Arbitron Model-Ready PPM Radio Ratings Data with Media Monitors Commercial Airplay Data Now Available Through GfK MRI Granularity Portal for Modelers

COLUMBIA, Md., Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) announced today that it is partnering with GfK MRI and Media Monitors to boost radio's presence in marketing mix models and help advertisers gain better insights in to radio's return on investment (ROI).  Arbitron's model-ready PPM radio ratings data will be available immediately in GfK MRI's Granularity portal currently used by modelers.  Additionally, Arbitron has reached an agreement with Media Monitors to link PPM radio ratings with Media Monitors commercial air-play data to enable advertisers to receive Arbitron's radio audience estimates for the specific times their spots run.

The model-ready Arbitron PPM Radio Ratings in GfK MRI's Granularity portal are designed to improve the statistical reliability of marketing mix models and provide advertisers with a better understanding of radio's ability to drive marketing ROI.  The data is based on PPM radio ratings which is linked to commercial occurrence data from Media Monitors for the specific date, quarter-hour, and station on which each commercial ran. 

"Arbitron's partnership with GfK MRI and Media Monitors will provide modelers and advertisers with a better understanding of radio's crucial role in the overall advertising mix and increased confidence in the medium," said Carol Hanley, EVP, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Arbitron.  "By placing Arbitron's more granular PPM data in GfK MRI's Granularity customer modeling portal, we hope to demonstrate that radio's significant contribution to the overall return on investment of a marketing campaign is much higher than previously thought, thus generating more mindshare for the medium among advertisers." 

"The expansion of the Granularity system to include Arbitron's radio ratings demonstrates GfK MRI's strategic commitment to establishing much-needed standards to ensure that all media are judged fairly in today's ROI calculations," said Andrew Arthur, SVP, Market Solutions, GfK MRI.  "We hope that our partnership with Arbitron will not only further that cause, but also reduce the time and effort required for our agency clients to produce the necessary inputs for marketing mix models."

GfK MRI's Granularity portal is already used by modelers and agencies to get print data for models. Making Arbitron PPM radio ratings available in the same location will make it easier, more efficient, less labor intensive and less error prone for modelers to access the radio data they need to gauge radio's contribution to sales.  With model-ready PPM radio ratings available in Granularity, advertising agencies can easily validate a client's advertising activity and submit modeling specifications to modelers, making radio easier to buy. 

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.

PPM ratings are based on audience estimates and are the opinion of Arbitron and should not be relied on for precise accuracy or precise representativeness of a demographic or radio market.

About GfK MRI

GfK MRI has a singular goal: to provide the clearest and most detailed view of American consumers--who they are, what they buy, how they think, and the best ways to reach them.  Founded in 1979, GfK MRI is the country's leading provider of magazine audience ratings, multimedia research data and penetrating insights into consumers' behavior and motivations.

When conducting its national Survey of the American Consumer™, GfK MRI interviews approximately 26,000 U.S. adults in their homes each year.  In face-to-face interviews and written surveys, consumers are asked about their use of media, their consumption of more than 6,000 products in 550 categories, their lifestyles and their attitudes.  Because the Survey of the American Consumer is structured as an area probability study, the results are projectable to the entire U.S. adult population.  The Survey also serves as a foundation for an array of innovative GfK MRI research products that answer the market's need for granular cross-media and consumer-focused information.

GfK MRI is part of The GfK Group, based in Nuremberg, Germany.  GfK is one of the world's largest research companies, with 11,000 GfK experts working to discover new insights about the way people live, think, and shop in over 100 markets, every day.  GfK is constantly innovating to use the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers.  In 2011, GfK's sales amounted to EUR 1.37 billion.  

About Media Monitors

Media Monitors is the Leader in Local Media Monitoring providing competitive intelligence information for markets in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, India and South Africa. Media Monitors matches audio to fingerprints of millions of over-the-air radio, broadcast TV and Local Cable commercials and scans hundreds of local newspapers and websites to deliver data to their customers. Employing their patented technology, sales executives, advertising planners, broadcast executives and Internet and Cable companies can hear and see specific advertisements or an entire campaign online with the click of a mouse, 24 hours a day.

Media Monitors Radio spot monitoring (MRC accredited), Newspaper Ad Tracking, Broadcast TV and Local Cable TV, and Local Internet services combine a highly-sophisticated computer technology with expert human attention to produce the most accurate multi-media research. Media Monitors is a subsidiary of RCS, the world's largest broadcast software company serving over 9,000 radio stations, TV music channels, cable companies, satellite music networks and Internet stations worldwide. The Media Monitors broadcast content recognition process is protected by U.S. Patents 5,437,050 and 7,386,047 and additional patents pending.

SOURCE Arbitron Inc.