Day 4 of the asi virtual Conference, November 5, was entitled, “Frictionless Measurement: Has COVID-19 changed measurement forever?” Industry experts from the major media research vendors reviewed some of the innovations being embraced to cope with a COVID world. The opportunity to bring further efficiencies and improved technical solutions to their entire audience measurement operations, including for the panelists themselves, was evident. Multi-faceted research design features are being made to ensure that such innovations will be able to withstand future crises.
Dominique Vancraeynest, GfK offered a media behaviour overview with, “Media, advertising and the global pandemic”. The initial phase of lockdowns produced a huge increase in TV viewing and co-viewing which probably indicates that TV remains the default medium for most consumers. Program production became a massive challenge and COVID has accelerated the explosion in self-produced content. This period has also seen the biggest acceleration in the digital explosion in media, plus the longer the COVID period lasts the more the changes in media consumption will be established. His conclusion was that the global content providers were better placed to “cope” and through further consolidation and collaboration will maintain their predominant position. This conclusion would appear to also apply to the media research vendor’s themselves.
Three of the leading TV/Video audience measurement companies worldwide addressed, “How have the major research providers coped with the crisis?”
Rolf Müller, GfK in an outstanding review, echoed previous asi sessions underlining this industry’s enforced journey of discovery including methodologies, tech and devices and operational efficiencies. His, “Need for Hybrid Media Measurement Solutions”, emphasized the opportunities for “Changes” per David Bowie. Some of the fundamental changes made by GfK include: switching face-to-face interviews to CATI or on-line at the consumer’s choice; increasing re-contact surveys; remote Television Audience Measurement, TAM, tech support and maintenance for meter panelist self-help; new people meters that can even be self-installed (by most ~70%! – probably by the kids??); and improvements in efficiencies for the technical staff working from home. Rolf’s overall renewed focus on panelists via hybrid measurement was crystal clear.
Hanne Teigum and Mesut Sakal, Kantar explained, “Extraordinary times. Extraordinary Measures” and the resilience in TAM based on compromises and collaboration with clients and public authorities to ensure panel stability including executing establishment surveys. Some of Kantar’s measures to cope include: forced panel churn put on hold; CATI or on-line data collection versus F2F (albeit with declining response rates); remote support flexibility and COVID Clothing compliance; sophisticated dynamic panel recovery model for any heavy panel loss to maintain reliable data; and scenario planning to stay ahead and prepare for the worst. Can measurement become more friction-less? They believe so based on: new meter technologies; hybrid solutions and data integrations; and increased collaboration with Joint Industry Committees, JIC’s, on further innovations.
Sarah Miller, Nielsen took the day’s issue by the horns and presented “Towards Frictionless Measurement”. As Nielsen has moved to remote global operations video conferencing has come to the rescue in their “eyes- wide open” evolving approaches during COVID. Like the other vendors, they have increased comprehensive self-help for every aspect of the panelist’s set/device meter operation and technical help is also available via one’s cell phone. Nielsen’s compliance has been maintained and cost efficiencies have been achieved. So, will the savings be invested in larger panels to address signal fragmentation and reporting? Currently their set meter is still based on “button pushing” and audio signature/watermarking but they have eliminated the need for audio cables in their new meters – apparently still set meters rather than personal meters. Sarah noted the critical aspect of every element of panel management and the increased pressure on its representativeness in a COVID environment.
Chris O’Hearn and Brenda Wortley, 3M3A, a media measurement audit company, experimented with automated “audit interviews” for measurement panelists in South Africa which are initially recruited by the research vendor. Personal face-to-face interviews were a virtually non-starter in a COVID world there. Entitled, “Face Off: automated calls as an alternative to personal interviews”, the new approach showed promise despite the extent of answer trees that had to be established. However, they were questioned as to whether this would be a successful approach for future audits. Beyond escalating call blocking, automated calls have become the bane of consumers in many countries. Special panel respondent recruitment techniques regarding the audit may be required via the research vendor, who incentivize them heavily. This automated call approach might be an innovation although on-line may be a more efficient approach for both 3M3A as well as for the participants? Ultimately home visits surely remain necessary even in a COVID world to ensure meter set ups are to specifications.
Fusion has been re-introduced again in Canada. “Multi-dimensional isotonic fusion: capturing the complexity of online behaviour” was presented by Pat Pellegrini of Vividata and Andrea Mezzasalma of dataBreeders. They summarized the “melding” of Vividata’s ‘Survey of the Canadian Consumer’, which uses the traditional approach to collecting multi-media and consumer behaviour from 35,000 respondents per year with 60K variables, with their Metrica Digital Device Survey executed via a 5,600 digital panel. A fusion of these two surveys to a pseudo single source reflected all the classic dilemmas and complexities of preserving all the primary results (new weights need to sum the original weights) from the original surveys. The Survey of Canadian Consumers was the recipient database with the Metrica being the donor survey. However, the fundamental and critical fusion hooks or linking variable ultimately established were not detailed and some likely basic geo-demographic links were also omitted. I am aware that Vividata, formerly the Print Measurement Bureau, has had a long history of “technical concerns” with fusion and survey integration within and between its own studies and with ancillary databases. Hopefully, this approach will stand up to scrutiny by independent experts in this highly specialized data arena even allowing that modelled versus actual behaviours in this fusion have been carefully checked.
Dachas in Russia are quite common (~25% of the population) but present a TV/video measurement problem during the Summer. In, “Measuring second homes in Russia”, Ksenia Achkasova of Mediascope and Olivier Hays of CESP, which audits the Mediascope survey, demonstrated how the same TNS 5000 meter and a fusion process could overcome the differences between two universes and consumer behaviours while delivering a pseudo single source TV audience ratings. While the details of the CESP audit need to be assessed, measurement of dachas has produced a significant addition to home TV viewing that would otherwise have been missed.
Liesbeth Nekkers, GfK offered a prelude to the Day 5 asi session which will be focused on the “Cross-Media Measurement, XMM, dream” being driven by the WFA via ISBA (UK) and the ANA (USA). Her, “Getting insights into cross-media usage through integration of measurement tools” critically” reminded advertisers that XMM is about much more than TV & video measurement! GfK is piloting a limited cross-media link, ‘mobile app’ study of ~7,000 people over the age of 13 recruited from their Access Panel of over 100,000. It is attempting to relieve respondent burden with one metering solution that uses their existing digital tracking technologies, while protecting consumer’s privacy and their mobile’s battery consumption. Very brave! Liesbeth suggested that this technique actually measures “Eyes-On” for smart phone viewing(?) which would be a significant advance over the usual “OTS” media measures. She also said it was shown to be representative of the population, with acceptable compliance levels and that the demos and “viewing” and “hearing” levels for digital devices, i.e., exposure or contacts, were validated. However, this special smart phone needs to be on all the time, so would this not potentially produce ‘heavy mobile phone user’ bias?
The last review from François Dufresne, Médiamétrie and Eva Respaut, M6 Publicité, addressed, “Addressable TV. How to measure its Effectiveness.” They suggested that TV as a mass medium is perhaps no more and that behavioural hyper-targeting, digitally defined, is now real and a critical opportunity for brands via addressable TV. Somewhat similar to the Vividata fusion experiment, Médiamétrie will support the creation of new targets for TV by fusing their TV panel with their internet/on-line global panel. Two serious concerns were immediately evident. 1. They are eliminating light TV users in this fusion of databases (apparently not light digital internet users?) which it was posited would intentionally introduce bias. This surely needs extremely careful evaluation. 2.The total revenue requirements for any TV program need to be achieved however the ad time is decomposed nationally or regionally, addressable, or not. That ad audience decomposition has potentially severe audience CPM implications for media buyers and their brand clients however “targeted” the ad delivery “might” be for the broadcasters to achieve their revenue goals. Advertisers and agencies are always looking for greater consistency in TV and digital advertising targeting so this French experiment will offer a great deal of learning.
Clearly, media audience measurement has already been made more friction-less for all parties involved. The efforts reviewed in today’s program are certainly “stay tuned” initiatives. A new normal in media measurement is being established but as always it will require assiduous auditing and assessment!
