Three PPM Questions

[secondchoice]

One of the stories on Today’s home page of this site was a blurb about PPM’s denial of accreditation in the Atlanta market along with 19 other markets.

http://www.radio-info.com/sections/...itation-for-arbitron-but-20-more-markets-dont

I question the whole PPM concept. You are in a room with a radio playing and PPM pick’s it up. I will accept the technology works. That is another tread. My three questions are:

#1. Are the wearers “listening “and react to the commercials and buying something?

#2. Is the sampling correct. There used to be a belief (1970’s) that you could tell where the diaries were distributed by looking at WSB AM’s numbers. More diaries out in the “sticks” helped WSB AM. Is there a problem getting the 20 to 30 people to do PPM?

#3. Could an Announcer or Program Director who got canned due to flawed ratings sue Arbitron?

 

[RTibbs]

Neil Millman and Randy Kabrich will very soon be holding PPM Symposiums at a Taco Mac near you. So be on the look out for these special events.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Neil Millman and Randy Kabrich will very soon be holding PPM Symposiums at a Taco Mac near you. So be on the look out for these special events.

HA!!

 

[littlejohn]

At least you can say the wearer of the meter was exposed to the statonit reports... which you cannot say about diary entries. That being said, however, the devil is in thedetails. Arbitron just summarily andministered The Bullet to their new CEO. It will be interesting to find out why - speculation is, he cooked the books on PPM when queried by Congress. Which, if it turns out he did, will produce erections in the offices of several state Attorneys General as well as the boardrooms of some minority broadcasters who have condemned the meter.

 

[Uriah]

One of the stories on Today’s home page of this site was a blurb about PPM’s denial of accreditation in the Atlanta market along with 19 other markets.

http://www.radio-info.com/sections/...itation-for-arbitron-but-20-more-markets-dont

I question the whole PPM concept. You are in a room with a radio playing and PPM pick’s it up. I will accept the technology works. That is another tread. My three questions are:

#1. Are the wearers “listening “and react to the commercials and buying something?

#2. Is the sampling correct. There used to be a belief (1970’s) that you could tell where the diaries were distributed by looking at WSB AM’s numbers. More diaries out in the “sticks” helped WSB AM. Is there a problem getting the 20 to 30 people to do PPM?

#3. Could an Announcer or Program Director who got canned due to flawed ratings sue Arbitron?

1. Media ratings are estimates of usage not engagement. One point that drives me nuts with PPM is how many comments I hear about the PPM revealing "new" behavior on listening. Ex: PPM exposure to 5-7 stations versus 2-3 as reported in the diary. This is not new behavior....How many presets are there on a car radio?

2. Sampling by definition weighs responses. If by correct you mean accurate as in definitive - no. It's an estimate. Sell by the numbers, die by the numbers.

3. LOL! Here's the paradox with radio and Arbitron. Radio stations PAY through the nose(!!) for a ratings service that is then provided to advertising agencies who in turn use it to grind stations on rate and added value.

Isn't that kinda like tipping your proctologist?

 

[JoshuaC]

One of the stories on Today’s home page of this site was a blurb about PPM’s denial of accreditation in the Atlanta market along with 19 other markets.

http://www.radio-info.com/sections/...itation-for-arbitron-but-20-more-markets-dont

I question the whole PPM concept. You are in a room with a radio playing and PPM pick’s it up. I will accept the technology works. That is another tread. My three questions are:

#1. Are the wearers “listening “and react to the commercials and buying something?

#2. Is the sampling correct. There used to be a belief (1970’s) that you could tell where the diaries were distributed by looking at WSB AM’s numbers. More diaries out in the “sticks” helped WSB AM. Is there a problem getting the 20 to 30 people to do PPM?

#3. Could an Announcer or Program Director who got canned due to flawed ratings sue Arbitron?

1) Maybe. Passive exposure to something does not necessarily equal "listening" though. Of course, you could make a similar argument that active "listening" does not necessarily equal "exposure" (which was always the problem with Diaries - people marking that they were listening more than they actually were, or less than they actually were). In that case, you could be paying more for advertising on a station that only delivers on paper. I guess it largely depends on what data is more important to you. Would you prefer advertising on a station with a smaller but more loyal following (Stations that likely did well in Diaries) or a station with a larger but more fickle following (Stations that likely do well in PPM). I'm not an expert, though. I build stuff, not sell it.

2) Hell no. Sample Size is WAY too small, based on "looks good on paper" math and requires you to carry around a bulky piece of technology with you at all times (which is going to be a turn-off for some people).

3) They could try, but it's kind of like saying "I won't fire you if you can move this 1-ton weight a mile," but being mum on exactly what tools you will be provided to do it. The ratings are that 1-ton weight, and whether they are accurate or not they are there and your job is to move them in a positive direction. The way you go about doing it is different today than it used to be, but it's still your job to do and we're all going to have to figure out how.

 

[davideduardo]

1) Maybe. Passive exposure to something does not necessarily equal "listening" though.

As Uriah, in one of the most perceptive and realistic posts on PPM I have read, said that radio pays for the ratings so agencies can use them to beat up on stations. Rembering that it's the clients who rule, we have PPM because agencies and their clients wanted electronic measurement and they wanted passive measurement of exposure. So that is what they get.

Would you prefer advertising on a station with a smaller but more loyal following (Stations that likely did well in Diaries) or a station with a larger but more fickle following (Stations that likely do well in PPM).

And for that reason, Arbitron is working with a panel of experts from advertising and radio to develop a measurement of engagement. As reported in Inside Radio this week:

"Affinity task force defines engagement metric. The concept of PPM critics, supporters and Arbitron working together in harmony may sound like a pipe dream but it’s become a reality for the Affinity Metric Task Force. First convened in September, the 17-member panel of broadcasters, advertisers, agencies and researchers has identified a proposed metric intended to define the level of commitment — or affinity — that listeners have for a station. The measurement would allow advertisers to plan and buy from it. "

Sample Size is WAY too small, based on "looks good on paper" math and requires you to carry around a bulky piece of technology with you at all times (which is going to be a turn-off for some people).

Sample is a function of how much stations will pay. Arbitron will increase samples if all subscribers in a market pay for it, just as they did with the diary. However, it is significant to mention that the PPM uses a panel, and comparing sample size over a 12-week diary survey with new respondents every week with a theoretically balanced panel that where participant households can stay on 24 months is not a direct kind of comparison.

They could try, but it's kind of like saying "I won't fire you if you can move this 1-ton weight a mile," but being mum on exactly what tools you will be provided to do it. The ratings are that 1-ton weight, and whether they are accurate or not they are there and your job is to move them in a positive direction. The way you go about doing it is different today than it used to be, but it's still your job to do and we're all going to have to figure out how.

If you look more closely, the diary that measured memory as much as listening was "more worse" than the PPM. It exaggerated listening due to rounding and lazyness, did not pick up secondary stations as well, and often had up to 8% of diaries with listening that could not be accredited to any station due to entries like "news" or "sports." Unless we do a census, no survey is perfect. The PPM, once accredited, is a better tool than the diary.