Does Arbitron pay for your opinons?

[gr229]

On the 3rd of this month I received a letter from Arbitron's president William Kerr with new dollar bill inside to take part in an upcoming survey.

Is this buying a vote? Or is it paying for a service?
Doesn't seem kosher to me; but hey what do I know about ratings?

 

[bossbill]

It's been a dollar forever. Arbitron wonders why they have trouble getting responses. Maybe a $10 gift card after the diary is returned would make a difference.

 

[SRP]

Maybe a $10 gift card after the diary is returned would make a difference.

So they dropped PPM? Didn't get the memo on that one, Bill.

 

[davideduardo]

On the 3rd of this month I received a letter from Arbitron's president William Kerr with new dollar bill inside to take part in an upcoming survey.

Is this buying a vote? Or is it paying for a service?
Doesn't seem kosher to me; but hey what do I know about ratings?

Are you in the 6-county Seattle metro survey area (Island, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston)? In that case your household would be recruited for being on the PPM... the letter is to make future contact less of a surprise. If it's a diary survey, you would be called or offered an Internet option to be part of the one-week process... again, for your whole household.

The money is an incentive, not a bribe.

$1 with an "advance notice letter" is standard. It's done for the guilt factor, just like the mailing labels the charities "give" you... you feel bad if you use the labels and don't send a donation.

When a person is actually recruited (that is, they call and get demographic data on the whole household) they send the diary packs to each person with $2, $5 or even $10 in each one, and the money is based on testing on what it takes to get a desirable return rate. The harder it is to get a group to participate, the more they send.

In PPM, the more consistently you carry the meter and the more compliant the household is, the more rewards the family obtains. Since the meters can stay in a compliant household for up to 24 months, the system is different.

At all times, Arbitron is very clear to the diarykeepers that they should not vote for stations and if they don't listen to the radio, they should not change any behaviour during the survey.

 

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

... just like the mailing labels the charities "give" you... you feel bad if you use the labels and don't send a donation.

Uh oh.

 

[bossbill]

Maybe a $10 gift card after the diary is returned would make a difference.

So they dropped PPM? Didn't get the memo on that one, Bill.

They're not doing PPM out here. They sent me all the PPM encoders because we showed up in a PPM county. They're still sending out dollars with diaries.

 

[SeattleObserver]

They're not doing PPM out here. They sent me all the PPM encoders because we showed up in a PPM county. They're still sending out dollars with diaries.

While Arbitron is always changing things, and this may be WAY out of date, there was a document saying diaries would be distributed within the DMA outside the metro starting in December 2009 - there would be two full-survey area diary surveys, just like the old days.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CB8QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arbitron.com%2Fdownloads%2FArbitron_DMA_est_in_PPM_mrkts.pdf&rct=j&q=portable%20people%20meter%20designated%20market%20area&ei=ZgVRTc_GNpKWsgPe74HGBg&usg=AFQjCNGTFvQohdLGprQ4yPxp2W31KIOvWw&sig2=AMGfkRP9O6de7Ws0KotJwg

 

[Shark]

From what I've heard, some PPM panel members have received enough in compensation to get a 1099 form at the end of the year ($600+). I got the ARB letter a few months ago with a dollar (which I squandered foolishly) and was hoping I could get on the panel since I've left the radio biz, but when they called and talked to my wife they asked her if we had any friends who work in radio and she, being the honest soul she is, answered yes. Too bad, the cash would've been nice.

 

[davideduardo]

While Arbitron is always changing things, and this may be WAY out of date, there was a document saying diaries would be distributed within the DMA outside the metro starting in December 2009 - there would be two full-survey area diary surveys, just like the old days.

Arbitron does DMA surverys as part of the national network / syndication RADAR survey. The reports show data on networks and shows, but not released with individual station data. And the DMA's are "built" with the PPM data from the Metro Survey Area and diary info from additional areas to complete the DMA. There are no diaries inside the PPM survey area.

 

[SeattleObserver]

While Arbitron is always changing things, and this may be WAY out of date, there was a document saying diaries would be distributed within the DMA outside the metro starting in December 2009 - there would be two full-survey area diary surveys, just like the old days.

Arbitron does DMA surverys as part of the national network / syndication RADAR survey. The reports show data on networks and shows, but not released with individual station data. And the DMA's are "built" with the PPM data from the Metro Survey Area and diary info from additional areas to complete the DMA. There are no diaries inside the PPM survey area.

Thus my comment about diaries *outside the metro* (5 county area).

 

[semoochie]

Is the PPM limited to the MSA or does it take in the TSA?