In a perfect world there would be one simple, credible measurement system where all audio listening, whether over-the-air, on a device, via third-party apps or podcasts, could be neatly packaged for an advertiser to see exactly how many listeners a radio station has. The reality is that technology does not exist, and who knows if it ever will. On Thursday, the MRC released new standards it’s hoping will lead to more credibility on the digital measurement side.
On Thursday, the Media Ratings Council released its final version of new digital audio measurement standards (a preliminary version was released last June). The MRC collaborated with a large group of organizations to develop the new standard, including the RAB, NAB, IAB, COLRAM, digital audio ad buyers and sellers, content distributors, measurement services and others. One goal here is to get Nielsen and Triton accredited under the new standard. MRC Executive Director Geoge Ivie tells Radio Ink “Triton is already accredited, but they will have to adopt these standards going forward. Nielsen is planning to introduce a digital audio product and we expect they would seek accreditation and this standard would be relevant. There could be others that we don’t necessarily know about at this point.”
The new standard outlines measurement and reporting requirements for digital audio advertising and content in either browser or application environments that require a software-based audio player. The guidelines apply to digital audio ads and content regardless of whether they are delivered through a digital audio streaming environment or through a progressive download approach, including podcasts.
Ivie says the new standards will advance the state of digital audio measurement, and make it more comparable with measurement of other media types. “As measurers step forward to be audited and ultimately accredited against these standards, buyers of digital audio advertising will be able to gain assurance that the measurements on which they evaluate their digital ad investments—whether those ads appear in streaming audio, audio podcasts, or other relevant digital audio environments—serve as a true reflection of the exposure of these ads to audiences.”
The MRC says these are some of the most important provisions of the new standards:
- A description of the approaches that should be applied to the measurement and reporting of digital audio under a variety of different content and advertising distribution models. These can include both reporting digital audio metrics on a standalone basis, as well as in combination with over-the-air audio simulcasts.
- A requirement that measurements occur on the client side. Server-side transaction records are generally not considered acceptable for measurement of digital audio activity because they are subject to overstatement and significant inaccuracy, and are never permitted as a basis for digital audio metrics that rely on longitudinal data observations.
- A definition of an “Audio Ad Impression” that requires the ad to have been played with the digital audio player in a non-muted state and at a non-zero volume. In addition, these ads must be filtered for invalid traffic using methods that comply with the requirements of the MRC’s Invalid Traffic Detection and Filtration Guidelines Addendum’s provisions for General Invalid Traffic (GIVT). The use of additional Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT) detection processes is strongly encouraged, and is required for audience metrics for digital audio.
- The introduction of the concept of an “Audible Ad Impression”—in a sense, the audio equivalent of a Viewable Ad Impression. While the standard puts forward certain requirements for this new metric (the ad also must play for a minimum duration of two continuous seconds, in addition to satisfying the requirements for qualification as an Audio Ad Impression), the standard also specifies that additional research will be conducted to determine the parameters by which an Audible Ad Impression will be defined on a permanent basis.
