Arbitron plans to put another Project Leapfrog test into the field in the next few weeks.
Leapfrog is the company’s multiplatform electronic diary project aimed at mid-to-small markets. The idea is that a respondent could start to fill out their diary on a laptop, tablet, phone or other mobile device, and finish it on their desktop computer, or vice-versa.
Arbitron SVP Marketing Bill Rose wouldn’t reveal which cities were involved in the third field test in order not to bias the tests, however, he says the trial will be conducted in two phases, with the first starting in “days,” followed-by a large-scale test early in the new year.
In previous trials, the company solicited people through the mail to get them to register over the Internet, and do that through a Web-based desktop computer or mobile app, according to Rose. Those were followed up by a test of the end-to-end process. The next round of tests builds on what the company learned, he told Radio World.
“We want to be able to get a larger portion of those we solicit to complete the process,” says Rose, adding also that the sample make-up looks more like the composition of a market than the diary does.
Arbitron shared a new interface with members of the Arbitron Radio Advisory Committee this week. Vice Chair Craig Jacobus, president of South Central Communications, believes the ease of use and functionality of Leapfrog “is much improved.”
Arbitron still considers Leapfrog an R&D project, without projecting when it will go live.
