One of the many promises that Arbitron has made about PPM is its ability to drill down into specific programming components to determine their true ratings value – or lack thereof. They call it “granularity” – which translates to being able to hyper-focus on specials, features, stunts, sporting events, and everything else we programmers cook up in order to generate ratings.
In the diary system, there is “negative granularity.” A great stunt, a week-long cash giveaway, A-to-Z, and other gems often seem to have no impact on a given week, much less during the month in which they occurred. A couple of years ago, a client of ours meticulously broke down each weekend of the book after scheduling some compelling special weekends. The net result was ambiguity and confusion. There was simply no rhyme or reason to why one weekend seemingly outperformed another.
But in last week’s conference call dedicated to PPM, Pierre Bouvard provided attendees with another example of granularity from the Philly market. In breaking down that almost-historic Eagles-Patriots game from November, you can see the kind of tune-in, tune-out, and in-game ratings that are just not possible with a diary.
While not in Pierre’s presentation, a look at the recently released December ’07 numbers in Philly shows gigantic gains for Christmas music on B101. While I hear a few “Duh’s” with that news – B101 is a great station, they market their holiday music, etc. – the takeaway about this data is that PPM truly measures programming reality. If it’s good radio, if it’s a franchise, if it truly captures the interest of a market, it will show up big-time in PPM.
Are there problems with PPM that Arbitron will have to iron out? Most definitely. Much of the Arbitron call was devoted to sampling efforts and issues, especially with younger cells. There are ongoing challenges regarding reaching “Cell Phone Onlies.” And the question mark, of course, is how to translate those monster cumes in PPM into a highly saleable benefit in the advertising world. 2007 was a transitional, roller coaster year for Arbitron and PPM, fireworks and all.
But in 2008, I think we’re going to see a real adjustment in thinking about PPM, and the far-reaching ways in which it will rock our world. Programmers have waited their entire careers for a ratings system that could measure their talents. That time is getting close.
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