Arbitron to Host Live Interactive Webcast on “Urban Radio in the PPM World”

More Than 30 national and local ad agencies signed up to participate in seminar on the Portable People Meter advantages for Urban Radio

National and local ad agencies alike will participate in the “Urban Radio in the PPM World” webcast this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. EST hosted by Arbitron Director of Urban Media Services Julian Davis.



Urban radio has an unmatched ability to reach and motivate African American consumers on behalf of advertisers and marketers, according to a presentation by ROI Media Solutions first given at Interep’s 9th Annual “Power of Urban Radio” symposium in late 2007. During the live interactive webcast, Arbitron will review the insights into how people listen to Urban radio as revealed by the Portable People MeterTM system.



“We are continuing our efforts to help the industry make a successful and informed transition to electronic measurement,” said Julian Davis, director of urban media services, Arbitron. “This includes providing agencies and advertisers with useful information that can help them make decisions in their radio planning and buying strategies in the Portable People Meter world and training radio broadcasters to effectively use new Portable People Meter audience insights to make their stations more attractive to advertisers.”



Based on the findings in the presentation, agencies will learn that radio continues to be the most influential medium among African-American consumers – reaching 97 percent of all Black persons age 12 and older each week. Black audiences continue to be extremely loyal to Urban radio. A full 75 percent of all African-American listeners age 12 and older spend most of their listening time with Urban radio, their number one format preference.



“At Arbitron, we are working with Urban broadcasters and advertising agencies to help with the transition to the Portable People Meter and to highlight the importance of Urban radio and its connection to its audience,” continued Mr. Davis.



In this live webcast session, Mr. Davis will review how Portable People Meter panel measurement differs from diary measurement and take a look at some results from this new measurement system. The webcast will also cover a number of other topics including:



* The difference between Portable People Meter and Diary methodology
* Key points to consider when using Portable People Meter data to buy Urban radio
* Myth vs. Reality—misperceptions about Black Consumers and their listening habits
* The importance of using qualitative data to distinguish the additional value of Urban radio

“Urban Radio in the PPM World” is designed to be an “open source” presentation that Urban broadcasters can use to sell the value of their radio stations to advertisers and marketers. Radio station sales and marketing executives will be able to incorporate their own “real world” Portable People Meter ratings experience into the presentation’s current modules. As new insights into marketing effectiveness of Urban radio are developed in future Portable People Meter markets, the goal is to incorporate the findings into the source presentation.

Advertising Agencies interested in participating in the February 20th webinar can sign up at: http://arbitron.colearn.com/Marcomm/MRC_WXCourseSelection.asp

1. Select the “Radio” or “Agency/Advertiser” option.

2. Click on the link for the February 20 “Urban Radio in the PPM World” session.

3. Complete the form and click the “Submit Registration” button.

“Urban Radio in the PPM World” is an ongoing series created to educate and continue the dialogue on best practices in the Portable People Meter world. The next Urban Radio webcast will be March 19th at 1:30 PM.