NEW YORK: A new national/regional radio ratings software launched in the US allows advertising agencies to mix and match any markets and counties while making radio advertising buys.
Starcom US, a full-service media communications agency within the Starcom MediaVest Group, has decided to opt for new tools and techniques launched by Arbitron Inc.
In a press release, Arbitron Inc has announced that Starcom has selected Media Professional PlusSM software and the accompanying Arbitron national/regional database service as new information tools for buying radio advertising time on local radio stations across the States.
Arbitron Inc. is an international media and marketing research firm serving radio broadcasters, cable companies, advertisers, advertising agencies and outdoor advertising companies in the United States, Mexico and Europe. Starcom MediaVest Group, a division of Publicis Groupe, is ranked the largest media consultancy in the world according to leading industry research institute RECMA.
The release adds that Media Professional Plus gives Starcom access to radio audience estimates for more than 12,000 local radio stations in all radio market survey areas and counties measured by Arbitron. Using the tool, Starcom can combine markets and counties without regard to existing Metro, Total Survey Area (TSA) or DMA® local market boundaries.
The release also adds that this capability allows Starcom to evaluate radio audiences based on the trading areas specific to its advertiser clients. Starcom can create custom ratings geographies from among the 3,500 counties in the United States that more precisely match the geographic areas in which its advertisers do business.
“Starcom has a diverse roster of clients, ranging from packaged goods to insurance to toys, who spend a significant amount in spot radio per year. It is important to be able to pinpoint the specific target markets that best cater to our clients’ needs,” said Kevin Gallagher, senior vice president, director, Local Broadcast Investment Group at Starcom. “Media Professional Plus gives us the freedom to be creative in our searches and provide our clients with reliable data.”
“By matching audience information to the needs of national and regional advertisers, Media Professional Plus gives our subscribers, such as Starcom, the ability to be more efficient, effective and accountable when buying radio advertising time,” said Carol Hanley, senior vice president, Advertiser/Agency Services, Arbitron Inc. “We believe our national and regional database services also open up new avenues for broadcasters to present information that will help agencies with their media buying decisions.”
In addition to custom geographic analysis, Media Professional Plus also generates audience estimates for custom demographics as well as for socio-economic categories such as age, income, education and the presence of children.
Arbitron Inc claims that Media Professional Plus is an extension of the Media ProfessionalSM service and is based on respondent-level radio diary data. It is available to full-service and regional Media Professional respondent-level radio data subscribers. Media Professional Plus data, released twice a year for the Spring and Fall surveys, includes more than 12,000 stations and are based on more than 400,000 diaries per survey.
Arbitron’s core businesses are measuring network and local market radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product patterns of local market consumers; and providing application software used for analyzing media audience and marketing information data. Arbitron Internet Broadcast Services measures the audiences of audio and video content on the Internet, commonly known as webcasts. The Company is developing the Portable People Meter, a new technology for radio, television and cable ratings.
Arbitronalso claims that its marketing and business units are supported by a world-renowned research and technology organisation located in Columbia, Maryland. Arbitron has approximately 825 full-time employees; its executive offices are located in New York City.
Through its Scarborough Research joint venture with VNU, Inc., Arbitron also provides media and marketing research services to the broadcast television, cable, magazine, newspaper, outdoor and online industries.
