Portable People Meter and the shift from diary-based radio audience measurement

Portable People Meter and Arbitron Diary

Portable People Meter Arbitron Diary

Over the last 100 years, radio would go through an incredible transformation, as it would be the source of entertainment for countless numbers of people. With the period between the 1920 to the 1950's, representing a unique time for radio. As it went from being the main source of news, information and amusement to the background noise that is often heard in a variety of settings. Part of the reason for this, is because technology would change the way people would use radio as part of their lives. For the majority of radio stations, this would mean that the formats would change. As they would begin to play various forms of: music or talk, in an effort to reach out to listeners. (Hilmes, 2002, pp. 1 -- 10) This is significant, because it would highlight a dramatic shift that was occurring in the way people are entertained. With Shipman (1950) observing, "Breathtaking possibilities that it was bound to arouse false hopes. Idealists have showered the industry with counsels of perfection sober critics have blamed it for not realizing the opportunities within its grasp." What all of this shows, is that the radio industry has evolved to over the decades to respond to various changes in society as well technology. Where, the underlying amounts of these changes would have both positive and negative effects on the industry. To survive, various radio stations would begin to look closer at different listener demographic surveys and information, to determine how many people are actually listening. Over the years, the various surveys would consistently evolve, based upon new technology that is designed to help understand: listener loyalty and demographics. One such example of this is the Portable People Meter (PPM).

The Portable People Meter is a device that allows radio stations to accurately determine listener preference in specific markets. This was developed by Aribitron. They are a media and marketing research firm based out of Columbia, Maryland. The idea was that the use of this new technology could help to more accurately determine listener tastes and preferences, in comparison with the traditional format that was used (the Diary). This is when the listeners of various radio stations would manually record what stations they were listening to, by keeping a diary. Where, they would write down the stations, times they are listening and other pertinent information. The Diary was normally conducted over one week intervals. The PPM was designed to eliminate obvious inaccuracies, as it would allow listeners to record what stations they were listening to in real time. (Keith, 2009, pp. 182 -- 215) In November 2007, Inside Radio reported that Arbitron recorded the lowest numbers of radio listeners since 1998 (this is when the company first started collecting data). This would create controversy inside the industry, as the PPM would be, a new way of being able to accurately determine various listener preferences. While, this is more than likely is confirming a trend, the fact of the matter is that this technology is unproven. A good example of this can be seen by looking no further than a 2008 incident. Where, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) would ask the company to delay implementing the new technology, as part of determining listener preferences. This is because they felt the information being provided by the PPM, would cause various urban radio stations to have inaccurate listener preference information. This is challenging because the use of this technology, has been promoted by Arbitron, as a way to help prevent the downward trend of declining radio listeners. As both black and Hispanic radio stations would see a 40% to 60% decline their ratings. For many, these kinds of drops can cause financial ruin, as it means that the format and other issues may need to be changed. Where, they would receive lower revenue in advertising from such moves and they would be forced, to start at lesser ratings brackets. (Winston, 2009) This is problematic, because it is challenging for a number of radio stations, in being able to be to determine listener preferences, when the information could be inaccurate. As the sharp drops, do not reflect sudden changes in listener demographics. To establish which method is most accurate, we will engage in an examination of comparing the different pieces of radio listener preference information with one another. At which point, we will be able to make inferences about the underlying accuracy of the methods used by Arbitron.

Background of the Study

Due to its gaining influence in society, radio has made an imprint on modern culture. Where, various radio shows and songs will have a profound impact upon tastes as well as trends. The PPM has shaped society and the radio industry, by providing a unique way to mold technology with various listener tastes. As a result, the way, listener and advertisement ratings are being determined have changed dramatically.

While advertising in radio is not a new phenomenon that has been occurring over the last few years, it has been present throughout the entire media industry. As all advertiser-supported media organizations will operate in a double product marketplace. This means that media organizations will produce one product, such as: media content. This is the product that is given away or sold, in order to attract an audience. At which point, the listener's attention is then utilized to attract advertisers who need to sell their commercial messages. As the audience, advertisers and media markets are closely interconnected; in unique model with each supporting each other

PPM is quickly becoming the innovative way to rate radio stations in real time, as it has been touted as an effective method to understand listener and advertising trends. Therefore, a number of different radio stations and advertisers want to believe that this new technology that will accurately accesses radio listener preferences.

Introduction

In this chapter we are going to be examining how PPM is changing the way industry is operating. Where, we looking at various forms of scholarly information to understand how this new technology could be transforming the way radio stations recognize their listeners. This is because the technology can be transported almost anywhere, by simply attaching the device to your belt. At which point, the device will easily report what types of stations, listeners are selecting. To determine this, a literature review will be conducted, by examining how the Diary system and the PPM are establishing listener preferences.

According to Keith (2009) radio station listener information has been provided to the industry since the 1930's. In many urban radio markets, the underlying rates of growth in the 1990's would continue to explode. As the industry, would begin to subdivide into various specific segments of the population. This meant that the majority of stations could no longer be able to determine listener preferences the same way. With the standard formula of evaluating listeners based on age and gender demographics, no longer relevant. As listeners, began to subdivide themselves based upon the ethnic background and racial groups. At which point, it became obvious that more specific information must be provided, to accurately understand the various demographics of listeners. This would lead to the development of the PPM, as it would become a way of blending the advances in technology, with changes in the underlying tastes and choices of listeners. Where, they would no longer rely on someone keeping a diary over a seven day time period (under the Dairy system). Instead, this would tell researchers what stations each listener would listen to based upon, the sounds the device was recording. This would eliminate a certain amount of bias that occurs, when someone is keeping a diary. At the same time, this technology provides information to researchers in real time. As a result, a variety of stations and radio networks have begun to use the device in large urban markets, as a way to be able to more accurately determine listener choices. Evidence of this can be seen by looking no further than with: CBS, the Beasely Broadcasting Group and the Spanish Broadcasting system. Where, all three major networks are using the device in every major urban market. This is because the PPM is effective, at identifying changes in the buying relationship of consumers. For advertisers, this is important because, this relationship can change rather quickly (in urban markets). However, in rural markets the technology would not work as effectively, because businesses purchase advertising based on a face-to-face relationship with executives. This makes using the technology in these markets, too expensive and inaccurate. The information from this source is useful, because it highlights the underlying challenges that can be faced with implementing this kind of new technology in urban markets. Where, it can predict changes in the basic buying relationship of listeners. Yet, because the technology has been shown to be expensive and inaccurate in rural markets; means that there could be some validity to the points made by critics. As a result, one could use this information to establish a basic foundation, as to the possible strengths and weaknesses of using this technology in various radio markets.

Moreover, Warren (2004) discusses how the PPM has been touted as an accurate technology to understand various listener preferences in real time. However, the author believes that the device will record the sounds of what is being heard, not the actual content that the listener is choosing. This is problematic because, it can cause radio stations to assume that someone prefers a particular broadcaster, when it could be background noise. For example, someone utilizing the PPM, could record a number of different stations when they go about their daily tasks. Where, they may hear Spanish music in a store, classical music in the car and elevator music in an office building. The device would record these sounds as actual listener preferences, even though the person is not choosing to listen to a particular genre of music. This can provide radio stations, with inaccurate information about what choices listeners are preferring. According the author, this fundamental difference in the way information is reported, will always