Arbitron Response Rate Spring 2005 Radio Survey.

Arbitron Inc. released a summary of response rates, consent rates and return rates for the 296 markets measured in the Spring 2005 survey.

In the overall Spring 2005 survey, the average Metro survey area response rate declined 1.4 percentage points, from 33.1 percent in Spring 2004 to 31.7 percent in Spring 2005. The return rate increased 0.3 points, from 56.4 percent in Spring 2004 to 56.7 percent in Spring 2005. The consent rate declined 2.8 points, from 58.1 percent in Spring 2004 to 55.3 percent in Spring 2005.

In the Spring 2005 survey, Arbitron added ten more markets to the response rate treatments for young male, black, and Hispanic households that were introduced Spring 2004 for low-response rate Metros. In these ten “targeted” low-response Metros surveyed in Spring 2005, the treatments increased response rates by 3.0 percentage points, from 25.9 percent in Spring 2004 to 28.9 percent in Spring 2005.

“The latest survey trend is in line with ongoing downward pressure on consumer response to all surveys,” said Bob Patchen, chief research officer, Arbitron Inc. “However, the investments Arbitron is making in targeted markets continues to have an impact. The ten targeted markets that we added to the response rate program this Spring actually saw their trend line reversed over the course of this survey.”

Additional efforts to address response rates for Fall 2005 and beyond

The “Thank You” incentive treatment, which is used in black, Hispanic, and young male (age 18-34) households in selected markets, will be expanded to nine additional markets in the Fall 2005 survey.

In Fall 2005, the ”Thank You” incentive will also be implemented in the top ten markets to include young male (18-34) households that are not black or Hispanic. (Black and Hispanic households in these markets receive a promised incentive for diary return.)

In 2006, Arbitron will continue to expand the “thank you” and pre-placement treatments to address low response rates and low proportionality indices. Ten low response markets are targeted to receive the treatment in Winter/Spring 06 and another ten in Summer/Fall. Expanded treatments to address young male proportionality in selected markets are also being planned.

These efforts build on Arbitron’s response rate initiatives announced in Spring 2003. Since that time, efforts have included:

Premium increases targeted to low response markets and young males in selected markets;

Improved sample management to optimize interviewing results;

Opening of a second Arbitron interviewing center;

Providing households a web-enrollment option.

Arbitron is also continuing its extensive program of methods research tests to devise techniques to enhance consent and return efforts in future surveys.

Definitions

Consent rate: the percentage of eligible sample who live in households that said “yes” to keeping an Arbitron diary.
Return rate: the percentage of people who were sent a diary by Arbitron who returned a usable diary.
Response rate: the percentage of the total eligible sample who returned a usable diary. This can be approximated as the product of consent rate and return rate.

The Spring 2005 survey began on March31, 2005, and ended on June 22, 2005.