I just spent the last 2 weeks in Mexico to get married to an absolutely wonderful and magnificent woman. During those 2 weeks I enjoyed time with my friends and family, did not work and had time to think and ponder the news of the day, both general and radio/media/tech industry-specific.
A strong part of our relationship is the fact that we constantly challenge each other, making sure that we are always moving forward in our personal and professional lives. I am sure many relationships are the same.
It is with that constant search for growth and improvement in my mind that I gasped out loud at the announcement that Nielsen would be launching a once/year diary service for radio. Now Nielsen is a pioneer in the world of audience measurement to be sure, but this service, in my opinion, is exactly the OPPOSITE of what the radio industry needs for 2 main reasons:
1. Lack of Timeliness - At Mediaguide we believe in immediate information for advertisers and have learned that the demand for fast information turnaround has increased, not decreased. To serve both the brand and direct response advertisers well in this competitive advertising environment, we must all provide as close to real-time analytics as possible to give an accurate view of the world and, more importantly, an accurate measurement of the ROI.
2. Lack of Interactive Relevance - A snapshot of audience once per year, or even once per quarter for that matter, does not give the brand or content owner any insight into how their message moved the listener and consumer to action. The primary objective of business intelligence in this new era of fragmented media must be the actions of the consumers. To be blunt, there is limited value to the advertiser in knowing how many people MAY be listening; but there is tremendous value in knowing and measuring who RESPONDED.
The combination of traditional media to inform and digital/mobile applications to respond and measure should be the focus of all of us that touch the radio industry. While Nielsen is a tremendous company I agree with Mark Ramsey and fail to see how this service moves the industry forward.
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