How to start for reliable audience measurement ?

These new devices do not easily be born from existing organizations, for reasons already noted. They probably will be born in small professional environments (business clubs, sectoral committees, clubs ...) or in new countries where these structures are still in training and where the issues are too low for large institutions, or to initiative of trans-national media. Once they begin to operate, even for small applications, they may trigger an awareness and questioning will be generalized and can be brutal.

What is ideally my audience measurement system?

My vision of the ideal concept today for my radio, covers an enlarged market to my real territories (linguistics, technical, geographical ...). This market will be segmented by target advertising and editorial. It would include a market mechanism for (purchase and sale), powered by an integrated ... Data cross media audience, reliable, targeted, continuous, available in real time, including audience share of all stations likely to compete with me (so no use of watermarking). Sold data space and the advertising coverage, they also cross-media, available in real-time and instantly integrated to the data audience. Structured data and detailed information on the programs broadcast. The tools to assist decision making for both buyers space (optimization plans and impact assessment) and sellers (optimizing rates). It would be true of all technical checks by professionals such as Veritas or large international audit firms.

What say the Professionals for audience measurement?

The system which will replace those currently in place is already quite clearly outlined by the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement. It should ideally be measured by the same source (single source) and real-time television audience and all radio channels, Internet and social networks, the press and the outdoors advertising. It will be based on data from the advertising, also available in real time. It should be exploitable across applications which support decision-making of a new generation, especially to automatically update diffusion plans but also for the media, updating the pricing space depending on their audience and demand. It will provide easily articulate on tools for measuring advertising effectiveness.

Audience measurement : What the theory says?

"Policy makers prefer alternatives with less uncertainty. This is information that reduces uncertainty. So buyers opt easier for offers supported by the latest information, most relevant, most exhaustive, most reliable, most continuous and in larger quantities. C. Shannon (1948) "A Mathematical Theory of Decisions and Communications." Conversely, buyers of advertising space in traditional media under invest because the offer is addressed to them is not supported by information whose relevance is limited, incoherent between types of media that is not new, which is discontinuous and in limited quantities. Audience measurement systems of these media and methods of buying and selling space that accompany them are handicaps for the economic development of the media and they reduce their resistance to new competition. It would be necessary to change that.

Small parenthesis about watermarking

The use of this technology obliges each station or channel that wants to measure its audience to include a code in the audio signal and therefore to pay. It is strangely almost never mentioned that the recognition of watermarking signals for radio functions poorly in noisy environments (such as in cars is one of the contexts in which the hearing of terrestrial radio is still virtually not challenged by Internet). Tests conducted on these systems have noted very low rate recognition. The television people meters have an average error of 10%. And yet, in this case, the noise can not affect recognition. The individual passive people meters tested in 2009 by Rajar had a recognition rate of about 50% Large institutions heavily involved in the audiovisual media audience measurement have been converted to the virtues of watermarking, even those who had long been criticized for its lack of reliability. The individual passive audience measurement can be performed without watermarking and with fewer errors. But that choice could lose competitive advantages to the major institutions.

Audience measurement : Other systems using mobile phones without using the watermarking

Other systems also use ordinary mobile phones and tablets panelists without using the watermarking. Their recognition technologies using channels and stations in ambient sound. These systems measure all channels and all radio stations without limitation. They measure audience share, they are in real time. Their technologies do not have hte handicap of the watermarking in noisy and parasitized environments. Some are integrated into larger systems with monitoring tools advertising and media planning, which brings more than other required system.

Arbitron PPM - MediaWatch Gfk - Ipsos Phone

Arbitron PPM This is one that has been the most concession contracts and partnerships with major institutions who have paid for not using it (like Gillette bought the patents of products that prevent the beard to grow to be not broadcast). It can provide data in near-real time by a mobile Internet connection. The fact that it is a box to always carry oneself is a handicap. "It is a not declarative system but binding and almost punitive but as the electronic bracelet of remand" as a panelist said. This is a closed system (hard and soft). Well protected by patents. Therefore, it evolves very slowly, more slowly than technology and telecom signal recognition. For this reason, he lost the advance it had ten years ago. MediaWatch Gfk It is a passive individual PPM and mobile integrated into a wristwatch. It has the advantage that keeps constantly on itself. It does not have audience data in real time because it is not on-line, you must connect it to a rack to download its measures. A small module can integrate the audience of the press (in declarative). It also uses the principle of watermarking, even if Gfk Telecontrol pushed his researches far enough in recognizing the signals without watermarking. Its designers have forgotten that a watch is a very personal object, which bears the image and style of its owner. They developed models very ugly and very recognizable. This double bias unfortunately handicap strongly MediaWatch when recruitment panelists and affecting the social behavior of these panelists identified as such by their relatives. It is also a closed system (hardware and software) and condemned to move slowly in a technological changing. Ipsos Phone This is an application for the recognition of watermarking signals which can be incorporated in current smart-phones and transmits what it recognized in almost real time. This is the device that would bring the most ideal if the algorithm did not have a capacity as low recognition in a noisy environment (discussion, engine, etc.) and if not drained quickly if the battery phone. This is not a closed system by the hardware as is the case for the two systems mentioned previously. It can take advantage of other phone features such as the location, the ability to measure the behavior of Internet audience on the phone. This is one of the three that is most likely to change quickly.