The Portable Passive Meter

Kathy Gardner and Rob Dilworth

TVB Research Committee

January 28, 2010

PPM is here

• On August 31, BBM Canada launched a new ratings currency in three English meter markets supported with national audiences.

• PPM (portable people meter) replaced the Mark II (in home set top meters) in English Canada.

The PPM System

Encoder at station

PersonalRecharger

Data Collection(Modem) Unit

Portable Meter

Why the switch to PPM?

• Constant quest for the most accurate and reliable audience measurement

• Need to measure today’s viewers

• Proven, tested methodology and technology

Why is PPM better?

• More accuracy with younger demos

• Capture out-of-home viewing

• More homes with new entertainment technologies are monitored

• Measurement costs come down

• Product usage data

• Future applications of this technology

Accuracy with younger demos

• Greater compliance

• Less connection with diaries

• PPM technology is passive measurement….just wear it where ever you go.

Hours per Week by demo

BBM Fall 2009 weeks 3-15 all 2+

Change % in Viewing by Demo

BBM Fall 2009 weeks 3-15 , Hours pe Capita English Canada

Out-of-home Viewing

• Old technology was tied to the set in your home

• PPM measures all viewing– at home

– vacation homes

– hotel rooms

– at the office

– bars and restaurants (with the sound on)

– improved measurement of guests

PPM and Mark 2: Same?

Adults 18-54 Mon-Fri, BBM Fall 2009 weeks 3-15 , English Canada

PPM and Mark 2: Different when we add Out-of-Home

Adults 18-54 Mon-Fri, BBM Fall 2009 weeks 3-15 , English Canada

Comparison to Fall 2008Total Canada/All Persons 2+

99%

1%

In-home

Guests

Fall 2008

86%

14%

In-home

Out-of-home

Fall 2009

Newspaper Headlines proudly proclaim The Death of TV

“…television remains a universal medium but almost no-one is watching the ads…”

-Toronto Star yesterday

reporting on the

Bensimon Byrne /Gandalf Research

The ARF speaks out

The Advertising Research Foundation commissioned a meta analysis of hundreds of research studies to determine if ad skipping and clutter were rendering TV less effective than in the past.

Their conclusion was that TV advertising is as effective as it ever was, and in many casesTV is becoming more effective.

There are no easy answers

• Media research is more complicated than asking questions in surveys

• “If the people who claim to spend their evening reading were telling the truth, then book sales would be soaring and public libraries would be packed.” (John Doyle, Globe and Mail)

..and no cheap answers

•The Center for Research Excellence spent 3 million dollars to get a thorough understanding of how consumers are using media.

•One of their conclusions: respondents are not able to correctly recall time spent, multi-tasking and ad skipping.

The PPM explodes some Myths

The PPM is all about measuring real people, watching real television, in real time.

It is not about recall.

New home entertainment technology

• PPM audience technology is less intrusive

• BBM is allowed into more homes with HD, Plasma, Wall Mounted, PVR’d sets

The OLD

The NEW

BBM Panel CompositionFall 2008 versus Fall 2009

National Households

12.7

10.0

21.920.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

HDTV Service PVR

% C

om

po

siti

on

Sept'08

Sept'09

+72% +103%

Playback ComparisonFall 2008 versus Fall 2009/2a-2a

Total Canada/Total TV

1.8%

2.4% 2.3%

3.3%

4.0% 4.2%

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

3.5%

4.0%

4.5%

Ind.2+ A18-49 A25-54

% P

layb

ack

Fall 2008

Fall 2009

+84% +64% +79%

Lower Costs

• The previous meter technology required a team visit the home to install the hardware system

• With the new system, the hardware is shipped to the home with easy to follow instructions

• Radio now uses PPMs in several major markets, further amortizing the cost

• The resulting savings enabled BBM to increase the TV sample without increasing the cost of measurement

Source:

People in the TV PanelTotal TV Panel

6378

8248

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

Fall 2008 Fall 2009

People

+1870

PPM Product Usage QuestionsAudience Index – One Station in Toronto MF 7p-8p

Restaurant Client? PPM has Answers

Audience Index – One Station in Toronto MF 7p-8p

Future Applications

• Online streaming can be encoded now, all forms of video content (VOD, online, mobile) could be encoded

• Replace Diary Sweeps with a PPM Sweep Panel

• Advertisers could measure the aggregate multimedia reach/frequency of all their video and Radio campaigns

• Commercials could carry unique codes

• An advertiser could build a PPM panel of their customers, or they could broadcast encoded music

• We could fuse a giant product usage study to the meter sample

Television

• The best measured medium in Canada

• 29 million Canadians turn to television each and every evening

• Reports of the demise of TV abound – let common sense prevail

• Video advertising – online and over-the-air – can be very moving

• Content – program and commercial – that engages, creates emotion, visually captures our attention, is really why we love television…

Canada for Haiti

$40 Million