In a move toward a more standardized measurement system, global media investment management company GroupM and the Nielsen research firm announced Monday they have created a new cross-platform advertising measurement tool that provides metrics that combine television and online viewing.
The companies say the “Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings” is the first service of its kind for the media planning, buying and analysis community.
Rino Scanzoni, GroupM’s chief investment officer, said it is vital to have consistent measurement since his clients are increasingly acknowledging that online video and traditional TV advertising must work together.
Calculating the total reach and frequency of cross-platform campaigns hasn’t previously been possible since digital and TV advertising are typically bought and sold independently using separate, incomparable metrics.
The new cross-platform ratings include a measure of the overlapped and combined audiences of advertising campaigns with TV and digital components. Both Nielsen’s existing Online Campaign Ratings product – which provides frequency, reach and GRP measures for internet advertising – and TV audience measuring tools will be used to offer clients the total and overlapped reach and frequency.
GroupM – parent company to WPP media agencies including MEC, MediaCom, and Mindshare – is currently making the cross-platform campaign ratings available to select U.S.-based clients only. A Nielsen spokesperson told Marketing there are plans to roll out the cross-platform ratings “in certain international markets in the future,” but did not elaborate on whether that will include Canada.
