Where does the panel belong in TV measurement?

A survey commissioned by the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) in the summer showed that the television industry still cannot agree on panel points.

In fact, TV measurement panels are so controversial that this week I moderated a panel about it. (Haa, did you understand?)

But the debate swirling around the panels was never about getting rid of them completely, Helen Katz, vice president of research at Publicis Media, said on stage. “[What] we are still discussing [is] How to build and use them correctly,” she said. This includes combining panels with other types of data to ensure measurements are as accurate as possible.

Meanwhile, the panel is causing a lot of confusion.

Proofreading, what?

Companies and industry organizations all create their own variety of viewing panels, which they call “calibration panels” to emphasize certain highly technical use cases.

The term “calibration” doesn’t have a consistent definition and seems to change depending on who you talk to, says Joan FitzGerald, CEO of Data ImpacX, which helped conduct the study.

“Panels remain the standard for TV measurement,” Fitzgerald says. But instead of the audience panel that Nielsen is criticized for every day, there is now a proofing panel.

And despite their geeky names, these panels have a very simple function: they validate the accuracy of larger datasets, including viewership and census-level data. , is becoming more popular as a basis for measurement due to its specificity.

Examples of adjustment panels include those from smart TV companies Vizio and Samsung. Both companies created their own panels over the past year using audience data and automatic content recognition (ACR).

Trade organizations such as VAB and ANA are also working on their own panels, but with different approaches. VAB uses data from ACR plus other panel providers (think Kantar and HyphaMetrics, hypothetically), and ANA uses data from alternative measurement providers (like VideoAmp and iSpot) to identify TV viewers. We are building an identity that can be integrated.

However, despite the apparent lack of consistency between these panels, they have a common purpose. That means fact-checking data to support better measurement, and therefore more effective targeting.

For example, measurement companies combine panels with big data to uncover details about TV-watching households, such as age, gender, and ethnicity. Additional information can help advertisers flag under-exposed audiences to reach, and can also help correct errors in reporting (such as non-Hispanic households watching telenovelas). It’s possible, but unlikely).

Being able to identify individuals in a home is also why advertisers rely on panels to help measure co-viewing, which can be useful for more targeted campaigns, Publicis Media said. says Mr. Katz. Still, she added, there’s still value in targeting households (rather than individuals) if the ad’s message is more general.

on the same page

The conclusion is: Panels are measurement resources and do not directly determine the value of media buys as currency.

But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be standardized.

Certification by the Media Rating Council (MRC) and certification processes being developed by the Joint Industry Commission of Broadcasters (JIC) both allow buyers and sellers to agree on measurements that have “statistical reliability.” Katz says it’s “important” to do so.

The data needs to be consistent enough to help plan and forecast future campaigns, and it also needs to pass through the planning and activation systems the buyer is already using.

Compared to JIC certification, MRC certification is a “more rigorous process” and takes much longer, Katz adds.

Indeed, time is of the essence for the adoption of a new measurement currency, so much so that the question of whether MRC certification is required has long been debated within the advertising industry.

Meanwhile, Carmela Fournier, vice president and general manager of data for Comcast Advertising, said, “JIC has set standards for the type of standards needed to make good, accurate measurements that are acceptable to both parties.” It is set.”

However, I don’t know if Nielsen agrees with that.

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