ARBITRON ANTES UP ON RESPONSE RATES

Mike Boyle – Billboard

Arbitron has announced new initiatives to help bolster response rates and improve sample proportionality for young males in the company’s diary-based markets.

Dubbed the Response Rate and Proportionality Action Plan, it includes increased cash incentives and other survey treatments to encourage overall cooperation in Arbitron surveys as well as improve sample representation among the hard-to-reach young male population.

Arbitron’s plan to improve young male participation includes:

• $5 cash incentive for each person in homes with one or two males age 18 to 24. This survey treatment will begin in spring 2006 in all markets.
• "$5 thank you" for agreeing to participate expanding from 58 markets to all markets by the end of 2006.
• Sampling of homes that can be reached only by cell phone starting in 2008.

And here’s what Arbitron is putting in place to help bolster better response rates:

• Use of pre-placement letters with a one-dollar cash incentive to all mailable sample by the end of 2006 (Arbitron currently uses this treatment with 48% of households).
• Double the minimum diary incentive from $1 to $2 in all markets by the end of 2007 (this will affect the nearly two thirds of households which currently receive the $1 minimum incentive).

“This plan is Arbitron’s most extensive investment in diary survey quality in the past decade,” said Owen Charlebois, Arbitron president, operations, technology, research and development. “It demonstrates Arbitron’s full commitment to better measurement in diary markets, not just PPM. These are major steps forward while we work toward more long lasting solutions.”

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