The unification of audience measurement solutions across all forms of video media by Nielsen has taken a “significant step forward,” the nation’s dominant ratings and audience data firm announced Wednesday.
There’s a new Audience Measurement GM, and in this newly created role, Nielsen’s Chief Technology Officer for measurement products is getting a promotion — and will be charged with unifying linear TV, advanced TV (AVOD) and digital video tools and services.
Now in the role: Scott Brown.
As Nielsen sees it, Brown’s appointment comes at “a pivotal moment in time as the distinction between linear TV and digital video continues to blur and all players in the media industry — including advertisers, agencies, networks, content creators and platforms — are demanding a clear view of media consumption across all screens and ad models.”
In response, Nielsen says, it is “is reinventing the way it brings product offerings to market under a unified platform vision and strategy.”
Brown reports to Nielsen Media Chief Product Officer Eric Bosco, who said, “Consumers are watching premium video in a fundamentally different way today than they were even five years ago. The opportunity for marketers is enormous. We’re bringing together the ability to effectively plan, optimize and measure through the full funnel so that marketers can monetize this opportunity to the fullest extent. Scott will play a critical role in bridging all of our measurement solutions together to ensure that we meet the evolving needs of the market.”
Under Brown, Nielsen is — in its own words — “overhauling” its digital measurement methodology. This, it says, will better position the company set to split into two entities in creating a measurement firm able to “quickly adapt to evolving privacy and policy changes.”
Brown, who is based in the Tampa Bay region, is also spearheading the effort to incorporate addressable advertising into TV measurement, one ballyhooed feature of NEXTGEN TV. He’s been at Nielsen since 2009, and for three years prior was a I.T. Advisory Services leader for KPMG.
Brown is a graduate of the University of Florida.
