• by Erik Sass , July 10, 2008

The Federal Trade Commission supports electronic measurement of radio as a way to combat inappropriate placement of alcohol ads during programs and time slots likely to reach young people. While no specific mention was made of radio research firm Arbitron's Portable People Meter, the FTC report, titled "Self Regulation in the Alcohol Industry," gives Arbitron a PR boost as it confronts opposition from some radio broadcasters dissatisfied with PPM.

The FTC report, published in June, said that electronic measurement is key to collecting accurate data on the composition of audiences for different radio programs, including the ages of listeners. Alcohol advertisers need this age data to select appropriate programming for their advertisements; the alcohol industry has agreed to voluntarily restrict advertising to programs where at least 70% of the audience is of drinking age.

More frequent data reports from an electronic measurement system would also let them react faster if the audience profile were to change.

According to the FTC, radio got about 5% of total alcohol ad dollars, or roughly $159 million in 2007. That's less than 1% of radio's total $21 billion in ad dollars in 2007.

The FTC report also included recommendations for other traditional media, online advertising and general policy for manufacturers of alcoholic beverages.

For online advertising, the agency said manufacturers should use neutral age-entry screens for Web sites promoting alcohol, as well as tracking tools to prevent minors from navigating around the age restrictions. In terms of general policy for alcohol advertisers, it recommended "regular training of company personnel about audience composition data," "trade association adoption of consistent and transparent systems for interpreting demographic data" and "'hands-on' management of media buyers."