Variety (May 1946)

36 Wednesday, May 8, 1946 NIELSEN OFFERS RADIO RESEARCH SERVICE TO Surpass 'IDEAL' SPECIFIED BY CAB COMMITTEE NIELSEN RADIO INDEX SERVICE, Third to Enter the Field, Has Already Become by Far the WORLD'S LARGEST RADIO RESEARCH OPERATION 3 The report of the impartial three-man Committee appointed by CAB does two things of major im- portance to all radio advertisers, agencies and broadcasters, vii: A. It sets up specifications for the "Ideal Program Rating Service." B. It states: "In our opinion, the present CAB ratings service fails so far short of meeting these specifications that'we .feel its continuance would serve no useful purpose." Irrespective of whether CAB eventually follows the advice of its Committee, and retires from the business of furnishing radio program ratings, the really vital question is: "How can'the radio Indus- try acquire the 'ideal' service specified by the Committee?" The Committee report makes it crystal clear that the coincidental telephone technique can never meet the specifications because, to quote the re- port, "No matter how refined the techniquts em- ployed, the coincidental telephone survey shares the basic fault of the ill-fated Literary Digest poll" being restricted to URBAN-TELEPHONE homes (less than 25% of total homes and definitely NOT representative of ALL radio homes), this technique can never provide a reliable measure of each pro- gram's audience. Errors range from plus 62% to minus 48%!* This and 27 OTHER SERIOUS LIMITATIONS of the coincidental phone technique* were recognized long ago by A. C. Nielsen Company, and in the GREATEST EFFORT EVER EXERTED TO DEVELOP A MARKETING RESEARCH TOOL for the use of an industry, we have expended 10 years and over two million dollars (in statistical and technical re- search, production of electronic recording de- vices, and pilot operation of radio research techniques, etc.). NRI NOW READY FOR FINAL STEP We are now rapidly approaching the ultimate goals we set for ourselves some years ago—goals surpassing even the specifications of the three-man • Committee, and we are now prepared (assuming a moderate degree of industry cooperation) to accelerate our normal development program and move forward, without delay, to production of a radio research service that will not only MEET the specifications of the three-man Committee, but GO FAR BEYOND THEM. On the opposite page, you will see EXACTLY how we propose to achieve these objectives. WHY NRI ALONE CAN ACHIEVE THE IDEAL IN RADIO RESEARCH The ability of NIELSEN RADIO INDEX, alone among radio research services, to overcome the many limitations of the coincidental phone tech- nique, to meet the CAB Committee's specifications for the "ideal" service and to far SURPASS these specifications results from: A. Mechanical accuracy of basic data from each home—via Audimeter records. (Errors created by the triple ambiguity of the coincidental ques- tion, busy signals, errors in program identifica- tion, etc., are completely eliminated.)* B. Coverage of radio usage of ENTIRE FAMILY, and inclusion of SECONDARY SETS. (The coin- cidental technique secures an unknown mixture in respect to these vital factors.)* C. Measurement of EVERY INDIVIDUAL MINUTE of radio usage in each NRI home. (The coin- cidental technique measures only ONE MINUTE of each program's listening in each home.)* D. Adequate "per minute" sample, i.e., FULL SAMPLE every minute.. (The coincidental tech- nique cannot provide an adequate measure of the audience at any given minute during a broad- cast.)* E. Inclusion, in sample, of homes of all significant types—telephone and non-telephone, urban, rural and farm, etc. Hence, a projectable rating for each program. (The coincidental technique can NEVER do this.)* F. Use of a FIXED SAMPLE, accurately STRATI- FIED. (The coincidental sample MUST be changed every day—thus impairing the accuracy of trends. And stratification is impossible.) G. Regular personal calls on each NRI home. H. Actual physical inventory (quantitative) of network radio-advertised products found In homes. I. Availability of NIELSEN FOOD-DRUG INDEX DATA—for computation of SALES PER RADIO DOLLAR. COSTS OF NRI SERVICE In considering the cost of NIE1SEN RADIO INDEX service, it is important to note that NIELSEN RADIO INDEX IS NOT A MERE "PROGRAM RAT- INGS" SERVICE, BUT A VERY COMPREHENSIVE MARKETING RESEARCH SERVICE EMBRACING THE MAJOR MARKETING. TIME BUYING AND PROGRAMMING PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN THI BROADCASTING AND SPONSORING OF RADIO PROGRAMS. Recognition of this important fact would go a long way toward eliminating the confusion which has resulted from various attempts to "compare" NIELSEN RADIO INDEX service with other services which, entirely aside from their proved inaccura- cies, merely SCRATCH THE SURFACE in res.pect to the TYPES OF USEFUL INFORMATION FUR- NISHED AND THE FUNCTIONS PERFORMED. While NRI service cannot and should not be ex- pected to produce its COMPREHENSIVE MARKET- ING RESEARCH SERVICE at price levels estab- lished for mere "program ratings" services, NIELSEN RADIO INDEX can unquestionably render, to the entire radio industry, a service of superb quality and usefulness at a total cost in the neigh- borhood of ONLY ONE PERCENT of the total ex- penditures for network time and talent. In any business operation where the decisions are so difficult and where the results of each decision yield so much in either profit or loss, it is obvious that sound, comprehensive research at a cost of only one percent offers opportunities for substan- tial profit. NRI ALSO FITS THE SMALL USERS And the SMALL advertiser or agency (including those not currently engaged in radio operations) need have no fears about the cost of NIELSEN RADIO INDEX, because this service is sufficiently flexible to care for their'needs at nominal expense. If CAB retires from the ratings business, leaving many subscribers of this type, we will promptly offer an equitable plan for supplying them with highly accurate and dependable ratings for all sponsored network programs. Our new 36-page brochure, "HOW YOU CAN GET THE IDEAL RADIO RESEARCH SERVICE." will be mailed to the entire radio industry this week. It will pay you to make no decisions regarding your radio research needs until you have seen this Important publication. Please watch for your copy. *For Details, Ask For Our New 64-Page, Illustrated Booklet, "NEW FACTS ABOUT RADIO RESEARCH"