Updates to digital measurement may make many eyes glaze over, but news from the IAB and Nielsen that they're now fused multiple data sets to create a total audience picture across the digital landscape, is pretty big stuff.
The roll out of Digital Ratings (Monthly) today is a move the market has been waiting for since Nielsen was re-awarded the IABs' measurement tender in 2014. The pair have been partners for some time and with digital adspend exploding and taking money off the traditional media behemoths, this new metric had to deliver, and by all reports it has.
Publisher after publisher has welcomed the metric, and why wouldn't they? This new offering is now able to quantify what they've known for sometime, consumers are using their mobile devices to read their content. This comprehensive data set also looks at the social networks and the traffic they too are garnering and the numbers, unsurprisingly, are staggering.
However the best and most interesting move in this measurement story is yet to come. Later in the year we'll see the measurements go from monthly to daily and it's also going to bring in a social media powerhouse to help with the numbers.
Facebook is set to join the partnership for part three of the roll-out and it will bring with it 15 million data points which will help further shed light on the consumer's daily moves on digital. This move will also bring digital measurement smack bang up against TV, meaning agencies and advertisers will be able to make more informed daily decisions in the digital landscape.
This move feels like digital measurement is set to go from the 'holy grail' to the holy trinity. The IAB, Nielsen and Facebook all working together to ensure that there's a strong digital currency the industry can use to truly make the most of the channel.
The only question mark hanging over this whole process is leadership. With current IAB CEO Alice Manners stepping down, who's going to take the reins and drive this measurement push forward?
That said, it's going to be an interesting six months for digital and also measurement. The true test will be if the new reporting will be able to grow spend on digital and mobile, and give advertisers the rigour they need to truly go all in on digital.