectations of the team, and I am confident that they will make a big contribution to joint industry research.'

SAARF is a non-profit making organisation that was founded in 1974 to provide media audience and product consumption measures, and is online at www.saarf.co.za. Last May, the organisation elected Sarel du Plessis as its Chairman (www.mrweb.com/movers/app28.htm ).

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.