Lookout Advertisers: The FCC is coming.

INSIDERADIO
April 7, 2015



Radio and other media which carry the commercials, not marketers, have long received scrutiny over advertising-related issues. But the Association of National Advertisers sees that changing as the Federal Communications Commission has moved into mobile and internet-related issues. "Advertisers and others may be susceptible to FCC regulation without a clear roadmap as to what is or is not permitted or expected," ANA executive Dan Jaffe tells members. He believes the agency’s recently approved net.......
neutrality regulations signal it intends to be an "extremely active player" in how messages are sent to consumers online. The lines of the advertising road have largely been drawn by the Federal Trade Commission in the past, when it looked at unfairness and ad deception complaints. But Jaffe thinks the FTC and FCC will increasingly work in tandem to regulate media and marketers and there is no clear roadmap as to what is permitted. "The exact lines of demarcation between the two agencies are very unclear at this point [so] marketers must be vigilant in keeping track of what is being done at the FCC," he warns. Jaffe thinks it’s possible the FCC may preempt the FTC and marketers may eventually find themselves "under very different regulatory standards." His comments follow an appearance last week by commissioner Michael O’Rielly at an ANA conference warning that several advertising issues now "closely intersect" with the activities at the FCC. "These days that can be a very dangerous thing," he said.

Is PPM technology inherently flawed? The arrival of audio processing gear that makes the PPM more likely to detect embedded audio watermarks raises an important question: Is the PPM system inherently flawed? "If a box can tweak the system, it certainly suggests there’s a problem, and one only the companies with deep pockets can address," says one programmer. While its rocky rollout wasn’t completed until late 2010, Arbitron began developing the PPM 20 years ago and it apparently hasn’t had any significant technology update since. Audio processing, on the other hand, has evolved

considerably. Nielsen declined to comment on Voltair and whether it reveals any PPM shortcomings. A November 2004 trial conducted in the U.K. by RAJAR that tested PPM in a variety of listening environments found the meters identified just 59% of listening sessions in test environments that ranged from "easiest" (normal station volume, low background noise, the wearer stationery) to "hardest" (low station volume, high background noise, the wearer engaged in vigorous activity). Critics (or those without it) say Voltair creates an un-level playing field. It’s unclear what the impact, if any, Nielsen taking a position on Voltair may have on efforts to gain PPM accreditation in more markets from the Media Rating Council. But the bottom line on the coveted box is it may be good for radio. "This technology is showing that there are more people at any given time using radio," says one programmer. "This is good for the whole industry."