PPM App

[DominiqueRadio]

Been thinking about this... wanted to get some of you guys to throw in your 2 cents.

If Arbitron released a PPM type app for common smart phones, they literally could do away with the bulky pager looking devices.  Not only that they could possibly recruit many more people to take part of PPM. 

With this in place it would certainly change tabulations in just about any market this one included.  Imagine the change it would bring?  Going from roughly somewhere between 500 to a 1000 PPM devices in San Antonio to several thousand could change who are the top dogs in this city.

Reason I bring this up is because some could argue that with only a few hundred people in this city with PPM devices, some radio professionals could say that it doesn't correctly portray a fair amount of people with a diverse taste in music.  For example... maybe a few dozen carriers of PPM devices like country while a few hundred like top 40/ Hip Hop.  (That is not true I was just using that as an example) Adding more people would erase the "Its not fairly spread out" argument.

What do you guys think?

 

[grantchester]

They'd have to be in control. I don't think a volunteer system would work. It could be subverted.

 

[DominiqueRadio]

They'd have to be in control. I don't think a volunteer system would work. It could be subverted.

Oh no I agree. It would have to be in their control. Or else everyone and their grandma would sign up for it for the free paycheck.

 

[fredcantu]

IMHO-- More is not necessarily better. The selection of the participants is the most important part of the ratings process and trumps the technology used to gather the data. If you're gathering more data but from the wrong people-- or too many of one kind-- that will skew the results.

 

[davideduardo]

If Arbitron released a PPM type app for common smart phones, they literally could do away with the bulky pager looking devices. Not only that they could possibly recruit many more people to take part of PPM.

The first issue is that not everyone has a cellular phone, and among those who do, not all have a smart phone. So to recruit smart phone users would not be a representative sample right from the get-go.

Then, each phone model has a different microphone, and will detect outside audio at different levels and with wildly different frequency response curves. That would make some models "hear" while others might hear nothing. Then, most cellulars have noise cancellation features, intended to reduce background noise, meaning they might not hear the PPM codes at all.

A panel is set up to represent in exact proportions the characteristics of the group being studied. In the case of the PPM, that means age, geography, gender, ethnicity, language use, etc. A volunteer sample would over represent some and under represent others.

Further, the radio panel is household based. That means every family member has to have a smart phone.

The biggest issue in PPM is daily and weekly in-tab. Unless the same people stay on the panel and have their device, whatever form it takes, active day after day for months and months, the continuity of the panel is compromised. Much of the cost of the PPM system is in the constant "tough love" employed to keep panelists participating.