(By Steve Allan) By now, you’ve gotten (and likely ignored) your pre-survey bulletin from Nielsen. This contains information about the Fall book for diary markets and the October survey in PPM world. I suggest you go back and read the bulletin for a few reasons.
First, October/Fall is when Nielsen updates the population estimates in your market. Generally speaking, the percentages in each demographic cell do not change dramatically, but they do change. Is your market getting older or younger? How has the ethnic composition changed? We’ve seen, for example, the rising percentage of the Hispanic population in many markets. These changes can also affect your survey sample – the number of diaries/meters in your sample is based on these estimates.
Second, Nielsen may be adding or eliminating high-density ethnic areas in your market. This could mean that certain sampling units in your market may have new HDBA or HDHA splits. While this may not affect how you program your station, it is helpful to know how these geographies have changed.
Remember, Nielsen does not search for sample by ZIP Code. They base it on sampling units, which are basically by county.
There are other nuggets that Nielsen shares in these bulletins. Most of them are about how the sausage is being made and appeal to ratings geeks like us. That said, knowing the rules of the game can help you understand how to play it more effectively.
I don’t need to remind you that one of your biggest budget lines is devoted to Nielsen. As we frequently tell our clients – you do not pay Nielsen for ratings. You pay them for sample. You want to be sure that you are getting your money’s worth. For both geography and demography, you want to see credible sample indexes. Anything between 90 and 110 is optimal, while the 80-120 range is acceptable. Anything above or below those indexes could have a dramatic effect on your ratings.
Too low an index makes it difficult to find your heavy listeners, though any Nielsen does capture will be weighted up. Conversely, over-sampling betters the odds of finding a P1, though they will be weighted down.
To put this in baseball terms – knowing the strike zone will make you a better hitter. Let us know if we can help you parse all this geek speak.
This essay is part of a series titled “The Power of Radio.” To view past articles, visit The Ratings Experts at Research Director, Inc. online here.
Steve Allan is the Programming Research Consultant at Research Director, Inc. He can be reached at 410-295-6619 x25 or by e-mail. Research Director, Inc. offers consulting services to media companies to help them grow their audience, ratings, and revenue. Read Research Director, Inc.’s Radio Ink archives here.
