Industry Groups Plot Course for Audience Measurement
September 5 2005
As the US-based Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) publishes a study critical of current audience research methods, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has launched a blueprint for the industry's evolution. The latter urges the development of 'consumer-centric holistic measurement' to allow for increasingly complex media consumption habits.
The ARF's Survey of Industry Concerns is based on the responses of people who attended its Accountability of Audience Measurement event in January. Respondents, from across the advertising and media industries, criticised the quality and size of audience samples, lack of responsiveness and old-fashioned methods. Criticisms of specific sectors are as follows.
- TV audience ratings came in for particular criticism, with respondents citing slow reactions to changes such as digital video recorders and video-on-demand. One respondent said 'measurement beyond the simple concept of exposure must be developed. We have to understand the impact of an ad on inclination to purchase - or profile of the brand'.
- Small sample sizes - and whether samples are representative generally - were also concern in the TV arena.
- The paper diaries used in radio research were described as 'relics of the past', and respondents urged increased use of passive measurement via the portable people meter (PPM) system. They also wanted to see improved ways of measuring multicultural audiences.
- Print media audience measurement was criticised for slow turnaround times, for not measuring enough magazines, and obtaining too few measures for each magazine. Respondents asked for more qualitative measures, involvement measures and efficacy metrics, and more rapid adoption of technology such as computer-assisted data collection or passive electronic measurement.
- Online audience measurement is seen as problematic, with audiences hard to define demographically, time-related samples insufficient, and difficulties in comparing figures with other major media.
The WFA's blueprint - the result of collaboration between major advertisers - aims to address some of these problems. According to the WFA, current audience measurement systems have 'no sophisticated target group descriptions... and advertisers are unable to measure and track target groups' holistic and synergistic multi-media behavior'. It says the industry wants faster, more consistent measurement, with larger sample sizes, and standardised metrics so that media options can be compared more easily.
Bernhard Glock, Manager, Global Media and Communication, Procter & Gamble, describes the blueprint as 'a watershed for marketers…The ground has been laid for a common currency with which to understand consumer behaviour beyond demographics'.
Stephan Loerke, WFA's MD, says it is now time for researchers and advertisers to 'develop initiatives on the basis of the criteria we have developed, for the common benefit of the industry and consumers'.
The ARF plans to discuss the issues raised in the survey at its Audience Measurement Initiative forum on September 29th in New York. The associations are online at
www.arfsite.org and
www.wfanet.org.
All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.
