• by P.J. Bednarski , Staff Writer @pjbtweet, February 25, 2016

This is the (undeclared) year of measurement for streaming video and another chapter is being written starting today.

Nielsen just announced that Snapchat will employ its Digital Ad Ratings to measure the audiences of its 3V advertising on mobile devices.

It’s Snapchat’s first hook-up with a campaign ratings measurement from an outside provider. The Digital Ad Ratings allows Snapchat to deliver mobile reach, frequency, demographics and gross ratings points.

Because Snapchat is still kind of an odd duck in the digital/video/social space, that data could be an eye-opener for advertisers, competitors and, possibly least of all Snapchat, (since it must have some idea of the strength of what Nielsen will be tabulating).

Snapchat’s vertical videos, made for mobile, are unusual; so are the 100 million daily users, most of them young. Though stats don’t really show Facebook is fading so fast among younger users, the common perception is that Snapchat is a much more facile place; Facebook has become mainstream.

But without much of an outside measurement of its advertising power, clients have had to buy the sizzle of Snapchat’s on-the-street buzz.

Nielsen will be able to measure video ads for Snapchat Discover, the spot Snapchat created for advertisers (which will soon include Viacom) and the Live Stories clips-stories.

Snapchat also will soon enlist Nielsen to provide measurement for other ad products, like the geofilters and lenses users can add to their posts.   

“We’re committed to bringing all the major measurement solutions to our platform,” said Imran Khan,  Snapchat’s chief strategy officer.

Adweek says Nielsen has been providing some data to Snapchat for about a year. It also contracts with Millward Brown Digital to provide insight into brand recall and purchase intent.  Snapchat also has deals with Innovid and Sizmek to provide some campaign data.

pj@mediapost.com