Are you PPM ready???

Maybe you shouldn’t be…just yet.

I’ve been reading all the discussion on the pros/cons of the people meter, including the very interesting and quite logical “rulebook.” 

Just a thought:

Of all 300 Arbitron “rated” markets, only two are currently “live” on the PPM.  And most of the remaining 298 won’t be going PPM for years, if ever.  Yet, we hear stations across the country rushing to program “for the people meter”…and wondering why their current diary-generated ratings are collapsing.  Especially in the Adult Contemporary arena, I’ve heard stations so intent on removing any interruption to “the flow,” that they’ve actually removed a good chunk of the content that made their product attractive in the first place…and they’ve reduced the station ID/branding opportunities to the point that top-of-mind recall by diary keepers is suffering. 

I believe winning at AC includes making the station a “portal” where listeners hunkered down in their workplace cubicles can find a live and/or immediate connection to the outside world.  Taking that dimension away turns the connection into nothing more than the dreaded iPod-with-commercials.  And if PPM technology is still several years away where you play, it’s important that diary keepers still receive a reasonable dose of station imaging to keep the station name top-of-mind.  Yes, let’s clean out clutter, but let’s make sure it is clutter first.