• by Paul Gough , August 14, 2002

DoubleClick Inc. and Interactive Marketing Systems announced today an alliance that the companies hope will strengthen the comparison between online and offline media.

The deal gives DoubleClick's MediaVisor campaign-management system the benefit of integration with IMS' WebRF reach and frequency products. The companies say planners and buyers will be able to use online reach and frequency metrics comparable to the ones available in traditional media.

For as long as there's been an Internet, there have been questions whether online reach and frequency can be compared to offline. It's been an open question, although interactive media companies have been trying to address it within the past year.

"It's a hot topic right now but it's a hot topic for a reason," said DoubleClick spokesman Dave Frankland. "What we're trying to do is make the whole process more efficient and more effective." MediaVisor and WebRF customers would be able to work within the products to research and plan a campaign, then bring those results through one interface to carry it out. WebRF, an IMS and Nielsen/Net Ratings product, helps planners and buyers to predict the success of their interactive campaigns a lot like they're able to do in traditional media.

Frankland said as soon as DoubleClick realized it wanted a capability like this, it also knew its customers would be best served by partnering with a leader in the field. That led DoubleClick to IMS, which Frankland said provides information to advertisers in a format they're already comfortable with and accept.

The integration should be completed by the end of the year. The deal between DoubleClick and IMS will mean that DART server data will be included in Custom WebRF. Custom WebRF generates reach and frequency results with site and panel data. DoubleClick and IMS customers, through separate partnerships, already have access to data from Nielsen/Net Ratings and @plan.

IMS couldn't be reached for comment. But in a statement released today, an IMS executive said the deal with DoubleClick brought online reach and frequency to a new level.

"This initiative provides the ability to assess the potential of the Internet in standard media terms and facilitates the likelihood that the Internet can and will be evaluated with the same commitment as other media," said Amy Betz, VP Publisher/Internet Sales & Service at IMS. "It allows for more efficient campaign management through the use of integrated research, planning, buying and post-buy analysis tools."