Arbitron puts more ‘Feet on the Street’ to boost PPM survey compliance.

Arbitron is expanding its in-person PPM training program designed to reach out to young African-American and Hispanic respondents in Arbitron PPM panels. Dubbed ‘Feet on the Street’, the program is scheduled to have bilingual Arbitron representatives knocking on the doors of newly-recruited Hispanics and African Americans age 18-34 in the top ten Portable People Meter markets by the end of April 2009. The program’s goal: show young, ethnic respondents how easy and rewarding it can be to carry their Arbitron PPM device from ‘rise to retire’ every day.

“Your mother would want you to marry one of our ‘feet on the street’ trainers,” said Nancy Weissman, director, PPM Panel Relations, Arbitron Inc. “We’ve recruited the most charming, engaging and persuasive bilinguals to help young African-American and Hispanic respondents do a better job of carrying their meters on a daily basis.”

‘Feet on the Street’ is designed to reach out to African-American and Hispanic respondents, age 18-34, who have not developed good carry habits within the first eight days of their time on a PPM panel. If the in-tab rate during those first eight days is below a pre-set threshold, a ‘Feet on the Street’ representative will attempt to schedule the in-person visit for a time that is within the first 28 days of the respondent’s tenure in the panel.

The targeted panelist will be offered a gift card for agreeing to and keeping the appointment. The respondent is also offered a bonus for improved performance over the next four weeks after the visit. The Arbitron representative can also provide a travel recharger, carry accessories or even decorative ‘skins’ for the PPM itself. The trainer can also highlight the ‘My Meter and Me’ website that allows respondents to track their compliance hours and their bonus points every day.

“Our pilot tests in New York and Philadelphia showed a double-digit gain for in-tab rates among the young African-Americans and Hispanics that we visited for this extra training,” said Bob Patchen, Chief Research Officer, Arbitron Inc. “The improved in-tab rates also resulted in a large decrease in the turnover rate due to poor compliance. We expect the net effect to be improved representation of ethnic young adults in our PPM panels.”