The world of measurement is changing. New streaming technologies with over-the-top (OTT) apps, connected devices and social media are expanding the media landscape. On the technology side, data management platforms, advertising exchanges and real-time programmatic technologies are revolutionizing the ad industry with data-driven and predictive ad delivery capabilities. On the consumer side, we've been witnessing a growing generation of cord cutters and cord nevers (people who skip Pay-TV subscription), and an increasing number of OTT offers. In this new fragmented media consumption scenario, eCGlobal Labs and Immetrica will present a state-of-the art technology called Alldience, a multiplatform audience measurement solution that combines ACR (automated content recognition) and eCGlobals mobile community application, transforming mobile devices into "Smart People Meters", with the capability to follow TV Viewers wherever they are, measuring media consumption anytime, on all screens, all devices, and on any platform (TV, Digital, Social Media).
We are witnessing a media explosion worldwide and the question is: can media measurement companies run fast enough to keep up? Traditional media such as print, TV, radio, cinema and outdoor, have in recent years been joined by other platforms such as the internet and online gaming. Consumer generated media, for instance blogs, online communities, forums and social networks, are on the rise. There is a feverish search for effective point-to-point and tailored media, for personal and interactive communication. Metrics can provide certainty, and this means that research continues to play a role in audience measurement. Valuable information has been collected on media reach and exposure: initially this was done separately for each media and later on for several media at once. However, research also shows that these numbers say little about the impact on the consumer. What is the reader doing? Is the viewer really watching and is the listener really listening? Real success should be measured in terms of involvement, engagement, the quality of attention, and in terms of transactions and behaviour. Therefore, in addition to the traditional tools such as diaries and surveys, increasing use is being made of new technologies including portable people meters and PDAs. In this issue of Research World, Sheila Byfield and Adam Phillips guide us through the current media landscape. It is a snapshot because media and research will demand even more attention for real attention in the near future.
During 2000 - 2002, AGB Group faced one of the greatest challenges of any TAM supplier - the implementation of 10,000 new peoplemeter panel homes in two technologically advanced television environments.These 10,000 households provided a glimpse of the future that pose a number of challenges to anyone involved in peoplemeter TAM, both suppliers and clients. A plethora of new and constantly evolving technologies, an increasing reluctance of people to take part in research surveys and the ease with which TV peripherals can be added to (and taken away from) the home have an enormous impact on how panels are managed today, and in the future.
The paper describes working principles of the new equipment, the Sniffer, a singular conceptual update of old people meter systems that solves some emergent problems of TV audience measurement, mainly those related to the diversity of the dynamically changing tuning alternatives. The new meter is already implemented in a 600 household people meter TV panel running in Sao Paulo, Brazil since the second half of 1996. Authors provide data to evaluate its performance.
Currently there are two national people meter systems being developed in India: a joint venture between the Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) and AC Nielsen; and ORG-MARG (The Marketing and Research Group). The joint venture between IMRB and AC Nielsen has the backing of a joint industry board, consisting of media professionals elected by the Indian Society of Advertisers and the Advertising Agencies Association of India. ORG-MARG has decided on a solo venture with funding from partners VNU and trusting in the industry to rethink their decision and choose a system based on price and performance. The main body of this paper looks at the many issues involved in the development of the first Indian national people meter panel, a number of which remain in dispute at the time of this paper, despite the existence of the joint industry board.
In 1994 only 37% of households in Poland were equipped with a telephone. Surveys conducted before setting up a peoplemeter panel showed substantial differences between telephone and non-telephone bones in terms of their social structure, TV equipment and patterns of wing. This paper describes technical and methodological questions raised by the decision to include in the panel approximately 45% of non phone homes supported by cellular phones. Panel statistics and e sent viewing data justify this decision.
This paper briefly describes the technological philosophy and approach of the AGB Italia Group in the development of the TVMonitor series of people meters, and covers the technological capabilities of the TVM2 and the various interfaces used in conjunction with the TVM2, in order to Monitor vastly differing broadcast environments around the world. Finally, the paper will describe a new interface, the Multi Channel Screen Lock, which was designed in order to ensure that the TVM series of people meters complies fully with European Union legislation, and is able to meet the ever-changing technological needs of clients.
This paper identifies the different ways in which media developments lead to ever smaller audiences being examined within people meter systems. The consequent unreliability of much people meter data is assessed and strategies proposed for dealing with this. A greater use of aggregation in the use of audiences and trading practices is proposed. Alternative techniques are also considered. A key principle is that the measurement of a number of small audiences in aggregate can be as reliable as the measurement of a large audience. Not only does research have to change but also the use of research.
Because of the large sample sizes, the variety of market conditions, and the variety of methods used by Arbitron in syndicated audience measurement in the United States, the authors have had a rich opportunity to conduct rigorous experimentation in reducing the biases of both nonresponse error and response error in audience surveys. This paper presents a two-stage process model for the execution of audience search surveys. We describe survey strategies drawn from our experiments and experience in conducting diary surveys, set meter, people meter and personal portable meter panels over more than three decades.
The paper describes people meter systems that are used for measuring television ratings and looks at the alternative measurement systems that are given by new media. The Internet is very much in the picture, but does not seem to be able to threaten television for many years to come. A more promising system is interactive television: television mediated by decoders or set top boxes (stb's). For the general public this new medium will be much more important than the Internet. Interactive television will also be more important for some advertising companies than passive television. In this study results are given of a pilot in the Netherlands. Although no random sample was available, it seems to indicate that people like interactive programmes and commercials and that they generate very high response and conversion rates. But a warning is given as well: set top boxes that deliver only one kind of service can attract only small target groups. A multiple service set top box will have a much better chance of succeeding.
Peoplemeters are conventionally described as measuring minute by minute audiences viewing television transmissions. This raises issues of the meaning of viewing, the definition of a minute audience and what kind of audiences are to be measured. The paper addresses these issues and the extent to which total peoplemeter systems can measure audiences precisely and accurately, now and in the future, and supply the data which the market needs. This involves reviewing the operation of peoplemeter systems in terms of ability to monitor reception hardware - the respondent task and its accuracy analysis conventions and time units measuring audience reaction achieving representative samples data requirements by type of measurement, type of station and audience sub-groups. The current limitations of peoplemeter systems are assessed. The implications of future broadcasting developments are considered leading to conclusions on requirements for future research systems and the potential role for peoplemeters.