The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the release of the final version of its Audience Reach Measurement Guidelines at its Annual Leadership Meeting, Ecosystem 2.0: Brands Battle Back, in Orlando. These guidelines provide clear, consistent definitions of key metrics and create a single standard for measuring Web audience sizes. The guidelines are the result of a major industry-wide initiative led by the IAB and included the participation of publishers, agencies and auditing organizations.
The new guidelines:
• Define key industry metrics such as unique users, unique cookies, unique browsers, visits and time spent.
• Establish a framework for all measurement providers to have their methodologies audited, providing greater certainty for the industry.
• Foster greater accuracy and reliability of all forms of online audience measurement, whether based on server data, online panels or user registration.
“By issuing these guidelines, the IAB has given measurement organizations across the industry a set of rigorous and consistent guidelines to help ensure standardized measurements of unique cookies, unique devices, or unique users,” said George Ivie, CEO and Executive Director of the Media Rating Council (MRC). “This is an important and commendable step towards full accountability.”
