Arbitron Spring 2003 Response Rates.
July 19, 2003
Arbitron Inc. released a summary of response rates, consent rates and return rates for all 287 markets measured in the Spring 2003 survey.
In the Spring 2003 survey, the average Metro survey area response rate declined 1.6 points from 35.3 percent in Spring 2002 to 33.7 percent. The return rate declined 0.4 points, from 55.8 percent in Spring 2002 to 55.4 percent in Spring 2003. The consent rate declined 2.6 points, from 62.7 percent in Spring 2002 to 60.1 percent in Spring 2003.
Response Rate initiatives show positive results in Top 10 markets
The average radio survey response rate in the Top 10 radio Metros for Spring 2003 was 29.0 percent–equal to the Spring 2002 measure for the same markets. In the Top 10 markets, Arbitron offers diarykeepers in black and Hispanic households an additional cash bonus for returning a completed diary. This technique is called “promised incentive for return.”
Response rate initiatives current underway
Arbitron is currently testing the impact of offering respondent households a monetary premium just for saying “yes” to taking part in the Arbitron radio survey. This new approach, designed to improve consent, is an adaptation of the current use of the “promised incentive” procedure as a return rate enhancer.
“Promised incentive” is just one of many initiatives that Arbitron is introducing in a multiyear program designed to enhance the quality of its radio ratings service across a number of key areas including response rates.
The program consists of targeted efforts including the opening of a new Arbitron calling center, new survey treatments, additional research tests, and an expanded research and development program—all intended to address the continuing challenge of declining response rates.
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 2003 survey began on March 27, 2003, and ended on June 18, 2003.
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