What do you do when you have a problem that's difficult and expensive to solve – even though all logic dictates that you must deal with it?
Simple – you turn lemons into lemonade.
That's what Arbitron has done with the cell-phone only issue. From a problem with no solution five years ago to a marketing opportunity today, Arbitron and Nielsen are aggressively promoting their respective footholds into measuring respondents who have been off the grid for several years.
We're proud that Jacobs Media and our client stations put this issue on the map for the radio industry. Back in '05, our first Technology Poll identified the problem, particularly as it pertained to young listeners of alternative stations.
With the help of Steve Goldstein and the Arbitron Advisory Council, we started asking the obvious questions:
Aren't these listeners important to radio ratings surveys?
Isn't it important that every listener – especially those who are members of growing population groups – has a chance to participate in the ratings process?
At a time when radio is already behind the 8-ball when it comes to attracting young listeners, doesn't the cell phone only problem only exacerbate the problem of measuring 18-34 listening?
Today, the inclusion of cell phone onlies isn't just a smart idea – it's essential to keeping up with the sweeping technological change impacting our society, and recognizing that growing segments of the population are altering the ways in which they communicate with others.
As we saw in the Bedroom Project back in '07, young consumers are increasingly shying away from landlines. And as the economy has tanked, more and more adults are questioning why they need both a cell phone and a landline.
In order to accurately reflect what consumers are thinking and doing, research companies need to get with the program, recognize change, and adapt to it.
And in Arbitron and Nielsen's cases, it has actually become a strategic marketing tool.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Arbitron has a monopoly on the radio ratings biz. The absence of competition creates high prices, inferior products and little motivation to implement the wisdom of the “Arbitron Advisory Council”.
Mario Puzo wrote in “The Godfather”-
“Like many businessmen of genius he learned that free competition was wasteful, monopoly efficient. And so he simply set about achieving that efficient monopoly.”
Frustrating, huh?
Tommy Griffiths
Available to host a Morning Radio Show
757 404 0833