Portable People Meter Review, Part One

Arbitron's new Portable People Meter, or PPM, is not magical or mystical, nor is it the greatest invention ever created to assist radio and its advertisers in separating consumers from their cash. It will monitor passive radio listening, show increases, and hopefully help improve strategic marketing for businesses. It will, however, be a challenge for radio to learn how to manipulate the results of the new report card. As the rollout intensifies, this is a good time to review how PPM works. This is the first of a two-part series.

Who is Arbitron?

Arbitron Inc. is a media and marketing research firm, serving media, radio, TV, cable, Internet streaming, advertisers and advertising agencies in the U.S. The company has developed the Portable People Meter, a new electronic technology for media and marketing research and measuring radio.

Through the years, there have been few competitors. By default, Arbitron is currently a monopoly in the majority of markets. In the third quarter of 2009, The Nielson Company is going to begin to handle 50 small markets for Cumulus and 17 for Clear Channel. Ironically, through a joint venture with Nielsen, Arbitron also provides additional media and marketing research services to television, newspaper and online industries.

Electronic Measurement

The new electronic measurement tool, PPM, is an excellent showcase for publicly-owned Arbitron, which of course wants to show its shareholders that it can increase or retain its stock value through more advanced offerings. For years, advertising agencies and radio have been hoping for an improved way to measure listening. This new system is a researcher's dream, but a headache for radio programmers, sales managers and clients. The Portable People Meter (PPM) has its own language and provides measurement for traditional radio, streaming, HD, podcasting and satellite radio. Arbitron has made excellent use of broadcast researchers to market this GPS-like technology to the radio industry.

Traditional radio is becoming a tale of two societies. The PPM will be completely implemented into the top-50 markets by the end of 2010. Markets 51 and higher will continue with the paper diary to measure listening. This older method relies on participant-written accounts of daily listening. Agencies and many radio pundits are excited about the new electronic measurement, the Portable People Meter, because in theory, it will provide a more accurate account of listening.

The Encoder

To be electronically measured for ratings, radio stations (both Arbitron subscribers and non-subscribers) are eligible to receive free encoders that send out continuous silent audio signals. The Portable People Meters are worn by survey panelists and detect the transmitted inaudible codes. A radio broadcast company has to inform Arbitron on the number of stations owned.

There will be two encoders sent to each station. One will be activated and placed in the transmitter rack; the other serves as a backup. For individual recognition, each station gets an ID code, which is transmitted within the silent audio signal. Upon request, separate encoders will be sent to stations wishing to separately market other forms of digital audio, such as Internet, podcasts or HD stations. Sirius/XM satellite radio will also be provided encoders for measurement. Although the encoders are free for radio broadcasters, only Arbitron subscribers can use the ratings results for sales or marketing.

Survey Panel Selection

The methodology for selection is the same as for Arbitron's paper diary markets: Households are randomly chosen to serve on Portable People Meter panels, with family members referred to as panelists. The socio-demographic composition, age, sex and race, determine the number of panelists for the sample size of a market. Arbitron uses information provided by the U.S Census Bureau for electronic measurement. Panels are built through the use of zip codes with listed landline phone numbers and cell phone-only households.

(An exception is Houston, where there is also door-to-door canvassing included in the process. About one-third of the entire market panel is chosen in this fashion. There are no current plans to incorporate the same procedure in any other Portable People Meter markets.)

In search of panelists, Arbitron uses an automated system to contact landline households. The automation has a built-in formula to reach unlisted numbers. Since using automation/auto-dialers to contact cell phones is illegal, Arbitron applies a "brute force" method to find cell phone-only (CPO) households. This means pulling a sample of cell phone numbers, and calling in an attempt to reach someone. When a person answers, the caller asks whether he or she has a landline. If they don't have one, it is a cell phone-only household, and can later go through the PPM process for possible selection to a panel. However, a more efficient method for finding CPO households is on the horizon for diaries and the Portable People Meter (PPM).

Arbitron's Ed Cohen, Ph.D., VP/ Research Policy and Communication, says:

"It's pretty simple. We'll use an address frame (as we used in Houston PPM). From that, we pull a sample and match as many addresses as possible to landline phone numbers. These addresses are removed. The remainder is sent a short survey with some upfront cash and the promise of more for completing the survey. Those that are CPO become the sample pools. Language is included in the questionnaire that allows us to be in compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (use of autodialers to call known cell phones).

"That's how we will put CPO into the diary service. We are going to test the same system for PPM and transition PPM CPO to that system assuming no problems."

Panelists can serve from six months up to two years, and are provided cash and other incentives to participate. Much like in airline mileage programs, points are awarded if certain compliance requirements are met or exceeded. New households are transitioned to replace those phased out or dropped from the panel.

The Meter

Survey participants are provided a mobile meter the size of a cell phone, base stations for each household qualified listener, one Household Data Collection Docking Hub, and equipment allowing landline phones and Hub to co-exist in the landline jack. Everything is easy to install and is shipped to survey households.

A meter recognizes all the coded radio or digital audio an individual is exposed to during the course of a day. Part of the technology built into the meter operates similarly to the electronic ankle bracelets that utilize landline phones to monitor the location of those serving jail time at home. These meters serve two purposes: indicating motion (when a panelist is carrying the meter) and recording the exposed coded silent radio and digital signals. The motion sensor on the meter reveals if a panelist is home or away from home. Cell phone-only households (CPOs) are also provided the necessary equipment to upload measurement information.

Panelist Instructions

At bedtime, each household panelist is instructed to place the meter in the base station for recharging and transference of coded broadcast signals for the day to the Household Data Collection Docking Hub. All the collected information from the individual base stations is then uploaded to a central computer at Arbitron headquarters. When docked for the night, the meter is still able to record encoded audio; however, only one hour of listening can be credited during the recharging/docking process.

The base stations have message display screens allowing for text exchanges between households and Arbitron. The meters are equipped with a motion detector, and as long as a person is breathing, moving, and wearing the meter, a green indicator light will remain on. If there is no motion for 30 minutes, a red light comes on, indicating a panelist is not wearing the meter. A unit battery lasts for 24 hours. Arbitron looks for a certain number of motion hours per day: a five-hour minimum for ages 6-17, an eight-hour minimum for ages 18+.

Motion and Listening

It is important to understand how motion relates to listening/exposure. The microphone on the meter is always on, and will record all coded audio. Meeting minimum motion requirements qualifies the panelists recorded listening/exposure to be part of the in-tab, which means the information will count for ratings measurement. If a panelist does not meet the minimum required motion for a broadcast day (4a - 4a), none of the day's recorded listening/exposure will be used for ratings calculations. For example, if a panelist only meets the minimum motion requirements six out of seven days, only six days of recorded information will be included in the rating results. As stated previously, the meter does two things: it records the amount of time (motion) a panelist wears a meter, and it records any radio or digital coded audio.

Panelists can listen as little or as much as they want, but the daily motion minimums have to be met for recorded listening to count for measurement. The amount of motion time is monitored and converted to a number of points earned for the day. These points determine the incentives paid to the panelist.

Next week: Uploading and editing, broadcast industry concerns, and more in Part II!