
Tony Jarvis
Member since April 2006Contact Tony- Research Architect Olympic Media Consultancy
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tony-jarvis/12/b3a/a45/
- 142 Bella Vista Terrace
- Unit D
- Nokomis Florida
- 34275-6734 USA
As proprietor and Research Architect for the Olympic Media Consultancy we serve global clients in 3 key areas: Provide expert leadership, analysis, planning and strategic thinking to optimize the value and usage of available media/marketing and data/systems information. Generate increased marketing ROI (revenue, profitability and brand equity) by providing relevant insights through designing, executing and interpreting superior advertising research. Evaluate and improve advertising and media effectiveness for agencies and their clients by understanding, developing and managing meticulous consumer research and applying "leading edge" models and concepts. Tony was Chairman of CARF, Canada and is a former Board member of The ARF and MRC . An Olympian he was formerly the British Olympic Swim Team Captain. He writes Op Eds exclusively for Media Post and also offers regular pithy comments on Media Post articles. He refuses to use "Fakebook"!
Articles by Tony All articles by Tony
- In The Industry's 'Currency Fiesta,' Is Attention The Ultimate Common Currency? in
MediaDailyNews on
04/08/2025
"Fiesta" or "farrago," could attention metrics be the multicurrency solution that normalizes value across all media channels and media vehicles?
- ARF Day Two: 'Who Do You Trust?' in
MediaDailyNews on
03/27/2025
The second day of the Audience x Science conference echoed Day One's trust issues, underscored by discussions about the evolution of AI, the ANA's Project Aquila, and the continuing dominance of walled garden data.
- ARF Day One: Nielsen Still The Currency Force, Attention Finds Its Center in
MediaDailyNews on
03/26/2025
The first day of its Audience x Science Conference delivered fascinating learnings on media and ad measurement, but "attention" metrics surely dominated.
- Media & Marketing Analytics: Back To The Future? in
Planning & Buying Insider on
11/14/2024
Sequent's partners, Jim Spaeth and Alice Sylvester, have assiduously helped marketers understand the enormous complexities and see through the smoke and mirrors of marketing mix modeling, multi-touch attribution, and last-touch attribution, as revealed by their many cautions, caveats, and questions.
- CIMM Report Reveals An Elephant In The Panel Measurement Room in
Planning & Buying Insider on
10/24/2024
Thanks to CIMM, the industry now has an incredibly comprehensive and detailed report on the value and projectable costs of panel-based audience measurement.
- A Hundred Reasons To Ask, Does The Trade Desk Have 'Premium' Right? in
Planning & Buying Insider on
09/19/2024
That's what an ARF town hall discussed Wednesday following its release of a "top 100" premium suppliers list, which ranks Hulu No. 1 and France's Le Figaro No. 100.
- The Marketplace Implications Of MRC's OOH Standards in
MediaDailyNews on
07/01/2024
Buyers and sellers who chase cheap CPMs generated by inflated opportunity-to-see metrics rather than significantly more valuable likelihood-to-see ones will undervalue out-of-home media.
- Are Attention Metrics On A Path To Becoming Advertising Currency? in
Planning & Buying Insider on
05/16/2024
Based on this week's release of phase 2 of the ARF's validation initiative, it's complicated.
- In Dissent in
MediaDailyNews on
04/29/2024
This MRC standard essentially takes out-of-home back to the days of using distribution/circulation for planning and buying the medium, using definitions and derivations that are ill-defined, confused, contradictory and inconsistent.
- Be Scared, But Don't Be Fooled in
MediaDailyNews on
03/28/2024
The JIC's clarifying statement focuses on "transparency around transactional readiness," but has nothing to do with the quality, validity or relevance of a proposed advertising currency metric.
Comments by Tony All comments by Tony
- Paramount-Trump Deal Fallout: Worried News Producers - And Advertisers?
by
Wayne Friedman
(TV Watch on
07/03/2025)
Wayne: A terrific piece. As to your last question, most advertisers have put short term sales and corporate profits above long term brand equity, democracy, ethics, the truth and consequently I suggest even the consumer.
- Good Night CBS News, And Good Luck
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
07/02/2025)
'Nuff said!
- The Real Gulf Of America: Brand Strategy
by
Sebastien Flynn
(Planning & Buying Insider on
06/25/2025)
Sebastian: Insightful and eloquently stated. Having moved to New York from Toronto during my ad/media research career and based on extensive involvment with agencies and Media JICs worldwide, your comments and strategic cautions are absolutely on point. So, welcome to the Ad Business in America and I suggest the increasing widening "Gulf's" between (and too often the arrogance of) US marketers and the rest of the world. I am sadly reminded of a recent research "standards" working group meeting at which a media CMO stated, "We are not going have the Europeans tell us what to do." The resulting "standards" were a debacle and subsequently called out by a media research star thankfully from the US. The mantra, "Think local but act globally" used to be energetically embraced by US agencies and marketers whether for a sole US brand, accounting for consumers in Maine versus New Mexico, or for global brands, accounting for US versus Italy versus Japan. So perhaps this fundmental strategic approach can be reignited? Based on the current US political climate and the brutal influence of the US technopolies I believe regretably that this divide will get worse at least until "we" all reference the "Gulf of Mexico"!
- Normalizing Principal Media Buying Is Not Normal
by
Maarten Albarda
(Media Insider on
06/13/2025)
Josh: As Maarten eloquently and I believe appropriaiately stated it's really about, "transparency, trust and integrity", ever decreasing characteristics in the media buy/sell arenas, notably in the US as exemplified by "Principal Media Buying". Years ago when JWT went well beyond aggregating brand buys and spending for just a single advertiser/client in the upfronts via a JWT 'principlal media buy', i recall there were threats of law suits for unethical conduct and I believe some at the agency lost their jobs. Sadly this decline in transparency, trust and integrity, is also reflected in the media currency and research arenas. As an industry research guru and champion you are on the front lines to addresss the current damaging practices and failures to follow the best practices and established media research principles. As a colleague opined, Advertisers ultimately determine the status and behaviours of our industry via their ad dollars. So perhaps "we" are merely getting what "they" deserve? As an early member of https://www.advertisingwhocares.org/ , "we" are trying to underline and remind advertsiers of best practices across all the cornerstones of the ad industry to help them understand and embrace the most effective advertising practices and investments possible to dirve brand equity and brand strength for both for the long and short term.
- At Cannes Lions, Ad Measurement Is The Creative Industry's Most Urgent Challenge
by
Nada Bradbury
(MAD on
06/13/2025)
Nada: Encouraging progress on the auditing, tracking, transparency and accountability of "content-rendered-counts", aka "viewable impressions" (Not a measure of REAL OTS), e.g., independently validated proof-of-play/posting/printing. However, if you remember your Nielsen days, this initial fundamental measurement of whether the creative messages were rendered by the media to advertiser/agency specifications can only "deliver" a brand outcome with, at a minimum, a known valid exposure opportunity, or actual Eyes/Ears-On, or some level of attention by the people in the brand's target group (HHs generally a very poor surrogate!). Hopefully driven by relevant, brilliant, and meaningful creative in a non-toxic, synergyistic media environment for the brand. The latter requires a persons-based (not synthetic!) sophisticated measure of the population for potential or actual exposure. In other words, at a minimum, a person-based measure of REAL OTS, e.g. Nielsen, or better, "contacts" or Eyes/Ears-On, e.g., GeoPath (US) or Route UK), or even better, attention, e.g., TVision. Good luck on the panel!
- I Care About Ukraine Because I Care About America
by
Dave Morgan
(Media Insider on
06/05/2025)
Another insighful and pragmatic piece on Ukraine, its people and the fundamental opportunities it offers the US for its full support on protecting Ukraine's long term sovereignty. I believe I speak for many in our inustry - We are so very proud of you and your efforts!
- WFA Urges Judge To Toss Musk's Boycott Suit
by
Wendy Davis
(MediaDailyNews on
05/14/2025)
Any Media Agency "worth its salt" for any brand can, I believe, easily demonstrate a media plan's superior cost effectivenes regarding the potential achievement of the brand's objectives for a given budget without the inclusion of various unsafe, brand damaging, misinformation cesspits like X. GARM offered a real opportunity for social media to be fully accountable and transparent to advertisers. This lawsuit surely underlines the need for all advertisers to re-evalute and increasingly embrace the proven power of other major media in leveraging their brand's creative message in an safe syngeristic context and environment that drives attention.
- Study Finds Advertisers Prioritizing Performance Over Brand Safety
by
Steve McClellan
(MAD on
04/30/2025)
Brilliant insightful report on a trend that is eroding the cost effectiveness of brand campaigns and the media cess pits they are leaning towards. Perhaps the Advertiser CFOs should demand real meaningful accountability for media investements from their CMO colleagues? Hint: High quality media help optimize long term brand equity!
- '60 Minutes': Counting Trump Time, Advertisers Blinking?
by
Wayne Friedman
(TV Watch on
04/30/2025)
Michael: As usual advertisers and their brands need to double their support for quality, factual, verified journalism and media content. There is surely a unique brand campaign associated with sponsoring/supporting 60 Minutes. i suggest they are wasting $Billions on the various social media content sewers that can be transferred to more cost effective media. Ask any innovative media agency.
- Strategies For Surviving The News
by
Gord Hotchkiss
(Media Insider on
04/15/2025)
Insightful a d helpful. Cheers

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