The next big challenge… media measurement
Neil Mortensen, MRG co-chair, says media measurement needs to drive the market because otherwise we will “wake up in a decade and find our media planners, media owners and brands at the mercy of the “click” and not the consumer”…
These are extraordinary times for media research. There is a whole new media ecology afoot, a brand new landscape that means we have to gain new ways of measuring media consumption. Yes, we are in the midst of a digital data revolution, but this huge flow of information doesn’t actually mean we have the right insights to do the job.
How are we going to adequately measure all of this new activity and how will it affect our trading? We are converging in our consumption of media but how do we converge in measuring it all? Let’s not forget that media research is inextricably linked to turnover, underpinning every pound that changes hands in the media world. Will the media research industry provide the tools for the future of planning and buying like it always has in the past, or will the ever increasing flow of return path data envelop us all?
And so, as the Media Research Group approaches its annual conference in Malta next month, it is a time for reflection and to look at the huge challenges posed by the new media ecology. In the 46-year history of the group, our members, past and present, have played a defining role in building the foundations upon which our business is based. From the development of the first National Readership Survey to the measurement of PVRs, our members have been continually innovative and have helped the media industry plan, buy, strategise and grow into what it is today.
And their skills and experience have never been as important as they are right now. Deep down we all know that this is only the beginning of the digital revolution. The consumer has never been so in control; demanding what they want, when they want it.
Most traditional media owners are now adapting and investing in new business models, reacting to the lightening fast changes in media consumption patterns. Some are even reassessing what business they are in. Convergence is occurring at a faster rate, content brands are becoming truly multi-platform and, if we are to believe the forecasters, we are heading for an audio-visual future, whatever your medium.
It is not an easy time to be in media research. Firstly, digital audience measurement offers a huge challenge. Media measurement lends itself to broad trends with big numbers and a slow evolution. How do we provide a robust measurement of fragmenting audiences with radically different behaviours that are in constant flux? As people become harder to keep track of and less willing to cooperate, the cost of research can escalate. There can be a sense of panic in the midst of so much change. Research and development into new technologies and methodologies, and attempts to improve efficiency and response rates, can lead to costly blind alleys. And the speed of change means that it is becoming harder and harder for research to keep up – we are mapping, and remapping, out solutions for the future with an increasing amount of unknowns each time.
Also, the competition for research firms is becoming tougher. Return path data turns every company into a data owner and media analysis is being undertaken by a wider range of companies – basically the availability of data opens this market up to all. Data is sexy and there is lots of it, so we assume the answer must be in there somewhere and there must be an algorithm to get it out.
The potential problem, of course, is that the rush becomes to better measure how much and when, and not who and why. The pressure on “bang for your buck” and accountable returns makes the computer programmer the star, and we begin to talk about clicks and impressions as if they were the consumer or the audience.
Added to these two major issues is the overriding fact that the money at risk in measuring these new audiences correctly is huge. The industry needs well-respected, trusted, gold standard currencies in order to function in the way it does and therefore the measurement drives the trading model and the income. It is no wonder that each individual medium is obsessed with measuring its own stake in the growing digital landscape.
A change in the definition of measurement can change the fortunes of a media owner or technology platform. Currently, each medium is keen to maintain control of its current measurement but the drive for comparative measurement and cost efficiencies may see this change in time. If there was a digital future where all stakeholders could agree to the right quality of measurement (and it would have to equal the highest standards set by BARB), it would certainly be a huge step forward for cross-media analysis. However, despite huge leaps, this is still a long way off. The measurement technology is not there yet – not ready to deliver to the highest quality measurement that our industry will insist on.
And so, this really is it. The media research industry is facing its biggest challenge ever. Confusion increases surrounding new media platforms, devices and behaviours, making it harder and more expensive for the industry to do its job and deliver those business critical insights. When it comes to industry measurement, the future is in data integration and electronic measurement (with the most likely solution in the convergence of return path and panel data). At present, initiatives like IPA Touchpoints are filling the gap left by the silos of the JICs (Joint Industry Currencies). Convergence in measurement seems inevitable in the long run, and with it will come a drastic change in the way we define our audience impacts, but for the moment it’s more hard work and uncertainty.
It is the money at risk that will drive the market for new measurement. I have every confidence that the media research industry can rise to the challenge. I just hope the industry recognises the need for investment now. We want the media measurement to drive the market and not hold it back. We don’t want to wake up in a decade and find our media planners, media owners and brands at the mercy of the “click” and not the consumer.
Your Comments
Neil will be speaking at this year’s MRG conference in Malta from 3rd to 6th November. Click here for more information or to book your ticket.
Neil Mortensen makes some very important points on the challenges facing all media and those trying to measure them, and in particular that we should, still, be trying to measure consumer behaviour and response.
As Neil says, inputs such as the number of ‘clicks’ and return path data may well make a useful contribution to media currency development, but it is unlikely that they will offer the complete solution.
Where I differ from Neil is on the question of ‘single-source media measurement’. He seems to imply that initiatives such as the IPA’s TouchPoints are interim solutions pending the development of measurement technology, which will encompass multi-platform, multi-media.
I very much doubt this will happen – I believe that the complexity of each medium, particularly in terms of delivery platforms, is growing at an exponentially greater rate than that of the potential measurement solutions. In fact I think there are three (only three!) reasons why single-source media measurement won’t emerge:
1. It will be both technically (measurement device) and operationally (respondent acceptance/compliance) too difficult.
2. It will far too expensive.
3. And even if these problems could be overcome, the output will be much too complex/time consuming for media owners and agencies to use.
In respect of the third point, I’m sure that it would be necessary to simplify/synthesize the granular data to such an extent as to undermine the rationale for such a complex data collection system.
My feeling is that each major medium is going to have to concentrate on ensuring that it reports its audience delivery across all its platforms as accurately as possible – they may be silos but they’re very big ones! In some cases this may require modelling or data integration, and the next step – a single database for all media will surely continue to be provided through services such as TouchPoints.
Of course I would say that – RSMB is the IPA’s contractor for the ChannelPlanner – the integrated planning media database. However, we do detect a growing acceptance of data fusion and other types of data integration, and it’s interesting to note that the USA media industry – historically ‘fusion sceptical’ in the extreme – is now actively pursuing a TouchPoints initiative, having belatedly realised that all three of my above points are true. Heaven knows I told them often enough!