The U.S. trial of the Portable People Meter (PPM) in Houston, Tex. is demonstrating the technology’s potential to go beyond typical broadcast audience measurement to track radio podcasting and previously unmeasured out-of-home TV viewing.
The results of the podcasting test should help alleviate the worries of those concerned about the rapid evolution of broadcast technology and the ability of audience measurement services to keep up with the change.
New York-based Arbitron says its PPM successfully detects the ID codes in MP3 files as it does with various other audio distribution and compression systems it has tested, including Dolby, HDTV and HD radio, satellite uplinks, Digicypher and Videocypher.
The test was conducted by encoding several podcasts by a New York radio station that were then uploaded to Apple’s iTunes Music Store. The podcasts were then downloaded to MP3 players and listened to via headsets with the PPM headset adapter.
Other possibilities of the PPM are being explored as part of the Houston trial. This month it moves to the retail level as 100 Kroeger stores in the Houston area begin using encoded audio programming from in-store music provider In-Store Broadcasting Network. The network broadcasts music and third-party advertising, as well as in-house marketing messages. More than half of the market’s adult population typically visits a Kroeger store each week, according to Scarborough Research.
Arbitron sees this component of the test as a way to gauge the store traffic that advertising generates by measuring the retail visits of people exposed to stations carrying a retailer’s ads. Other retailers such as Best, Gap, and Old Navy are also taking part in the test.
Out-of-home viewing has been an important part of industry debate the past few years simply because advertisers and their agencies believe set-top meters miss or undercount the very important younger demographic. Both Arbitron and BBM, which has had its Quebec French-language household panel operating for nearly two years, are finding that to be true – and more.
Since beginning its Houston test, Arbitron has found that fully 13% of total TV viewing occurs outside the home. The company reports that during the July shuttle launch, 11.3% of the test market audience watched the event out-of-home while O-O-H viewing of the early morning landing accounted for 10% of the total audience.
While Arbitron sees O-O-H viewing to be more pronounced amongst 18-49s, it’s not only men in sports bars. The split is pretty even between male and female viewers with the two most popular locations being someone else’s home and at work.
In Montreal, BBM has found time spent watching TV to be 12% higher with the PPM than with set-top meters. The biggest increases are seen amongst tweens, teens, and young adults and light viewers are also watching more TV than previously reported.
