Also present at Arbitron's first Advertiser/Agency Advisory Council (11/14/05 RBR #222) was Shannon Pedersen, Manager-Media Buying for Wendy's International. RBR/TVBR asked for her take on the meeting and what Wendy's needs are. She was surprised at some of the fears admitted from broadcast execs as well.

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Shannon shares her view on the meeting

I thought the meeting went rather well. Two things I was surprised by. First, radio execs' fears that advertisers will pull dollars off their stations or off the medium altogether if the ratings decrease. To your point (RBR) and Gary Fries' (RAB Pres/CEO) point, we've been dealing with changes in TV measurement for years. TRP's went down, some came back up, and we adjusted then and we will keep adjusting in the future. We didn't leave the medium because the ratings were lower, rather we knew they were inflated to begin with. Same with radio. The truth is that every medium has its advantages and disadvantages, and that's what we look at when deciding what media to use for a certain product. Do costs matter? Of course, but if we feel the media will reach our consumer, and we can track it, we'll consider it.

I was also surprised that a couple of the radio broadcast execs thought diaries were an accurate measurement. Honestly, how many people in today's world could accurately fill out a diary? What about the younger generation that some stations live off of? Moving to PPM is a step even above Nielsen's LPM, as it is completely mobile and passive.

Aside from those two things, it was great that Arbitron brought us together to lay out issues and talk them through as a group. Too many times, this industry talks through trades and press releases. I hope they continue to do meetings like this.

What does Wendy's need?

As you have already mentioned, we need to see value of radio by itself or in conjunction with other media. We also need accountability. PPM has already shown us ways to improve our media buys, including how and when to use radio better. For example, PPM research came out that the same people who watch a reality show on TV the night before, are highly likely to listen to AM Drive to hear the deejays talk about it the next day. With information like that, think of all the new ways radio sales people could sell me their product! (I should be careful what I wish for...lol)

RBR observation:
Amazing when you hear the same wants and needs for radio from client after client, media agency after media agency. Since PPM is integral to the process of improving accountability, it makes perfect sense for these three-sided meetings to be held with Arbitron. We sense a bit of compromise and flexibility is needed as well. For instance, PPM costs more. Will agencies and advertisers see that radio's rates may increase slightly to pay for transitioning to PPM? They should, if the numbers are more reliable and accurate. See again what Sue Johenning, EVP/director of Local Broadcast, Initiative Media said in the previous story.