CIMM Taps Symphony Advanced Media for Cross-Media Advertising Effectiveness and New-Media Research

 

CIMM Taps Symphony Advanced Media for Cross-Media Advertising Effectiveness and New-Media Research

SAM’s ground-breaking smartphone-based technology to provide insights into cross-media advertising effectiveness linkage among media behavior, social media profiles and activities on Facebook and Twitter

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) announced today that it is collaborating with Symphony Advanced Media (SAM) to pilot test innovative new approaches to cross-platform advertising effectiveness by directly linking passive measurement of actual advertising exposure to consumer response data. In addition, the test will include new approaches to segmenting media consumers based on their social media profiles, activities and influence by analyzing Facebook and Twitter data and linking it directly with media consumption.

“Technology is driving change in media delivery and consumption at an accelerating pace. The need to provide the industry with insights into changing consumer behavior is acute”

To conduct the analyses, SAM will collect data from its Media Insiders Panel, which focuses on three-screen and social media consumers, and utilizes SAM-developed apps to track media usage across multiple platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.

“Technology is driving change in media delivery and consumption at an accelerating pace. The need to provide the industry with insights into changing consumer behavior is acute,” said SAM President and CEO Manish Bhatia. “What we don’t know about consumer behavior is starting to outweigh what we do know. SAM is using its deep industry knowledge to create the insights the media industry needs to make informed business decisions surrounding new- and cross-media investments related to content and advertising. We couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with CIMM and address business questions most relevant to CIMM members.”

“Uncovering new insights on multi-platform ad effectiveness—and linking these to activities like social media engagement—are increasingly valuable to advertisers and brands,” said Jane Clarke, managing director of CIMM. “To succeed, companies must have deep knowledge about the workings of each of the media and create solutions that address emerging and unmet client needs. We have been reviewing SAM’s strategies and technologies over the last few months and recognize the solution set they are building addresses key media and advertiser questions. As this collaboration progresses, we look forward to generating new insights for CIMM’s member companies and those in the media and advertising industries who are searching for ways to improve their understanding of cross-media consumption and effectively connect with consumers on different platforms.”

The research collaboration will initially focus on the linkage between multi-media consumption and social media usage. Additional research examining next-generation TV and cross-media advertising performance measurement solutions using passive tracking technologies will be conducted by the end of 2012. Findings from these efforts will be made available early in 2013.

About Symphony Advanced Media

Symphony Advanced Media (SAM) enables clients to assess cross-platform advertising campaign performance, optimize channel strategies and drive increased target-consumer response. SAM’s solutions provide an integrated view of consumer media consumption, purchase behaviors and brand attitudes. SAM’s innovative analytic methods deliver rapid strategic insights on advertising performance across all media including online, TV, print and mobile, and identify opportunities for improved marketing ROI. Clients include leading global brand advertisers in the media, automotive, financial services, pharmaceutical, consumer packaged goods and telecom industries. SAM is part of Symphony Technology Group (STG)whose portfolio of companies include Symphony IRI, Impact RX, Teleca and EYC. Learn more about SAM at www.symphonyam.com.

About CIMM

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) was founded by leading television content providers, media agencies, and advertisers to promote innovation in audience measurement for television and cross-platform video. CIMM’s mission is to explore and identify new methodologies and approaches to audience measurement through conducting pilot studies with independent measurement companies focusing on two key areas: the current and future potential of television measurement through return path data, and new methods for cross- platform media measurement. www.cimm-us.org

Current members are: A+E Networks, Belo, CBS Corporation, Carat USA, ConAgra, Discovery Communications, Gannett, GroupM, Hearst, Interpublic Group Mediabrands, LEGO Systems, Inc., Microsoft, NBC Universal, News Corporation, Omnicom Media Group, P&G, Publicis Groupe, Scripps Networks, Time Warner, Unilever, Univision Communications, Viacom, and The Walt Disney Company.

Could Arbitron Win The New Media Measurement Race?

Could Arbitron Win The New Media Measurement Race?

by David Goetzl, May 16, 2012, 1:51 PM

• TAGS

television

With all the urgency to find a widely accepted cross-platform measurement system, one element of the chase involves going back to the future. Recall Project Apollo, the would-be breakthrough that looked to match media consumption with purchase data to get a better sense of the connection.

The initiative, a joint effort by Nielsen and Arbitron, included not just TV and radio on the media side, but magazines and newspapers. That seems laughable now, since hardly anyone is suggesting print be included in current efforts. The most prominent quest is for tracking TV, mobile and Internet video viewing.

Apollo was abandoned in 2008. Carrying the space age name, it may have come early.

“That was a pretty compelling product that was a little bit before its time,” said Arbitron COO-CFO Sean Creamer this week.

Yet, Creamer said lessons and insights gained from Apollo are informing R&D efforts at Arbitron, Nielsen and others racing to offer the industry standard for cross-media measurement. Nielsen’s Susan Whiting had indicated that potential back when Apollo was shuttered.

Few argue the collapse of Apollo was because the customers, which were the likes of Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart, balked at the investment costs. Maybe the recession played a role.

Now, though, with so much video consumed so many ways, the thinking may have changed. Advertisers are willing to spend in pursuit of a way to evaluate the effectiveness of TV, mobile and Internet video in an apples-to-apples way, that it's cost be darned.

Or, are they? And, what about their agencies? “Two or three years ago, there was a lot of talk and very little money flow,” Creamer said at an investor event. “Today, there remains a lot of talk and relatively little money flow, which is a positive advancement, but certainly not as far along as we’d like.”

Creamer does think a better roadmap will come into focus within the next 18 to 24 months. But, then that could be ripped up as media consumption changes so swiftly.

Arbitron is working to become a leading option in cross-media measurement through a recent trial it conducted with the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and other efforts. It wants to “make sure we have a seat at the table once the money starts to flow in a significant way.”

Creamer said Arbitron is using its exposure to the CIMM membership, which includes marketers, agencies and networks, to expand its opportunities. If it's able to make inroads with, say, 10 CIMM members, it might have a very cushy seat.

“We are now working with individual members of CIMM to find out what incremental insights we can provide and how we can scale what we did … (to offer) something that has applicability to a broader customer base,” he said.

ComScore, which also has worked with CIMM, and others also want that seat at the table. But can’t Arbitron make a stronger case with its portable people meter (PPM) technology, a device people carry that picks up audio signals?

The PPM has the potential to not just capture video on the TV-mobile-Internet troika, but radio and out-of-home TV consumption as well. The latter two may be drawing less interest, but if Arbitron can offer at least a parity product, why not toss them in?

Certainly, the out-of-home element is important to CNN and CNBC, which have both sought Arbitron data there. And, ESPN is using Arbitron data for cross-platform tracking of football on TV and radio.

One hurdle Arbitron is working to overcome, which is driven by its core radio business, is how to recruit more people who have dropped landlines to join its 70,000-person panel. Those in an 18-to-34 demographic who only use mobile phones are tough to find, so Creamer said the company is investing about $18 million this year for cell phone and in-person recruitment.

Creamer doubts a panel with 70,000 could ever be assembled for cross-media measurement, let alone with an acceptable amount of mobile phone-only types.

“Would they agree to download a meter and something onto their cell phone, I think the likelihood of that is very close to zero,” he said.

Which shows just how thorny the multi-media measurement push will likely continue to be. And, if there's a Project Apollo-style retrenchment, who knows where things go? 

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/174869/could-arbitron-win-the-new-media-measurement-race.html#ixzz27WcUpTYY

Major Networks Sign For Nielsen Online Ratings

 

by Wayne Friedman, Wednesday, September 19, 2012 11:12 AM

Nielsen says its big online campaign ratings service is gaining steam.
The media research company reports it has 15 advertising platforms/networks as clients for its Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings. Many are major networks, including Adap.tv, AudienceScience, DataXu, Innovid, Jivox Corporation, LiveRail, SET, TubeMogul, Turn, VideoHub, Videology, VINDICO and ZEDO. Ad technology company FreeWheel has also signed on.
Nielsen says the Online Campaign Ratings are intended to -- among other things -- enable online ad networks to improve their ability to set up audience guarantees. In addition, the service can be used in a variety of ways, from planning to in-flight campaign optimization to campaign analysis. Many of the biggest spenders in online media use a number of the ad networks signed on by Nielsen.
"The platforms that sit between the buy and sell sides are the nerve-center of online advertising, where advertisers and publishers extract the maximum mileage out of their spend and inventory respectively,” stated Amit Seth, executive vice president of global media products for Nielsen.
Nielsen started up Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings in 2011, beginning with VideoHub.
Says Anthony Risicato, general manager of VideoHub: “Now, with VideoHub, marketers have a platform to measure their ratings and also know if/where/why those ratings are having an impact — in real-time, anywhere they are running video campaigns. This joint effort has been a catalyst for true innovation across brands, agencies and publishers."

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/183355/major-networks-sign-for-nielsen-online-ratings.html?print#ixzz27VSH0TC8

Multiscreen Ad Targeting Connects With Consumer Experience

 

by Laurie Sullivan, Wednesday, August 29, 2012 4:41 PM

Consumers spend 4.4 hours of leisure time in front of multiple screens daily, according to a Google study. The findings released Wednesday reveal that consumers spend an average of 17 minutes per interaction on a smartphone screen compared with 30 minutes on a tablet; 39 minutes, a PC or a laptop; and 43 minutes, a television.

Google identifies two types of screen use: sequential and simultaneous. The former, more common, typically occurs over the same day. Some 98% of people move between devices in the same day to accomplish a task.

Search connects consumer experiences across screens. Some 78% of consumers simultaneously multi-task using several devices. The study reveals that 92% use PC and smartphone or TV and PC, where as 90% use the TV and smartphone, and 89% prefer TV and tablet.

Brands should start targeting ads on multiple devices simultaneously to make the most of advertising budgets. The change in consumer behavior suggests a need for brands to consider retargeting across multiple devices, as well as an attribution strategy to determine paths to conversion based on the devices that specific types of consumers might use.

Google's study suggests that 67% of shoppers move from one screen to another, taking multiple-device paths to purchase. While 65% start on a smartphone, 61% continue on a PC or laptop and 4% with a tablet.

Smartphones are the most common starting place, but PCs are the starting point for complex activities, and tablets are the starting place for shopping and planning trips. Of the 25% of consumers who start on a PC or laptop, 19% continue on to a smartphone and 5% on to a tablet. For the 11% who start on a tablet, 10% continue on to a PC or laptop.

Smartphones attract spontaneity with 81% admitting to being grabbed by a purchase in the spur of the moment versus 19% planned. About 59% of people that will particpate in any part of the shopping process on a smartphone while in the home versus 41% out of the home. Some 84% of consumers on a PC or a laptop will shop while in the home versus 16% out of the home.

Even before the purchase, Google's research shows that more consumers search for information about products and services across devices. Those with mobile devices search for information triggered by events, locations and physical items, but Google's study suggests that consumers search more often for things seen on TV. Respondents could choose mroe than one option when asked what prompted them to do a search.

The net number, 22%, of people said television prompted a search on smartphones compared with 17% seeing a commercial on TV, and 7% seeing a TV program. When it comes to searches on PC and laptops, TV contributed 10%, whereas TV commercials and programs each contributed 6%.

Most consumers accomplish goals through "spontaneous vs. planned search" activities. On a smartphone, 20% of searches are planned versus 80% that are spontaneous. On a PC or laptop that percentage changes to 48% and 52%, respectively.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/181829/multiscreen-ad-targeting-connects-with-consumer-ex.html?print#ixzz27VDGnYsO

Display Ads Stable On Major Web Portals

 

Display Ads Stable On Major Web Portals

by Mark Walsh, Friday, August 24, 2012 1:55 PM

The Summer Olympics bolstered display advertising across the home pages of the major Web portals in June and July. Advertising related to the Games -- spanning July 27 to August 12 -- accounted for 10% of total observed ad units on the home screens of Yahoo, AOL, MSN and YouTube in the first half of the third quarter, according to the latest display ad-tracking report from Macquarie Equities Research.

Still, the study found that display trends were essentially flat from a year ago, based on ad formats used. Overall, 38% of home page ads were oversized/custom units, up from 36% for the same period a year ago, but down from 44% in the first half of the second quarter.

Macquarie uses these premium, brand-focused units as a barometer of broader display advertising health.

Looking at ad categories, financial services and media were the biggest verticals in the first half of the current quarter -- accounting for 20%, and 17%, of home page ads, respectively. Automotive was another strong contributor, representing 14% of ads. The Olympic-related ads were spread across a number of categories.

Display advertising was mostly stable for each of the Web portals analyzed, with YouTube remaining the strongest of the group. More than half (56%) the ads sold on the Google-owned video hub were of oversized/custom variety, up from 50% a year ago, thanks to its signature masthead unit.

Media and entertainment campaigns again dominated, accounting for more than half the ads on YouTube. But CPG got on board, making up 12% ads, compared to none a year ago or in the first half of the second quarter.

For Yahoo, sales of custom branding units sold increased slightly to 35% from 32% a year ago. The study also noted sell-through of Yahoo's log-in page ad slot rebounded in the first half of Q3 to 74%, on par with all-time highs. However, Macquarie analyst and report author Ben Schachter said it is difficult to say how much lift is a result of discounting.

Another positive sign for Yahoo was that the proportion of purely brand-focused advertising was 53% -- up from 33% a year ago, and from 29% in the first half of Q2.

The picture was more mixed for AOL. Custom ad units were up slightly from a year ago to 19%, but still well down from 32% in the April to mid-May period. AOL had more purely brand-focused units (32%), but also an increase in direct-response advertising, up nine percentage points to 35%.

Amazon also had mixed results, with its share of brand-focused advertising up to 35% from 24% in the second quarter. But the proportion of standard rich media advertising dropped from 74% to 58% in the first half of the third quarter. Only 3% of ads on the Amazon home page were custom/oversized units.

MSN saw marked improvement, with custom units accounting for 32% of ads sold compared to 13% a year earlier, and brand advertising rising to 38% from 21%. The site also had a corresponding drop in lower-quality, direct-response advertising to 12% from 29% a year ago and 24% in the first half of Q2.

Microsoft this week announced it is rolling out a series of multichannel ad units, including a digital circular-style format exclusively for MSN.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/181542/display-ads-stable-on-major-web-portals.html?print#ixzz27VCtjKP4

AT&T AdWorks Aggregates Mobile, TV Data To Target Online Ads

 

by Laurie Sullivan, Aug 27, 2012, 7:20 AM

• TAGS

ad targeting, advertising, data management, media measurement, mobile, tv

AT&T AdWorks is expected to launch an ad platform in September allowing brands to target ads online based on TV and mobile data, according to Danielle Lee, AdWorks VP of product marketing and innovation. Two undisclosed brands have signed up to participate in the initial rollout.

The AdWorks division worked with AT&T Labs to develop an algorithm that allows brands to target audiences based on aggregate demographic data from TV programs watched or downloaded on apps, games and videos on mobile.

The move will lead the company to support cross-screen ad targeting as technology becomes smarter at understanding consumer behavior and devices.

"This is not panel data, but rather actual first-party user data in aggregate," Lee said.

Common attributes in the data create audience segments. The "aggregate and anonymous" data comes from 10 million U-Verse set-top boxes, as well as 69 million mobile subscribers. The targeting data from TV will initially rely on demographic and geographic attributes rated to the top 100 TV shows.

AT&T AdWorks also supports online ad targeting using data from mobile subscriber to serve ads across the Internet to Verizon FIOS customers. The audience network reaches 80% of Internet users, including third-party sites. AT&T does not place ads using another Internet provider's ad platform, such as Verizon's.

The audience segments rely on TV and mobile data to target ads online, but Lee said AT&T plans to build out the service to focus on cross-channel targeting. Advertisers will then have an option to push the same ad across cross-platform. Once that occurs, AT&T will compete with companies like Microsoft Advertising, which recently rolled out a cross-channel ad-targeting tool.

The tool, aimed at national advertisers purchasing millions in ads, supports A/B testing the creative ads online first before bringing it to TV -- a trend that recently caught the attention of political marketers.

Lee also said AT&T could integrate the TV with the mobile data to build a bigger picture of consumers and audience segments. "We're just getting out of the gate with this," she said. "There are several ways we can take this product as it evolves."

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/181540/att-adworks-aggregates-mobile-tv-data-to-target.html#ixzz27VBCvz00

Nielsen: There Is Room For Rivals' Data (Rentrak)

Nielsen: There Is Room For Rivals' Data

by David Goetzl, Yesterday, 8:40 AM

media measurement, research,tv

Rentrak CEO Bill Livek has been saying for years the TV measurement market offers an opportunity for both its system and the entrenched Nielsen ratings to succeed. Now, apparently Nielsen agrees.
Rentrak has signed many local stations to use its products, based on set-top-box (STB) data, which it says can complement the “sample currency” Nielsen propagates.
“There is room for a client to both use our data as the currency for ratings and other data sources, including set-top-box data direct from (cable, satellite and telco TV operators) or from some other players for the purpose of analytics around program optimization,” said Steve Hasker, the president of Nielsen’s global media products, according to a transcript.

“We’ll see how that plays out," he said.
Hasker, who did not cite Rentrak by name, made his comments at a recent investor event in response to a question about whether a local station that signs with a Nielsen competitor would have reason to go with both data sources.
Nielsen is overhauling its local-market system to use a hybrid model that will include STB data, as well as data generated from a new code reader, in addition to its traditional panels.
Hasker reiterated arguments why Nielsen feels “uncomfortable” going with only an STB-based system. Among them is if a person leaves a set-top box on, while not watching, that could affect the counting. Also, an STB-based system could fail to capture broadcast-only homes. And it could fail to offer clients sturdy information on the demographics of viewership.
(Rentrak would say its algorithms and other approaches help it meet those challenges, with its “census-based” data. It also argues that its data draws from many more homes than the Nielsen panels; Nielsen is expanding its pool during the revamp.)
Hasker added that STB data has “some value when combined with our panels … when used to increase fidelity and reduce the variability filling some of the gaps. We think set-top-box has the value, so that’s the path we are pursuing.”

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/183568/nielsen-there-is-room-for-rivals-data.html#ixzz27Uwfy7ml

Nielsen Unveiling Suite Of Next-Generation TV Meters: Designed To Enhance Compliance, Cross-Platform Measurement Too

Nielsen Unveiling Suite Of Next-Generation TV Meters: Designed To Enhance Compliance, Cross-Platform Measurement Too

by Joe Mandese, May 11, 2012, 9:21 AM

• TAGS

online video, tv, video

In what is likely the most significant change in the methods Nielsen uses to measure TV -- and potentially all forms of video content -- the ratings company this week quietly began informing clients of a major initiative to develop a suite of new audience meters and digital tracking codes that could begin replacing its current meters as soon as 2014.

Dubbed “GTAM,” which stands for Global Television Audience Metering, the initiative includes the development of four new audience metering technologies designed to deal with all of the conceivable challenges involved in measuring the viewing behavior of contemporary consumer households.

The initiative is significant for several reasons beyond the technologies being developed, including the fact that it is a major reaffirmation of Nielsen’s strategy for basing audience measurement around in-home viewing, which has been the foundation of its audience measurement systems, although some components of the GTAM initiative will make it easier for Nielsen to incorporate mobile, wireless and Internet-based video audience exposure as well. The other major reason the plan is significant is that as its name might imply, it will be a global effort -- and the technologies being developed would likely be deployed as part of a standardized methodology across the 16 international markets Nielsen currently measures media audiences in.

The four new metering solutions include the so-called “GTAM meter,” which will be the primary device Nielsen plans to use for audience measurement. The GTAM meter is said to be smaller, more ergonometric, easier for consumers to interact with, and far less “invasive” than Nielsen’s current industry standard “A/P meters.” Like the A/P meters, which stand for active/passive metering components, the new GTAM meter is expected to utilize a combination of active and passive measurement technologies, but unlike Nielsen’s current meters it will not require it to be physically connected to any household media devices, such as a TV set, set-top tuner, DVR, etc., to function.

The second technology in development is a lighter, somewhat less sophisticated meter, aptly named the “GTAM Lite Meter,” which is capable of measuring TV audiences in households that have fewer electronic devices in them and are less complicated to measure.

A third device, code-named the “Code Reader,” is an even smaller device that relies entirely on its ability to monitor the digital codes associated with TV and video programming. All the new metering technologies are being designed to work with a new, bulletproof digital watermarking technology Nielsen has developed that is capable of surviving any conceivable compression technologies that would otherwise strip away current versions of digital codes and watermarks. Dubbed “Watermark,” the new code is said to be integral to Nielsen’s plans to accelerate cross-platform video measurement and integration, because it is also a solution to measuring video exposure across wired and wireless Internet platforms.

The fourth metering technology in the initiative potentially may be the most controversial in the mix, because it is designed to explicitly replace its current people meters, now the state-of-the-art in Nielsen’s TV metering portfolio. Unlike Nielsen’s current generation of people meters, which utilize blinking lights to remind viewers to push buttons to indicate they are actively watching TV programming, the new meters will feature an LED screen that will give respondents written instructions and prompts for complying with the measurement process.

That meter is dubbed the “Scrolling Text People Meter,” and it could be controversial, because it is designed to improve the cooperation and compliance of people watching TV in a sample household, which could potentially influence the way they watch TV.

Nielsen is expected to vet the new approaches and technologies among its various client groups, and industry bodies before deploying anything, and the likely time frame is that the first versions of the new meters would not be installed in sample households until early 2014, following a year of evaluation during 2013.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/174443/nielsen-unveiling-suite-of-next-generation-tv-mete.html#ixzz27Uw8TtAM

Arbitron PPM Gets MRC Accreditation In 5 Big Markets

Arbitron PPM Gets MRC Accreditation In 5 Big Markets

by Erik Sass, Jul 19, 2012, 3:48 PM

media measurement, metrics,radio

Radio ratings firm Arbitron scored a big win this week with the announcement that it has received accreditation from the Media Rating Council for its Portable People Meter ratings service in five media markets nationwide, including some of the nation’s biggest.

The MRC granted Arbitron’s ratings from PPM, a passive electronic measurement device, accreditation in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Riverside-San Bernardino and San Antonio.
This marks the first time the MRC has granted accreditation to PPM ratings in L.A., Baltimore and San Antonio. The other markets in California and Florida are receiving accreditation again after it was revoked by the MRC in January 2012. No word yet whether the MRC plans to grant accreditation to PPM ratings in Cleveland, Portland, and Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, where accreditation was also withdrawn earlier this year.
The latest accreditations represent another step toward Arbitron’s declared long-term goal of gaining accreditation for PPM ratings in every major media market across the U.S. where it is operational. Arbitron hopes this will help lay to rest some of the earlier controversy surrounding PPM ratings, which some minority broadcasters alleged underrepresented their audiences, including African-American and Hispanic listeners.
In January of this year accreditation was withdrawn in the markets listed above, partly because an audit committee reviewing 2011 PPM results “showed certain issues related to internal controls of the service and declines in service performance metrics,” according to the typically circumspect MRC notice.

Arbitron later disclosed that the MRC revoked the accreditation in those markets because response rates among panel participants had fallen off.
In total, Arbitron still has 34 markets where PPM is operational without MRC accreditation.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/179150/arbitron-ppm-gets-mrc-accreditation-in-5-big-marke.html#ixzz27UvlzeOF