THE EARLY READ ON PPM Ken Tucker – Radio and Records It may be a little early to come up with hard-and-fast rules about how Arbitron's Portable People Meter will affect the programming and selling of radio, especially since it's been the ratings currency in Philadelphia for only four monthly reports and in Houston for one. But the learning process has nonetheless begun, and industry experts are poring over the data and beginning to draw some early conclusions.
Appointment listening is one of the keys to making money with the PPM, according to Bob Michaels, former VP of radio and PPM programming services for Arbitron and now head of his own company MediaSense. "Each station has different programming elements which appeal to their audience," he says. "By identifying those elements, stations can then charge more for commercials during those times."
Consultant Fred Jacobs says the PPM will redefine the way radio markets itself on-air. "When TV debuts a new show or a stunt—'James Bond Week'—they don't start promoting it four to five days out," he says. "In many cases, they start weeks in advance. And they don't run a promo once every other hour. They hammer it."
Saga Communications executive VP/group PD Steve Goldstein says appointment listening "always has been, and should still be, a goal for any station."
Goldstein says P1 relevance doesn't really change in a PPM world. "In most ways it remains the same," he says. "The calculations are a bit different, but even with PPM, we have listeners which are more valuable. That's no different than the beer business, fast food or any other."
If Clear Channel's recently launched alternative WRFF (Radio 104.5)/Philadelphia is any indication, the PPM will provide a much faster read on format flips. Launched midway through the May Arbitron period, the station made a quick impact. WRFF's cume shot to 838,800 people in the June survey after registering slightly less than 300,000 as tropical-leaning WUBA (Rumba) in April.
Michaels says the quicker read happens in two ways. "First, we are moving from four quarterly surveys a year to 13, including the holiday survey period from the middle of December to mid-January. So the detailed information we used to only get quarterly will now be provided monthly, so you can dig in and analyze any format change sooner.
"The second area is the change from the monthly Arbitrends service to the same dayparts and demographics in PPM weeklies," he continues. "It takes a few weeks to get the data from Arbitron after the listening occurs—one week for the panelists to get their data back and [then] Arbitron's quality assurance checks." That's light years ahead of the diary service.
Jacobs says the speedier assessment will cut both ways. "A new station that's a stiff will fail a lot faster with PPM," he says. "The trick may be in the evaluation of new talent where it often takes longer for consumers to come around and appreciate a new show."
And as with TV's experience with Nielsen's people meters, the "PPM may test a GM's patience with a new morning show because those weekly numbers may be very slow to come around," Jacobs says.
Read much more about "The Early Read On PPM" in this week's R&R (August 10, 2007). Get your copy now by calling 800-562-2706 or 818-487-4582 between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time, or e-mail: radioandrecords@pubservice.com. |