The number and success of radio stations are strongly linked to station format. Listener demographics are linked to the station formats. Thus, separating the effect of station format from listener demographics is difficult. The bigger formats are âcountryâ, âoldiesâ, and ânews/talkâ in terms of both number of stations and total audience. Stations with formats that attract certain listening groups (such as âadult contemporaryâ and âoldiesâ) tend to have a high ratio of revenue to audience. Stations that include the station name in their format tend to be the more successful stations in terms of size of audience and revenue. Although many stations include their format as part of the station name, and format has a strong influence on the success of a station, very few listeners write station format in their diary entries. One could conjecture from the data that the station format attracts its listeners, but the listeners rarely identify the station by format.
Radio is a very popular medium in Poland. The Polish radio market is presently defined on one hand, by high vitality regional and local stations, and on the other by the clearly defined leadership of ProgrammeI of the Polish Radio and the strong, equivalent position of two commercial networks - RMF FM and Radio Zet. At first glance, this arrangement of forces seems to be quite stable. In fact this situation is far from petrifaction. Especially in local markets the dynamics of change in patterns of radio listening is still strong. One can also see the shaping of different patterns of listening to ânationalâ stations or networks in various parts of Poland, as well as definite profiles of âco-listeningâ behaviour. It is also evident how important a variable the place is in surveys of radio listening. The rapid changes taking place in the radio market require an adequate radio audience measurement system. This paper seeks to briefly present how these changes have stimulated the development of research techniques used for a reliable evaluation of the radio audience in Poland.
Since 1992 Arbitron has been working on a Personal Portable Meter (PPM) program as an alternative to current audience measurement methods. This PPM program will provide each signal originator with an encoder which inserts an inaudible identification code into the stationâs signal in real time. As survey respondents are exposed to various media, these codes are then captured by a pager-size decoder which can easily be carried by respondents. This paper outlines our progress over the past five years in developing a working model small enough to be carried for an extended period of time, yet powerful enough to pick up the various codes to which the respondent is exposed. We discuss Arbitronâs most significant achievements in technological development, as well as in the all-important area of human factors research.
The research on selected regions of Poland by Wojciech Konieczny, in association with B.P.S. Consultants Poland Ltd., assumed the hypothesis that in the conditions of the developed radio market, if radio stations and their principals are concerned with the range among the average person, the control of the regular audience is of greater importance than the control of core listeners. The regular audience better reflects the average daily range of the station, moreover, it enables identification of both the possible negative tendencies in the way audience contact the station Programme and the reasons for lack of loyalty conditioned by the programme preferences of shared listeners.
The paper describes the issues associated with researching the market potential for Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), a concept that was, at the time, largely unknown to most of the public. The work was sponsored by organisations with a wide range of objectives and posed a number of challenges, not least of which was how to communicate the concept to respondents. The approach that was adopted was to use a carefully structured questionnaire that introduced the various features of DAB in stages, identifying their importance to the respondent, interest in acquiring a DAB radio for the car or home and the perceived price premium. The survey provides a rich source of data that identifies: the demographic groups that are most interested in DAB; the key features that are likely to be of most importance (the key âdriversâ for DAB); and the extent to which a common marketing strategy can be applied across Europe and where between-country differences require distinct Marketing approaches.
This paper describes the work that has been carried out for the BBC World Service to further understanding of the image and identity of the station and to assist appropriate positioning in rapidly changing media environments. The paper examines the pitfalls and limitations associated with some common measures of awareness, and presents some alternative qualitative methods which may be used to help us gain a deeper understanding of the distinct character and personality of a given radio station that lies at the heart of its relationship with the listener. The paper draws on BBC research throughout the world, but focuses in particular on some recent case studies from countries of the former Soviet Union, and eastern and central Europe.
Following a description of the Radiocontrol radiometer system and its functions, the first results of a qualitative and quantitative study of willingness to wear a Radiocontrol watch are presented. Intensive preparations are already underway in Switzerland to deploy the Radiocontrol watch in the field for the first time. The most important key data on the project are presented. Additional uses of the Radiocontrol system are discussed. The implications of Radiocontrol extend well beyond the field of radio research.
The idea of creating an electronic device for measuring the audience of radio dates back at Infratest Burke into the late 1970âs, but was turned down because of technical problems. With the enormous technological progress in the computer industry and the miniaturizing of all components needed, Infratest Burke revived its ideas and started to develop an electronic measurement system in 1995 in collaboration with Kayser Threde, a German systems engineering company. Part I of this paper provides a short overview of the development of the Radio Watch, the reasoning for choosing a purely passive approach and the logic of the measurement process. Part II reports on the current stages of the technical development and the first results of a field test aimed at detecting the readiness of the population to participate in this kind of research and to wear a measurement device at all times during waking hours.
Utilizing the basis of the very complex automobile market in Germany, the effects created by radio advertising in a media-mix will be demonstrated. The essential effects of an advertising campaign can only be proven in psychologically defined target groups. The study also shows that small amounts of broadcast spending can achieve a considerable impact in very difficult markets. The study, based on a survey of January and February 1997 also shows that the usual indications of advertising effects of demographically defined target groups incompletely describe these effects.
The year of 1996 was unbelievably rich in events for radio researchers in France. Not less than two panels were operated as well as the year long DAR audience survey. These events led to some confusion among market actors, as some radio stations were involved in all research while others strongly disagreed with the new panel experience as it may introduce uncertainties in the minds of users, of advertisers, and lead to a loss of credibility of the research itself and, consequently of the media.
This paper first reviews the overall nature of audience measurement of radio into which context the potential for a meter based solution can be set. It considers the nature of task that radio research faces, identifies the different sources of âerrorâ and considers how well radio does relative to other forms of research, and particularly TV audience measurement. It goes on to identify the required key characteristics of radio meter equipment. It then focuses on the more important issues in some detail and in particular outlines the alternative meter development strategies currently being pursued, in terms of both station identification technique and survey design implications. Whilst the paper suggests caution in terms of the likely availability of meter based systems for radio and some reservations about their affordability, its conclusion is that at this stage in the development of the radio medium, an improved audience Measurement technique should be pursued with enthusiasm.
This paper reports on an investigation of the relative performance of one, two and four week diaries for radio audience measurement. A special four week diary study carried out in 1992 by Research Services Limited for RAJAR has been re-analysed to evaluate the trade-offs between respondent fatigue, the performance of the extended reach model, sample efficiency and relative cost.