Birch Radio Ratings and BIrch/Scarborough Research, founded by Tom Birch, was a United States media audience measurement service that was founded in 1978 and grew internally and through acquisitions in the 1980s and grew to be a major challenger to once-dominant Arbitron.
At its peak, Birch Radio interviewed more than 100,000 persons per month and included among its subscribers major advertisers such as McDonalds, Anheuser-Busch, Delta Airlines, Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, major advertising agencies such as BBDO/New York, Ogilvy & Mather, Foote Cone & Belding, BDA/BBDO/Atlanta and Tracey-Locke/Dallas.
[4] Scarborough continues today as the leading provider of local television, radio and newspaper qualitative and shopping behavior information.
Birch renegotiated corporate debt and key supplier agreements, enabling the company to achieve a two million dollar profit in 2002 following a five million dollar loss in the year prior to his joining the company.
Birch is presently Owner/CEO of Lakes Media LLC, the owner of six radio stations in Southern Virginia and Northern North Carolina, partner in leading radio/television/tower broker Media Services Group and board member of Auddia, Inc NASD:AUUD.