The Portable People Meter

1

• The Portable People Meter
• Getting Ready for Prime Time
• Results from the U.K. Field Test
• Status of the U.S. Test Market
• The TVB Research Conference
• October 25, 2000
• Bob Patchen
• VP, Research Standards Practices
• The Arbitron Company

2
Agenda

• Background
• - Why a Portable People Meter?
• - Research Design for the U.K. Test
• Results from the U.K. PPM Test
• - Panel Cooperation and Compliance
• - Media Exposure Data
• The U.S. Test Panel
• - Current Status
• - Analysis and Reporting Plans

3
How will we survive the coming explosion in media
choices?

• The complex multimedia landscape of the 21st
  century promises new opportunities, and new
  challenges, for advertisers, agencies and
  broadcasters.
• Audience researchers must provide viable new
  solutions for tracking and understanding
  consumers multimedia behaviors, or risk becoming
  irrelevant.

4
One promising solutionThe Portable People Meter
(PPM)
5
Why a Portable People Meter?

• Simple and appealing for consumers
• Single-source multimedia measurement
• Bigger samples
• Passive detection of exposure
• Each source uniquely identified
• All modes of electronic delivery
• In-home and out-of-home exposure
• Measures the person, not the appliance . . .

6
The Large-Scale U.K.Test

• Follow-up to successful 1998 pilot
• July, 1999 through April, 2000
• Purpose
• - Extended test of system technology
• - Extended test of panelist compliance
• - First look at audience data

7
Test Design

• Manchester, England
• 300 persons age 6 and older
• Broadcast signals encoded
• - AM, FM, Long Wave radio
• - National and Local Broadcasting
• - Terrestrial TV
• - Satellite Cable
• - Analog Digital
• - Internet Radio

8
Participating Broadcasters

• Radio
• Key 103
• Century 105
• Magic 1152
• Galaxy 102
• Classic FM
• Jazz FM 100.4
• Atlantic 252
• Talk Radio UK
• BBC GMR
• Radio City 96.7
• Virgin (Internet also)

• Television
• BBC 1
• BBC 2
• Granada (ITV)
• Channel 4
• Channel 5
• B-Sky-B (Sky One)
• Carlton (Food Network)

9
Technology Findings

• Encoders
• - Widely accepted by broadcasters
• - Over 200,000 hours of reliable operation
• - Manufacturing defect found resolved
• Household Components
• - Easy, quick installation
• - Reliable docking motion detection
• - Successful data communication

10
Panel Cooperation and Compliance
11
Sampling Recruitment

• Random telephone enumeration survey
• Recruits sampled from stratified frame
• Mail and telephone recruitment
• Recruitment cooperation rate 44
• In-person installation by interviewers
• 300 persons age 6 in 140 households

12
Installed panel in-line with universe

• The installed panel percents were close to the
  universe on all 7 control variables
• Household size
• Presence of children
• Age of head-of-household
• Employment status of head-of-household
• Number of TV sets
• Cable/satellite status
• Social class

13
Three Simple Rules

• Keep your meter with you
• Keep the green light on
• Recharge your meter at bedtime
• Note PPM works
• to detect codes
• even when docked

14
Undocking and docking times
739AM
909AM
1106PM
1125PM
Median times, November, 1999
15
Time out of the dock
16
Time in motion

• Meters were undocked nearly all day

17
Men and women complied equally well with the PPM
tasks
18
Compliance was generally good across all age
groups
19
Compliance was consistent across social class
categories
20
Detecting Media Exposure
20

• All encoded stations detected by panel
• 1.5 million codes detected per week (total)
• 36,000 media events per week (total)
• About 120 events per person, per week
• Daily reports of listening and viewing

21
A day in the life of a personal meter
Example Male, age 51, 8A-Mid., Nov. 25 99
12
Chan 5
11
Chan 4
10
ITV
9
BBC TV2
8
BBC TV1
7
Talk
6
Magic
5
Key
4
Classic
3
Jazz FM
2
Galaxy
1
0
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
000
Time
22
A month in the life of a personal meter
Example Female, age 45, Nov. 99
12.00
TV
Radio
10.00
8.00
Hours of media exposure
6.00
4.00
2.00
.00
M
W
F
M
W
F
M
W
F
M
W
F
11/03/1999
11/04/1999
11/05/1999
11/06/1999
11/08/1999
11/09/1999
11/10/1999
11/11/1999
11/12/1999
11/13/1999
11/14/1999
11/15/1999
11/16/1999
11/17/1999
11/18/1999
11/19/1999
11/20/1999
11/21/1999
11/22/1999
11/23/1999
11/24/1999
11/25/1999
11/26/1999
11/27/1999
11/02/1999
1/01/1999
1/07/1999
23
The power of multi-media ratings

• Radio station campaign on local ITV
• 29 spots aired September 8-18, 1999
• What of total panelists were exposed to at
  least one spot on ITV?
• What of those exposed listened to the radio
  station the next day?
• What were exposed, listened the next day, and
  were new or infrequent listeners?
• In other words . . . did it work?

24
What of total panelists saw the radio station
spot on TV?

• Over half saw the radio spots

Total panelists
25
Of those who saw the spots, who listened the next
day?

• One in four listened

Exposed to spot
26
What were new or infrequent listeners?
Over a third who listened were new
Listened to radio station next morning
27
Television Viewing Comparisons

• PPM vs. BARB set-top people meters
• Hourly AQH persons ratings (6AM-6AM)
• AQH defined at average minute level
• Encoded commercial channels only
• Total persons age 6
• November 1999
• Weekdays, weekends

28
PPM vs. Set-Top People MetersMonday-Friday
BARB Commercial TV
PPM Commercial TV
29
PPM vs. Set-Top People MetersSaturday-Sunday
BARB Commercial TV
PPM Commercial TV
30
Overall Conclusions from U.K. Test
27

• The PPM technology worked well
• Panelists cooperated with the PPM tasks
• PPM ratings effects need further study
• Overall results are very encouraging and support
  taking the next research step
• U.S. test is needed to confirm and expand upon
  U.K. findings

31
U.S. test market now underway
28

• Philadelphia DMA
• 75 encoded Radio, TV, Cable channels
• Representative, projectable consumer panel
• Comprehensive systems and methods test

32
Implementation in two stages
28

• Stage One
• Wilmington Radio Metro (in Phil. DMA)
• 300 persons age 6 and older
• Total market ratings only
• Results early in 2001
• Stage Two
• Expand panel to cover Philadelphia DMA
• Bigger sample, more detailed ratings
• Results early in 2002

33
Stage One Progress to Date
28

• Media Participation
• All 38 invited radio stations
• All 8 local TV stations
• Top 25 cable services networks
• Fieldwork
• 1,400 Hh enumeration survey completed
• Meter installation to start later this year
• Encoder installation is already underway

34
On the air as of October 12, 2000

• 32 radio stations
• 2 television stations
• 7 cable services and networks

35
Initial reports planned for U.S. test

• Technical quality measures
• Meters detecting encoded stations?
• Meters reporting properly each day?
• Appropriate editing crediting rules?
• Panel Quality Measures
• Sample representativeness
• Recruitment cooperation rates
• Meter undocking and docking times
• Hours worn per day

36
Next stage ratings comparisons

• Prerequisite satisfaction with panel quality and
  cooperation
• Total market audience ratings
• Radio compared to Arbitron data
• TV, Cable compared to NMR data
• By demo and daypart
• AQH and cume persons ratings
• Time spent viewing listening
• Stay tuned!

37
Thank you!