Nielsen To Analysts: We've Created A 'Currency,' Says GroupM WIll Use OCR To Guarantee Ad Buys

• Comment (1)
• Recommend (6)
• Tweet
• 

A top Nielsen executive said the company’s fledgling Online Campaign Ratings (OCR) product is heading toward an industry standard in tracking Internet consumption with metrics similar to TV.

“What we’re seeing is a real step toward the creation of a currency, and the evidence around that is the fact that both buyers and sellers of advertising inventory are using the product to guarantee the delivery of an audience,” said Steve Hasker, the president of Nielsen’s watch business.

AOL said last month it would offer guarantees for online video advertising delivery, based on demographics such as age and gender. Nielsen said 18 of the top-25 advertisers have been working with OCR, and a significant number have signed up for long-term commitments.

Hasker, who was speaking at an investor event, indicated that GroupM plans to make joint TV-digital buys in the upfront and if there is under-delivery on the TV side, the agency group will accept makegoods on digital platforms based on OCR.

“The extent to which you move out of analytics territory into currency territory really is the test … are people guaranteeing against it?” Hasker said.

Both Hasker and Nielsen CFO Brian West said adoption of OCR is outpacing expectations.

OCR uses Facebook data as a tentpole, and Hasker said Facebook’s interest comes from a desire to have its display advertising considered alongside TV as an advertising option.

• Comment (1)
• Recommend (6)
• Tweet
• 

1 comment on "Nielsen To Analysts: We've Created A 'Currency,' Says GroupM WIll Use OCR To Guarantee Ad Buys".

1. Douglas Ferguson from College of Charleston
   

   commented on: May 21, 2012 at 9:43 a.m.
   Thanks, Nielsen, for choosing an acronym that already has a very well-established presence (OCR, optical character recognition). The world needs more confusion. (This applies to you, too, Office for Civil Rights.)

Leave a Comment