Arbitron Unveils Cross-Platform Promotion ROI Tool for Broadcast and Cable TV Programmers

COLUMBIA, Md., July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) today unveiled the Promo OptimiXer service, a single-source, cross-platform ratings tool designed to help broadcast and cable networks evaluate the return on investment that radio and television 'tune-in' campaigns deliver in terms of audience ratings to the programs being promoted.

Discovery Communications has already used the Promo OptimiXer service to gauge the impact of their multi-week, radio and television ad campaign for the April 2012 season premiere of Deadliest Catch, which airs Tuesday nights on Discovery at 9PM e/p followed by After the Catch at 10pm e/p.

Discovery's Deadliest Catch chronicles the real-life adventures of the crews on five crabbing boats during Alaskan king crab fishing seasons in the Bering Sea. The program returned on April 10th with a season eight premiere that also marked the 100th episode of the Emmy-winning series.

"While campaign tracking is often done for TV promotions, our new Promo OptimiXer service uses the unique ability of the Arbitron Portable People Meter™ (PPM^®) service to track exposure to radio as well as television campaigns among a single, representative sample," said Carol Edwards, senior vice president, Cross Platform Services, Arbitron Inc. "Radio tune-ins have always been a favored tool among TV programming and promotion executives. The Promo OptimiXer service can now show programmers how consumers who are exposed to promotion campaigns on radio as well as on television ultimately tune in to the program being promoted."

Said Jason Hyde, Vice President of Research at the Discovery Channel: "Using cutting-edge research techniques such as this Arbitron cross-platform program promotions tool is truly a hallmark of the Discovery Channel. It allows us to stay one step ahead of our competitors and measure the true ROI of our marketing campaigns." 

About the Promo OptimiXer service

Based on the viewing and listening behavior of the approximately 69,000 Portable People Meter panelists in 44 top U.S. media markets currently measured by the Arbitron PPM service, the Promo OptimiXer service provides key evaluation metrics of program episode reach, program promotion reach, conversion percent, program promotion impressions and projected audience reached by program and promotion.  It also answers key questions about the promotion effectiveness, including:

Who were exposed to the promotion campaign? On what media?  And how often? Unduplicated reach and frequency can be estimated separately by each component of the campaign (e.g. radio tune-ins, DJ chatter, in-house promos, paid commercials on other channels) as well as for the entire campaign.

Of those that were exposed to the promotion campaign, how many watched the measured episode? This is the key ROI measure for each component of the promotion campaign (e.g. radio tune-ins, DJ chatter, in-house promos, paid commercials on other channels) as well as for the entire campaign.

About Arbitron Portable People Meter Services

The Arbitron Portable People Meter device is a personal and portable device that captures a consumer's exposure to media and entertainment by passively capturing an inaudible code that can be embedded in the audio content of terrestrial, satellite and online radio broadcasts, in broadcast, cable and satellite television as well as cinema advertising and many types of place-based digital media.

Determining whether a PPM panelist is at home or out-of-home is accomplished through the use of a low power RF transmitter that is designed to act as a continuous "at-home" beacon. When a PPM panelist is at home and in range of the beacon, all exposure to encoded media collected by the PPM is tagged as at-home exposure.  When the PPM panelist is out of range of the at-home beacon, all exposure to encoded media collected by the PPM is tagged as out-of-home exposure.

The Portable People Meter ratings service is deployed to measure 48 radio markets. Four of the markets–Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island); Middlesex-Somerset-Union; San Jose and Riverside-San Bernardino–are embedded in or adjacent to the larger New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco markets. The out-of-home television viewing estimates for these four embedded or adjacent markets are included in those of the larger markets.

About Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement.  The network, which is distributed to 100.4 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 210 countries, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world.  For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.

About Discovery Communications 

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 210 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 130-plus worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as US joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

About Arbitron

Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is an international media and marketing research firm serving the media–radio, television, cable and out-of-home; the mobile industry as well as advertising agencies and advertisers around the world. Arbitron's businesses include: measuring network and local market radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product patterns of U.S. consumers; providing mobile audience measurement and analytics in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia, and developing application software used for analyzing media audience and marketing information data. The Company has developed the Portable People Meter™ (PPM^®) and the PPM 360™, new technologies for media and marketing research.

Portable People Meter™, PPM^® and PPM 360™ are marks of Arbitron Inc.

SOURCE Arbitron Inc.