Dating for Data

We’ve noted in the past that one of the great things about those who are most likely to end up in PPM panels is that they’re the kind of people who over-index on the belief that contests add to their enjoyment of a station. If you’re the kind of person who’ll participate in an intrusive research study in exchange for monetary rewards, you’ll also be engaged by the possibility of winning a prize from a radio station you enjoy hearing.

Back in the day, radio station contests were generally of the type where caller number 10 wins the prize. The DJ could record and edit the call with the winner, hopefully getting an exciting, entertaining piece of audio to play on the air and use in promos. But, we’ve evolved past that, realizing that being able to capture information about the contest entrants can be very valuable to the station’s marketing efforts.

Today, many contests require website registration. With smartphones well on their way to being the ubiquitous device of the early 21^st Century, replacing the landline telephone as the thing that nearly everyone has, it’s critical that station contest registration pages be optimized for mobile. Imagine, the hypothetical PPM wearer just heard the contest promo while listening in the car and wants to enter as soon as she gets to her destination. A page that’s slow to load on her smartphone or is difficult to navigate on the device or simply asks for too much information can end up with no entry.

In the most recent NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study we asked respondents which types of information they’d be comfortable giving online to enter a radio station contest. The good news is that those most likely to end up in the PPM panel are always more inclined to give their information than those who wouldn’t participate in the ratings methodology.

Nearly two-thirds of the PPM-inclined would give up their gender; at least half would willingly give their age and Zip Code. Over 40% would give their email address – and over a third would give their name. But, by requiring home address as part of registration, the percentage of potential entrants drops nearly in half: from 35% to 18%.

So, stop short of asking for home address. Zip Code allows you to verify that entrants are within your MSA, if that’s a requirement you choose to put on entrants. Email address gives you a way to contact them. Having their name allows you to mention them on the air in the typical name-game scenario.

The goal is a fat registration bucket filled with information that can be used for future station marketing efforts. Managed correctly, future contests and station offers can gather even more information from a consumer who, by that time, truly has a relationship with the station.