Arbitron has completed a successful round of testing the Portable People Meter (PPM) system to detect Mall Radio Network (MRN) audio content broadcast in malls. It is the first successful attempt by Arbitron to encode and monitor audio in the common areas of a mall environment outside of specific stores.

“The results of the Mall Radio Network test provide strong support for the possibility that the PPM can effectively detect audio that is broadcast in the retail mall environment and time spent exposed to Mall Radio Network content and advertising,” said Bill Rose, SVP of Marketing for Arbitron. “Based on the success of this test, we are now negotiating with Mall Radio Network to move forward on a pilot project incorporating additional features, such as encoding audio content and commercials on different layers to better distinguish exactly what type of programming that a mall patron is exposed to.”

“Use of the Portable People Meter to measure media use in malls, is part of an on-going strategy to move our out-of-home media measurement to the next level,” he added. “With recent efforts by Scarborough Research to enhance their mall shopping measures, we are working to meet the evolving demands of the industries we serve.”