Arbitron Advertiser/Agency Advisory Council Sets Direction for the Industry’s Transition to Electronic Measurement
Forum opens dialogue with broadcast groups on doing business in a Portable People Meter (PPM) environment
WASHINGTON D.C., November 15, 2005 – Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) announced the successful completion of the inaugural meeting of its Advertiser/Agency Advisory Council.
Established by Arbitron in August 2005 as standing forum for collaboration with advertisers and their agencies, the first meeting of the Council took place in Washington D.C, on November 9 and 10, 2005.
“The one message that we all wanted to send Arbitron is this: bring electronic measurement to radio and do so more quickly and more broadly than you are proposing,” said Kathy Crawford, president, Local Broadcast, Mindshare. “Advertisers are demanding greater accountability from all the ad-supported media. ”
For the second day of the council, Arbitron invited nearly a dozen key executives from Clear Channel Radio, Infinity Broadcasting, ABC Radio, Bonneville Radio, Emmis Communications, Interep, Katz Media Group, Greater Media, Entercom as well as other leading radio companies and the Radio Advertising Bureau to take part in an open exchange on the common issues surrounding the adoption of electronic audience measurement for radio.
“We are ready to work with radio broadcasters on the transition to PPM electronic measurement,” said Sue Johenning, executive vice president, director of Local Broadcast, Initiative. “We have a wealth of experience based on the television measurement transitions in national and local markets that we’ve all successfully managed. When you go from diaries to meters, lower ratings do not necessarily mean fewer ad dollars. Advertisers are willing to make the necessary adjustments in their ratings goals and their ad budgets when audience ratings are based on improved methodologies.”
“We established this council as an important source of input to help us shape our services,” said Owen Charlebois, president, U.S. Media Services. “As we work to deploy the Portable People Meter to meet the evolving needs of the media and marketing industry, we will use this forum as a resource for making a smooth transition to electronic measurement for buyers and sellers.”
The next meeting of the Advertiser/Agency Advisory Council is planned for early 2006.
The agency and advertising executives who attended inaugural meeting of the council included:
| Kathy Crawford | President of Local Broadcast | Mindshare |
| Phyllis Maguire | EVP, Managing Director - Local Broadcast | MPG |
| Sue Johenning | EVP Director of Local Broadcast | Initiative |
| Sam Sotiriou | Senior Vice President | Zenith Media Services, Inc. |
| Larry Goldstein | SVP Group Director, Research and Development | PHD, USA |
| Mary Barnas | Director of Spot Radio & Spot TV | Carat North America |
| Shannon Pedersen | Manager, Media Buying | Wendy's International |
| Ken Martin | VP, Group Media director, Dodge DAA Planning | PHD Los Angeles |
| John Maher | SVP, Director of Planning | US International Media |
| Joe Caponigro | SVP/Executive Media Director | WestWayne Inc. |
| Larry Kelley | EVP, Dir. Media/Research | Fogarty Klein & Monroe |
| Jim Elms | Senior VP Media Director | Barkley Evergreen & Partners |
| Michael Trujillo | VP, Media Planning Director | Casanova Pendrill Publicidad |
| Vicky Champlin | Director of Media Planning | Busch Media Group |
| Bill Imada | Chairman/CEO | IW Group, Inc. |
Additional members of the Advertiser/Agency Advisory Council include:
| Brad Adgate | Research Director | Horizon Media |
| Megan Bearden | Manager Media Information, Integrated Communications | Coca-Cola North America |
| Linda Jefferson | Senior VP Media Director | Burrell Advertising |
| Mark Kaline | Global Media Manager | Ford Motor Company |
| Jean Pool | SVP, Operations Director | Universal McCann |
| Kate Sirken | EVP Global Research Director | Starcom Worldwide |
About Arbitron
Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) 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. 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.
The Company has also developed the Portable People Meter (PPM), a new technology
for media and marketing research.
Arbitron’s marketing and business units are supported by its research and technology organization, located in Columbia, Maryland. Arbitron has approximately 1,700 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, magazine, newspaper and online industries.
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PPMSM is a service mark of Arbitron Inc.
