As magazines are increasingly delivered in multi-platform digital formats, and the internet continues to grow as an advertising medium, the convergence of these two trends leads buyers and sellers to seek one single source for media and consumer purchase information. This paper describes the development of a cross-media consumer database including the 'split-weights congruent fusion' model used while highlighting the many insights gained from this important product with numerous examples. A key benefit of this fused database is the ability of magazines and national newspapers to prove the strength of their combined audience over traditional and digital platforms.
The long standing disparities between panel-based online audience measurement data and site-centric or "Web Analytics" data has been troublesome for practitioners of online marketing and advertising for over 10 years. More recently, it has become clear that the best way to develop an audience measurement system that gains consensus and maintains scientific audience measurement rigor is to develop a system that bridges the gap between server data and panel data. The approach described in this paper, and the test results presented, are a direct response to the measurement challenges faces by the digital world.
This paper presents ground-breaking research on audience measurement across platforms, especially print, using the Arbitron Portable People Meter; (PPM) combined with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).Specifically, this paper addresses four key challenges: multi-media/multi-platform measurement, issue-specific readership, enhancing detection accuracy and behavioral consistency between readership and measurement. PPM's capabilities to measure both audio and non-audio media place print measurement on equal footing with the electronic measurement of radio, TV, internet, and place-based audiences. Therefore, a single meter can potentially provide electronic cross-media and multi-platform single-source measurement. RFID technology has broad applicability unmatched by other sensing technologies. The readership audience measurement possibilities of RFID technology are numerous: audience accumulation, issue-specific readership, removal of recall error and bias, social desirability bias disappears, model bias is confronted, multi-media measurement is attained and, potentially, page and ad-specific views are delivered - all on a timely basis. The research reported here presents documented test results of this important technology in a passive electronic print and cross-media measurement application.
The authors report findings from an extensive analysis comparing two TV meter panels in Quebec and Canada; the TNS Picture Matching technology (PMT) and Arbitron's Portable People meter (PPM). Paramount in this comparison is the passive nature of reported viewing in the PPM panel versus the button-pushing task required of the PMT panel. Running in parallel for almost one year, the panels reveal important information on compliance in both the 'carrying' task and the button pushing task, individual viewing behaviour, the efficacy of the PPM technology in a complex TV measurement environment, and the reasons for differences in the audience measurements. The authors provide an assessment of degree to which various factors impact the ratings differences between button pushing and passive meter systems, and argue that button-pushing non-compliance accounts for most of the difference.
This paper describes a cross-sectional analysis of three people meter panels in Canada, one of which has been operating since 1997. With no formal 'forced turnover' policy, BBM Canada is ideally suited to examining 'time in panel' or 'panel fatigue' effects on a panel containing households of both long and short tenure. The cross-sectional analysis reveals no significant panel fatigue for adults, after controlling for other panel balance and control variables. Results for children, where fatigue is thought to be a bigger problem, are stronger but still not significant. Overall, interesting variations and consistencies across disaggregate models are produced including the positive relationship of the contact person, and the significant role of current panel control variables.
This paper describes the current status of international PPM research activities. During the past year, research organizations have begun to evaluate and operate the PPM technology in their own countries. The details of the recent compliance test in Belgium are presented here. The authors present the status of the BBM's TV measurement panel in Quebec Canada and an overview of research activities in several other countries, including the United Kingdom.
By returning to the sample of Canadians who filled out a BBM radio diary, BBM Canada was able to bring an extensive product and customer behavior database combined with BBM's radio ratings to desktops in Canadian radio stations, agencies and advertisers. Starting off in the fall of 1998 with three major markets- Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria, RTS now includes Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Hamilton, London, Kitchener, Calgary and Edmonton. Not only that, RTS also includes a national study called RTS Canada. The RTS database is updated twice yearly. This paper also reviews how, in only four years, the RTS study became the largest media and consumer behaviour study ever offered in Canada; and why broadcasters cannot rely upon demographics when describing and selling their audiences.
This paper provides a summary of BBM Canada's picture matching experience over the last four years. The authors focus on how well picture matching compares with DFM, how multimatching is handled, the problem of unmatched viewing, picture matching's ability to handle various delivery systems, and the extent to which picture matching can handle viewer behaviours like fast channel changing and channel surfing. The results of the assessment after four years indicate that picture matching is handling a very complex TV environment quite well. However, there are points for discussion including other uses for the TV that might need to be measured, the degree of granularity in measurement that is acceptable, and, of course, the issue of sample size.