Survey Process

Radio stations, advertisers and agencies across the U.S. have relied on Arbitron's market research to evaluate America's radio listening patterns for nearly 50 years. This research, gathered through the Arbitron radio listening diary, forms the basis of the audience estimates published in Arbitron Radio Market Reports (RMR).

Although amendments have been made to the Arbitron paper diary over the years, it continues to be the most reliable means of collecting information for both radio stations, who need to make programming decisions, and advertisers and agencies, who need to figure out where to "buy".

The diarykeeper is an essential part of the Arbitron process in supporting radio advertising. Diarykeepers account for all radio listening estimates. Arbitron's centralized Interviewing Center places over five million calls every year to potential diarykeepers for participation in the Arbitron survey. On the average, nearly 75 percent of those asked consent to filling out a radio diary. This is known as the Arbitron Consent Rate.

Potential diarykeepers are first contacted by telephone and then sent the survey via mail. The Arbitron Company mails 2.6 million diaries to survey participants each year.

The "Radio Diary Package" consists of the following key items:

• Seven-day radio listening diary, designed to be personally maintained by each member of the household (up to a maximum of nine persons per household) over the age of 12
• Easy-to-follow diary instructions
• Thank-you letter for participation
• Cash premium for each participant

Each diary is stamped and preaddressed for quick, effortless return to Arbitron.

The diary's seven-day format allows diarykeepers to record the essential details of each radio listening occasion. In the diary, they are asked to record:

• start and stop times
• station identifiers
• AM/FM indicators
• listening locations (home, work, car, etc.)
• whether or not they listened at all to radio that particular day

In the back of the diary, respondents are asked to provide their age, sex, employment status, city, county and zip code. In Arbitron's Qualitative Diary markets — markets where Arbitron gathers information that describes consumers' demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, as well as purchase intentions — 21 qualitative questions are also included at the back of the diary in order to determine the above-mentioned descriptors.

At the back of the diary, space is also provided for diarykeepers to write in comments about specific stations, announcers or programs. Completion and timely return of each diary are necessary for reliable measurement in each market.

Diarykeepers who have questions regarding the survey process should call (800) 638-7091. Diarykeepers may also want to review some of the "Frequently Asked Questions" we have outlined.