In preparation for the launch of the third stage of the industry’s independent online audience measurement currency, IAB Australia’s Measurement Council has commenced a full audit of the Digital Ratings (Monthly) product.
The processes currently in place will also be audited ahead of the launch of the Digital Content Ratings Daily in 2017.
The Daily Ratings measurement metric has previously been heralded a “game changer” by IAB chairman and News DNA MD Nicole Sheffield.
“Digital daily ratings will take digital to the next level and allow us to trade like TV – that’s the game changer,” she previously told AdNews.
The Daily Ratings, delivered by Nielsen, are set to provide an independent, cross-device view of the total digital audience for publishers. The new metric aims to enable agencies and advertisers to make more accurate decisions and gauge the reach of their digital investment.
The audit, led by IAB director of research Gai Le Roy, along with an independent external auditor, commences in December to ensure the measurement currency keeps up with the fast pace of digital.
Roy tells AdNews the audit is a good opportunity to get underneath the hood of the measurement system and leave little from for errors in the future.
“The digital market is fragmented across multiple platforms with different content and behaviours so we don’t have the luxury of monitoring limited linear content,” she says.
Transparency is a hot topic in the industry at the moment, following Facebook’s and Dentsu’s misreporting scandals.
“Independent publishers have funded and supported the IAB because for many years we have believed in the authenticity and integrity of digital data it provides,” Sheffield says.
"The audit is not a reflection of Nielsen, rather it’s a reflection of the industry standards which are getting higher all the time and the opportunity to deliver not just quality content but quality advertising with insight into how the audience interacts with it.”
IAB developed the digital audience measurement blueprint in 2007 in association with AANA and MFA. This was the precursor to the development of the first tender in 2010 and the launch of IAB’s digital audience measurement system which took place in 2011.
Digital Ratings (Monthly), launched earlier this year, is the second of three planned major upgrades to the digital audience measurement system. The third upgrade will be the launch of Digital Content Ratings which will leverage the scale of third-party providers.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.