This paper looks at the results of a study on quality of viewing (in terms of level of attention to program), and how this data can be used to improve the efficiency of real world media planning.
This paper seeks to establish the extent to which the same consumers will view television and surf the Internet given access to both media. The results are drawn from a single-source panel in which both viewing and surfing was tracked for individuals. The results indicate that little convergent activity is evident now, but that consumers do use both media in a complementary fashion.
This paper discusses the steps taken by VH1 Research&Planning to imbue a segmentation study conducted in 1999 into other research tools, including qualitative brand work, ethnographic research and quantitative brand tracking, and using results from the brand tracking study to gauge progress across each of VH1's brand platforms (the channel, online, charity initiatives, and previously unmeasured digital channels).
The main objective of this paper is to provide new information on the viewing patterns in homes with Internet access. Only the panel methodology is capable of supplying longitudinal information and when more people meter-based results are published, it will be interesting to make international comparisons. This paper is based on the analysis of viewing behaviour in Internet access homes as described by the Finnish people meter panel data. Finnpanel Ltd. has operated the people meter-based audience measurement since its very beginning in 1987. All of the major broadcasters are subscribers. The JIC (joint industry committee) concept is applied as the leading principle of operation, the advertising agencies pay a minor share of the costs, and also advertisers have representation in the control body.
This paper presents early cross-media results from Arbitron's 2002 portable people meter (PPM) panel in the Philadelphia (United States) market. Previous results from the small-scale PPM panel in Wilmington (Delaware) in 2001 suggested important variations in cross-media duplication between radio and television. The present results build upon the earlier findings, extending the learning from PPM's capture of both television and radio via a single, unified measurement platform. This unified cross-media panel method provides insight into the consumer target's media behavior and to various effective strategies to maximize target reach and efficiency.
The paper describes a preliminary approach to understanding the dynamics of niche viewing populations and their role in supporting multiple viewing options within an increasingly fragmented television landscape. The paper's arguments are informed by a series of in-depth interviews with distinct fan cultures and custom studies of Nielsen Media Research data.
The authors recently analyzed the audience delivery patterns of sixty different media schedules each comprising three media elements - one primetime network television program, one national consumer magazine and one national consumer website. The purpose of the analysis was to identify how media professionals might begin the process of documenting actionable return-on-investment media vehicle-by-media vehicle using data currently available from a variety of syndicated research providers.This paper briefly outlines the accountability and compensation issues prevalent in our industry today and briefly discusses the ROI void that needs to be filled. It then highlights a number of ROI metrics for the schedules analyzed and provides strategic recommendations to help media professionals begin the process of effectively documenting cross-media return-on-advertising-investment.
In September 2000 the Cable and Satellite Committee and the French Cable and Satellite Channels Association (ACCeS) decided to launch Mediacabsat, the new audience measurement system for the new thematic programme generation. Until this time, thematic channel audiences were measured with an annual diary survey. However TV supply was booming and what fit well with some channels did not with hundreds. Such an important part of the market could not be deliberately ignored. The decision was therefore made toward audiometric methodology. The new survey submits the complementary audiovisual landscape to a heightened investigation of every channel. Mediacabsat was conceived by all those concerned: editors, distributors, publishers, announcers and their advisers, searching together the best measure, with the best quality-price ratio and for the sake of general interest. Mediacabsat is adaptable as the landscape itself changes, for instance as interactive services or Terrestrial Digital TV develops.
The portable people meter (PPM) is a promising new media research tool that makes it possible to automatically track consumers' exposure to the electronic media. An inaudible code is inserted into the audio signal of radio, broadcast and cable television channels, Internet streaming sites, and other media outlets. These codes are then passively recorded by pager-sized personal meters worn by respondents. Media exposures captured by the PPM are collected overnight when panelists 'dock' their meters at bedtime. After nearly a decade of research and development, Arbitron Inc. has launched the first full-scale market trial of the PPM system in Philadelphia. Approximately 80 media outlets are encoding their signals and a panel of 1,500 consumers age 6+ are equipped with the portable meters. Channel-specific ratings for radio, broadcast and cable TV are being reported for the first time so customers can evaluate the PPM results against existing ratings methods. Assuming adequate client support, Arbitron plans to convert the Philadelphia panel to commercial operation early in 2003, and begin the rollout to additional U.S. markets.
This paper examines the problems and pitfalls of today's sample-based media measurement services with particular reference to television. The author suggests that sample-based measurement is rapidly becoming defunct in its ability to reflect what is truly of importance to the advertiser: return on investment. This is driven by changes in the broadcast environment, in the ability of research companies to recruit representative samples and in new technologies allowing viewers to personalize their television experience.New technology offers a solution in the form of the set top boxes now installed in the vast majority of television households in the United States. Opposition from those with vested interests in keeping things as they are will, however, make any change difficult.
It is particularly difficult to control the quality of the results obtained by the peoplemeter panels. Even though the technical resources to carry out a real control exist, no peoplemeter panel operator has so far used a simple system, known as the 'presence sensor', with the exception of the 'Auditrack' panel set up by the Reach Mass Institute in the Lebanon. This paper describes the advantages of using the presence sensor and provides a preliminary assessment of the measurement errors due to the poor input of the panellists. While waiting for the arrival of passive audience measurement, what is the error scale of declarative audience measurement based on the 'push button' and how is the day-to-day precision going to be improved with full knowledge of the facts?
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.