Nielsen announced a step forward for multi-platform ad measurement in the UK, with public beta trials for its Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings service. Brands including Unilever and Mondelez International (Kraft Foods), agencies Aegis, OMG, Universal McCann London, and publishers and ad networks are involved, including Adap.tv.
Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings takes the commercial exposures from an advertiser’s TV ads and its online ads, and, for the first time in the UK, reports on the combined audience for the campaign. This allows advertisers, agencies and publishers to answer fundamental questions previously unreachable in a scalable, replicable platform: How many people saw my ad? How many saw it on TV only? Online only? Across both online and TV?
The system works in the UK by combining Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings, launched in October 2012, with TV data from the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB). Results are delivered in terms of reach, frequency, GRPs, unique audience and impressions – all at a daily level.
Said Mondelez International area media manager for UK, Ireland & Nordics Derek Luddem: “Crucial for all advertisers is an understanding of how people use media within their lives, and more specifically how online and TV complement each other, which is an important route to best maximizing the benefits of each. Removing the technical barriers to measuring how people really view content and advertising is crucial if we want to understand the delivery of our campaigns holistically and optimize them in flight. This test takes us that much closer to the picture we are looking for and better reflects consumer behaviors.”
Chief research officer Mark Greenstreet from Aegis Media, which is testing the system on its clients’ campaigns, adds: “We’ve now entered the era where being able to measure and plan exposure to communications across all screen devices is essential in order to deliver efficient and effective display campaigns. Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings is a major step forward.”
RBR-TVBR observation: As more consumers are living platform-agnostic lives, advertising needs to adapt. Creating a way to reach, measure and monetize inventory across screens advances the industry towards a standard that’s needed and has been asked for from content providers, agencies and advertisers for years.
