• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, September 7, 2011

Nielsen said its new service -- which looks to bring TV-style measurement to online advertising, including video -- has received a stamp of approval from the Media Rating Council. Tabbed Online Campaign Ratings, Disney networks, Facebook, GroupM and Starcom MediaVest are among the clients using it.

The system -- which been in test for some time and was announced in September 2010 -- hit the market Aug. 15, meaning that MRC accreditation largely parallels the launch. Nielsen has launched products that have received wide use, such as the TV C3 metric, well before MRC offered its verdict.

The Online Campaign Ratings seek to provide overnight data on online audience reach, frequency and gross rating points. Demographic data is attached.

The service melds data collected from Nielsen's traditional TV and online panel with demographic information provided by online data providers.

Steve Hasker, president, media product and advertiser solutions, Nielsen, stated that the ratings system would supply "the trusted metrics needed to prove the true value of advertising on a site, in terms that are familiar to brand marketers and comparable to other media."

Advertisers are intrigued by the prospect of using the online data in conjunction with TV ratings to get a fuller picture of cross-media measurement.

GroupM's Lyle Schwartz stated that the new streams allow "the ability to analyze consistent multiscreen metrics ... with valuable insights into the value of online advertising and its role in the communications spectrum."

MRC is a nonprofit that seeks to ensure industry measurement systems are reliable and effective.