Arbitron had said it would begin targeted in-person recruiting for PPM panelists in high-density black and Hispanic areas; now the audience research firm says that work has begun — in Dade County, Fla., Miami, Dallas and the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and the Bronx.
In-person recruitment helps target population segments that are more likely to be reached by cell phone only, the company said.
Beth Webb, vice president of Research Methods and Quality, said this week in a client update that in-person recruiting will remain in place for three months while the company assesses the impact on audience estimates and sample performance.
If all goes well, Arbitron plans to expand the process in those areas in October, then roll-out in-person recruiting to high-density black and Hispanic areas in the rest of the top 25 PPM markets in 2011.
In-person recruitment specifically to increase black and Hispanic PPM panelists was a pledge Arbitron made to the PPM Coalition earlier in the year.
Arbitron also agreed to use address-based sampling for select landline homes to further improve geographic proportionality.
