Radio Industry Leaders Team to Improve Marketing Mix Models to Demonstrate the Impact of Radio Advertising on Product Sales

Radio Industry Leaders Team to Improve Marketing Mix Models to Demonstrate the Impact of Radio Advertising on Product Sales

COLUMBIA, Md., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB), and a consortium of radio industry leaders agreed to collaborate on an initiative intended to improve the analytical methods used by advertisers to evaluate the tangible impact of radio advertising on product sales. Arbitron, together with Dial-Global, Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One, plan to improve how radio is incorporated into Marketing Mix Models that are widely used by advertisers to evaluate how product sales are influenced by advertising on different combinations of media.

Arbitron, Dial-Global, Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One have agreed to fund the initiative and work with the leading marketing mix companies to update their models with more granular and timely radio data.

"This initiative is a major effort designed to help radio claim a larger share of marketing spend," said Carol Hanley, Senior Vice President/Chief Sales Officer, Arbitron Inc. "We are committed to joining forces with our customers to help ensure that marketers have demonstrable insights into the full power of radio."

"This initiative demonstrates an important commitment to our entire industry, as these models have an impact on all of radio. This project will ensure the best practices and data available are employed when determining the value of our medium to an advertiser's potential investment," said David Landau, CEO/President, Dial Global.

"Premiere fully supports this long-awaited effort to improve the metrics and tools for understanding, planning and executing audio campaigns," said Charlie Rahilly, President, National Advertising Platforms, Clear Channel Radio. "We've always known from our clients that the medium has worked. Through this initiative, we have a terrific opportunity to validate that statistically."

"Updating the market mix models will allow advertisers to validate the link between radio and product sales," said Paul Bronstein, Vice President of Research at Westwood One.

The companies have retained Sequent Partners to guide and coordinate their effort. Sequent Partners is a leading brand and media metrics consultancy with substantial media research experience and high credibility with the media, advertisers and the advertising community.

About Arbitron

Arbitron Inc. (NYSE:ARB) is a media and marketing research firm serving the media -- radio, television, cable, online radio and out-of-home -- as well as advertisers and advertising agencies. Arbitron's core businesses are measuring network and local market radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product patterns of local market consumers; and providing application software used for analyzing media audience and marketing information data. The company has developed the Portable People Meter, a new technology for media and marketing research.

Portable People Meter(TM) and PPM(TM) are marks of Arbitron Inc.

PPM ratings are based on audience estimates and are the opinion of Arbitron and should not be relied on for precise accuracy or precise representativeness of a demographic or radio market.

About Dial Global

Dial Global is radio's largest full-service, independent radio network, providing national advertising sales representation to over 200 radio programs and networks in addition to Dial Global's own programming and services. Including the Jones Digital Formats and the Dial Global Digital 24/7 Network, Dial Global Programming now produces and syndicates approximately 100 music programs and prep services in a variety of formats to more than 6,000 radio stations nationwide.

Dial Global is owned by Triton Media Group, LLC, a leading supplier of digital products and services to the media industry. Triton is a portfolio company of a fund managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., a leading global investment management firm.

About Premiere Radio Networks

Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, syndicates 90 radio programs and services to more than 5,000 radio affiliations and reaches over 190 million listeners weekly. Premiere Radio is the number one radio network in the country and features the following personalities: Rush Limbaugh, Jim Rome, Ryan Seacrest, Glenn Beck, Bob & Tom, Delilah, Steve Harvey, Blair Garner, George Noory, John Boy and Billy, Big Tigger, Dr. Dean Edell, Sean Hannity, Elvis Duran, Jason Lewis, Randi Rhodes and others. Premiere is based in Sherman Oaks, California, with 13 offices nationwide. Additional information is available at www.PremiereRadio.com.

About Westwood One

Westwood One (NASDAQ:WWON) is one of the nation's largest providers of network radio programming and one of the largest domestic providers of traffic information in the U.S. Westwood One serves approximately 5,000 radio and 170 TV stations in the U.S. Westwood One provides over 150 news, sports, music, talk and entertainment programs, features and live events to numerous media partners. Through its Metro Traffic division, Westwood One provides traffic reporting and local news, sports and weather to approximately 2,300 radio and TV stations. Westwood One also provides digital and other cross-platform delivery of its network and Metro content.

Arbitron Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are not strictly historical, including the statements regarding expectations for 2009 and any other statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, may be "forward-looking" statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, the current global economic recession and the upheaval in the credit markets and financial services industry, competition, our ability to develop and successfully market new products and technologies, our ability to successfully commercialize our Portable People Meter(TM) service, the growth rates and cyclicality of markets we serve, our ability to expand our business in new markets, our ability to successfully identify, consummate and integrate appropriate acquisitions, the impact of increased costs of data collection including a trend toward increasing incidence of cell phone-only households, litigation and other contingent liabilities including intellectual property matters, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations and changes in applicable laws and regulations, our ability to achieve projected efficiencies, cost reductions, sales growth and earnings, and international economic, political, legal and business factors. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Source: Arbitron Inc.

CONTACT: Jessica Benbow, Arbitron Inc., +1-410-312-8363,
jessica.benbow@arbitron.com

Web Site: http://www.arbitron.com/

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