Download the Portland, OR October 2009 station rankings

October marked Portland’s first month under the new PPM (Portable People Meter) radio ratings system. PPM participants wear an electronic meter daily for eight months to two years (vs. a one week survey period for the former Diary system) and listening is recorded automatically from an encoded digital signal in radio broadcasts. This eliminates human error inherent in the old diary system that required participants to recall what they listened to that day and then record it later. PPM also picks up stations overheard by participants in public places such as stores, offices, taxis, etc. The ratings data is now released monthly vs. quarterly allowing advertisers much more recent, reliable data when placing buys.

PPM replaced the Diary measurement, wherein selected listeners would hand write what stations they listened to in a journal, and mail it to back to Arbitron. Arbitron then released the ratings in quarterly “books.” This slow, inefficient system left advertisers to place new radio buys based off months old ratings data that was entirely dependent on participants recording their listening habits accurately. This underscored the importance of advertisers having a strong knowledge of the market, the stations, their formats and target audience as media buying is both an art and a science.

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The amount of TV commercial time has been on a steady upward tick since the advent of the medium, so if you feel you’re watching more ads than ever before, you’re right! The average amount of commercial time per hour in 1952 was 13%. As of last year, it was up to 32%. Now when you sit down to watch your favorite hour-long drama you could be taking in 19 minutes worth of ads along with your 41 minutes of programming. Nothing quite hampers the action of Jack Bauer pursuing a terrorist or the Oceanic 815 survivors running for their lives like a four to five minute block of ads.
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Like so many, you may be wondering how to best utilize the internet for an effective interactive media campaign. You’ve probably heard that newspaper circulations are on the decline, while DVR (Digital Video Recorder) usage continues to rise, further reducing the time spent viewing TV commercials. Radio is now more compressed than ever, and switching to a new measuring system like PPM (Portable People Meters) in local markets will have a significant impact on how audiences are measured. The evolution of social media and newer technologies like smartphones continues at a breakneck pace, rapidly altering media consumption habits.

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