‘Audience measurement will never be effective without asset measurement’

In a digital led world ruled by impressions, reach and engagement, measurability becomes a holy grail- the make-or-break factor from which there’s no escape. So even as marketers acknowledge the increasingly inevitable relevance of out-of-home (OOH) advertising for its real-life credibility and impact, measurability, or rather a common standard for audience measurement, continues to be a grey area for the medium.

Efforts however have been taken globally and in India to arrive at a commonly accepted standard for measurement. Most recently, the Out-Of-Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), in partnership with Geopath, announced the development of a common measurement platform, Ipsos, with the stated aim of modernising the OOH measurement system.

“A positive development”

Sharing his take with Outdoor Asia regarding the initiative by OAAA and Geopath, Shekhar Narayanaswami, CEO of Times OOH, and the Chairman of the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA), says, “When there is a move towards making  measurability stronger even in a mature market, then it’s definitely a good sign. Geopath uses mobile data and a layer called the Visibility Adjustment Index (VAI), an eye tracking research, which gives additional insight on whether somebody has actually seen it. It’s essentially an attempt to move from an OTS (opportunity To See ) to an LTS (Likely To See). and is another step in a journey of continuous improvement, which is what measurement is. And it’s great that they are doing it.”

Indian OOH & common currency for measurement – The Status Check

So where does ‘Roadstar’, the audience metrics standard approved by the IOAA stand today with regard to adoption?  “We have made the first good step of adopting Roadstar. But the adoption has been slow, is not a challenge unique to India. But what’s important is that everyone in the eco-system is aligned towards it. We are in the right direction and it’s only a matter of time before we get there,” says Shekhar.

‘Commercial inertia’, fragmented inventory, inconsistent policies

Sharing his views on the bottlenecks towards adopting a common standard for measurement, Shekhar first lists inventory fragmentation as an important factor. “There are no standard sizes or formats. Besides, trust is a big factor; you need a third-party validation for proper credibility.”

This matters because a crucial aspect in the context of measurement is asset measurement. “There is a lot of talk about audience measurement, but unless you structurally fix asset measurement and standardization, audience measurement is never going to be very effective. If you go directly into audience measurement without fixing the asset measurement, then you’re practically putting the cart before the horse.”

Secondly, there is the pricing factor – what Shekhar describes as “commercial inertia”. “Adopting this would mean that there will be an additional cost for the advertiser for this service and a possible price erosion for media agencies and media owners. Some people ask for it, but many don’t, because a large part of our market is still stuck on per square foot rates.”

Finally, there is the lack of policy standardization. As Shekhar points out, there needs to be consistency in terms of regulations; different corporations have different rules.

Way ahead – Stakeholder synergy, moving beyond opacity

So then, what’s the next step? summarising it, Shekhar says, “Advertisers must demand it, agencies must embed it in their planning workflows, media owners must align with it, IOAA must govern it and policy makers must enable it.”

The crux of it, as Shekhar says, is about offering a value proposition to the advertisers with price efficiency and precise data analytics, so that the absolute value of the media goes up in the long run.

He nails it when he calls out the very critical challenge of opacity that exists in the ecosystem and how that can hinder the adoption of a commonly accepted measurement system as the standard baseline for discussions.  But he is also hopeful. “There is now a growing acknowledgement that if the industry thrives, then all the players can thrive. And for that, all the stakeholders in the ecosystem have to come together for a common currency, approved by the industry’s governing body, the IOAA.“

Read the detailed story in the April edition of Outdoor Asia magazine