The proposed merger of Canada’s two print measurement organizations needs to be carefully managed says one of the people tasked with overseeing the process.
Fred Auchterlonie
The merger between the Print Measurement Bureau and Newspaper Audience Databank (NADbank) was first announced in September, with a stated objective that the new entity would be established in 2014 and the first data delivered in 2015.
However, those timelines could possibly be pushed back as the scope of the task becomes more apparent, said Fred Auchterlonie, executive vice-president of client operations at PHD Canada.
“It’s going to be a long climb. It’s not going to happen overnight, that’s for sure,” said Auchterlonie, who is chairing the 16-person Joint Governance Task Force – an industry group featuring equal representation from four major constituents (newspaper and magazine publishers, agencies and clients) – that is grappling with the complicated task of combining the two measurement bodies.
“We don’t want to rush this just in the interests of getting it done quickly, so we want to take our time and do it properly,” he said. “Bringing a couple of organizations like this together [means] there are a lot of I’s to be dotted and T’s to be crossed.”
Areas such as legal issues, bylaws and board makeup all need to be addressed, and members of both organizations need to give their approval, before the new entity can formally launch, said Auchterlonie.
He said the newly created task force anticipates clearing small “governance hurdles” in the next two weeks, and sounded hopeful it would begin meeting regularly through the end of 2013 and into next year, with plans for the new entity beginning to solidify through the first six months of 2014.
Auchterlonie stressed that there will be no disruption to either PMB or NADbank’s flow of readership data while the behind-the-scenes work takes place.
The merger is expected to produce more frequent – and comprehensive – data for print brands that reflects key metrics such as reader engagement, their role in the path-to-purchase and measurement of the total brand footprint.
Auchterlonie said the likely areas of concern for the constituents will likely surround the study methodology and the cost implications. “The reality is that nobody is looking to spend a whole lot more money in this area down the road,” said Auchterlonie. “There’s a real interest in showing fiscal responsibility here.”
While previous attempts at providing fused data, such as the Unity Project proposed by former Mediabrands Canada chairman Hugh Dow, have stalled because participants couldn’t arrive at a singular vision, Auchterlonie said he is “quietly confident” the industry will arrive at a workable solution this time around.
“I’m not much of a gambling man so I’m not going to bet on it one way or the other, but I’m confident it can move forward,” he said. “I think there’s a real spirit of wanting to see change. Frankly, the only thing I can see hanging it up is if there’s a real polar division at how to get at the change on what timeframe. I’m hoping that’s not the case.
“We’ve got a reasonable group of reasonable-minded people around the table who want to see change and I think can work together to make it happen. It’s not easy, but hopefully there’s enough will around the table.”
