Nielsen's NOCR Goes Live with Unilever Signing

Nielsen has officially launched its NOCR (Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings) cross-media measurement system, to provide metrics for online ad campaigns similar to those used for TV ads. Consumer goods giant Unilever is the first to sign up for the service.

Last September, the Media Rating Council (MRC) accredited NOCR, a hybrid approach which provides overnight audience reach, frequency and Gross Rating Points (GRPs) to deliver demographic ratings for online ad campaigns. Using this system, Nielsen says it is able to offer reach, frequency and GRP measures for Internet ad campaigns of nearly any size, running nearly anywhere on the web.

Unilever will be using the system for all 2012 digital campaigns across its suite of nearly 40 brands in the US, in order to offer 'consistency in measurement strategy' across its portfolio.

Steve Hasker (pictured), Nielsen's President, Media Products and Advertiser Solutions, comments: 'NOCR will drive increased confidence in the web as a brand medium, and studies to date have highlighted significant opportunity for leading marketers like Unilever to optimize their TV and online spending together.'

The service will be expanded to international markets, beginning with the UK, later this year.

Web sites: www.nielsen.com and www.unilever.ca .