Method and apparatus for identifying individual members of a marketing and viewing audience

A method for identifying predetermined individual members in a plurality of monitored areas comprising the steps of:

• storing a plurality of predetermined identification signals, each of said predetermined identification signals corresponding to one of the predetermined individual members;
• providing a transmitter device associated with each of the predetermined individual members for transmitting a unique predetermined identification signal;
• providing a receiver device in each of said plurality of monitored areas for receiving said transmitted identification signals, said plurality of monitored areas including at least one retail establishment monitored area and at least one television viewing monitored area;
• comparing each of said received identification signals with said stored predetermined identification signals to identify each predetermined individual member;
• and
• correlating each said identified predetermined individual member at different ones of the monitored areas.

A marketing data collection system comprising:

• a plurality of remotely located monitoring stations, each monitoring station for collecting and storing predetermined operational data in a monitored area;
• wherein at least one remotely located monitoring station monitors an area of an entrance to a retail establishment and wherein at least one of said remotely located monitoring stations is a television audience measurement station and monitors an area proximate to a monitored television;
• transmitter means for transmitting a unique predetermined identification signal associated with each of the predetermined individual members to be identified;
• each of said remotely located monitoring stations including;
• means for receiving said transmitted predetermined identification signals and for storing said signals as part of said operational data;
• a central computer arranged for communication with each of said monitoring stations for receiving said stored predetermined operational data;
• said central computer including;
• memory means for storing a plurality of predetermined identification signals, each of said predetermined identification signals corresponding to one of the predetermined individual members;
• means for comparing each of said received identification signals with said stored predetermined identification signals to identify the predetermined individual member;
• and
• means for correlating each said identified predetermined individual member at different ones of the monitoring stations.