Daily Research News Online no. 3263 - PPM Panel Recruitment Improved

PPM Panel Recruitment Improved

July 14 2004

Arbitron and Nielsen Media Research have announced substantially improved results in their recruitment and maintenance of panels for the PPM.

The latest sample performance indicators (SPI) based on new approaches are in line with expected results when recruiting and maintaining a set-top meter panel and substantially higher than those achieved by Arbitron in the first US Market Trial of the PPM in Philadelphia in 2002.

Among other improvements, the new methods utilized membership representatives for at least some of the recruitment and ongoing maintenance of the panel, and increased the financial incentives given to panellists.

David Lapovsky, executive vice president, Arbitron Inc. said results from two parallel tests, on which the two companies collaborated, had produced acceptable SPIs: 'The new methods increased the 8 -to10 percent response rate seen in the 2002 market trial, to the 33 to 34 percent sample performance indicators seen in recent test results in Philadelphia'.

The Philadelphia tests each involved a panel of 100 households over 12 months, the first testing the use of membership representatives to recruit all panellists and the second a hybrid methodology with an element of phone-based recruiting.

Jack Oken, General Manager of Nielsen's Local Business Unit, says the joint tests demonstrate the companies' ability to make major improvements by combining their expertise. 'We are particularly interested in the hybrid methodology', says Oken, 'which is more cost effective than the other methodology yet performed equally as well'.

A modified version of the hybrid methodology will be used by Arbitron in Houston. Results of the tests will be shared with clients by the end of the summer, along with a meter-sensitivity test and a dual-meter test.

The companies' web sites are at www.nielsenmedia.com and www.arbitron.com