Arbitron raises the ante for Response Rates & Proportionality.

Arbitron Inc. presented a comprehensive set of initiatives to bolster response rates and improve sample proportionality for young men in the company’s diary-based markets.

The Response Rate and Proportionality Action Plan includes substantial increases in cash incentives and other survey treatments to encourage overall cooperation in Arbitron surveys and improve sample representation among the difficult to survey young male population.

Steps to bolster response rates

– Use of pre-placement letters with a one dollar cash incentive to ALL mailable sample by the end of 2006. Arbitron presently uses this treatment with 48% of households.

– Double the minimum diary incentive from $1 to $2 in ALL markets by end of 2007. This will affect the nearly two thirds of households which currently receive the $1 minimum incentive.

Steps to improve young male representation

– $5 cash incentive for each person in homes with one or two males age 18 to 24. This survey treatment will begin in spring 2006 in ALL markets.

– “$5 thank you” for agreeing to participate expanding from 58 markets to ALL markets by the end of 2006.

– Sampling of homes that can be reached only by cell phone starting in 2008.

“This plan is Arbitron’s most extensive investment in diary survey quality in the past decade. It demonstrates Arbitron’s full commitment to better measurement in diary markets, not just PPM,” said Owen Charlebois, president, Operations, Technology, Research and Development, Arbitron Inc. “These are a major steps forward while we work toward more long lasting solutions.”

To view presentation CLICK below (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):

http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/Response_Rate_pres.pdf