Winning the MRC double-checks

There has been a lot of attention paid to the Media Rating Council (MRC) lately, particularly its on going accreditation process for Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM), after first denying accreditation in Philadelphia and New York, leaving Houston as still the only market where PPM is accredited.

Arbitron, of course, is well acquainted with the MRC accreditation process, since it has many services which do get to display the MRC double-check logo. But Media Monitors recently went through the rigorous process for the first time – and won MRC accreditation for its Radio Spot Service. So, we were interested in finding out just how tough that was – and whether it was worthwhile.

“The MRC process took Media Monitors about two years to accomplish,” said Joe McCallion, Exec. Vice President of Media Monitors. “Quite honestly, many companies that apply for this accreditation do not pass the first time. It is an arduous process and you have to be committed, both personnel wise and time wise to the process. Media Monitors is thus extremely proud, for not only passing the test, but becoming the first and only radio spot data company to achieve this feat,” he noted.

RBR/TVBR asked about the cost. “Yes, it's expensive and the process is ongoing to maintain the accreditation, but Media Monitors feels that the accreditation will pay off with more clients, etc. Media Monitors has over 10,000 current users and it is our desire to double that number,” McCallion said.

In his view, successfully completing the arduous process is worthwhile. “The MRC accreditation is extremely important for Media Monitors’ business. The process is designed to inform clients that Media Monitors has the methodology, thus the product that meets or exceeds what the media industry expects from their research companies.

So it is important to all Media Monitors clients that purchase our radio spot data and, for that matter, resellers of our data. These clients include radio stations and companies, TV and cable stations and companies and advertisers and agencies, as well as companies from the financial sector,” McCallion explained.

“Media Monitors associates the MRC as the stamp of approval to do business within the media industry and if you do not have that approval, it will obviously be harder to compete,” said McCallion. “This accreditation basically informs the media industry that you can have confidence in Media Monitors radio spot data!”

The company has other products as well, so we wondered whether Media Monitors would be going back to the MRC to seek more accreditations. “Let us enjoy this one, seep in the experience and then move onto accreditation for our other services,” McCallion replied. Have an opinion on this article? Post your comment below.

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