COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arbitron Inc. announced today the formation of a Cross-Platform media measurement group and the complementary expansion of its executive management team. By establishing this group, which brings together product development, sales and product management, Arbitron is taking a significant step in leveraging its Portable People Meter(TM) (PPM(TM)) technologies beyond its traditional radio business.
Industry veteran Pierre Bouvard has been charged with driving Arbitron''s cross-platform strategy as Executive Vice President, Cross-Platform Services. By leveraging PPM technology and domestic and international partnerships, Arbitron plans to capture an integrated view of the modern consumer media experience -- bridging the measurement gap amongst television, radio, Internet, mobile and placed-based media. Bouvard''s team will develop the cross-platform media measurement strategy, define key offerings and take them to the marketplace.
Arbitron''s innovative PPM technology is an electronic solution that detects embedded signals within any audio stream that has been encoded. The PPM technology is uniquely mobile and platform-agnostic and is capable of providing single-source cross-platform media measurement at the consumer level.
"Arbitron PPM technology provides a unique method for tracking consumer-level exposure across numerous platforms and media," said Arbitron Chief Executive Officer Michael Skarzynski. "By establishing this group, we believe that we can more effectively operate at the speed and scale required to succeed in this dynamic media marketplace."
Carol Hanley has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Sales Officer, reporting to Skarzynski. As a member of the executive team, Hanley will focus on sales of Arbitron services to radio, agency and advertiser customers.
"Carol Hanley is a recognized leader in the radio industry and has for the past three years been recognized by Radio Ink magazine as one of the ''50 Most Influential Women in Radio''," stated Skarzynski. "Carol has the trust and confidence of our customer base and is a valuable member of the Arbitron team. We are fortunate to have someone of Carol''s caliber take the helm of our sales organization."
"We believe this cross-platform media measurement initiative is a natural extension of our existing services and will help generate more comprehensive insights into our customers'' total audience," concluded Skarzynski. "Arbitron has invested in maintaining its leadership position by delivering high quality media measurement services, and we will continue to strive to obtain Media Rating Council accreditation across our radio markets."
About Arbitron
Arbitron Inc. 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. 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.
Arbitron Inc.
CONTACT: Jessica Benbow, Arbitron Inc., +1-410-312-8363,
jessica.benbow@arbitron.com
Web Site: http://www.arbitron.com/
