Internet Metrics: The Loyal Audience.

First in a Series of Online Publishers Association (OPA) White Papers Shows that “Unique Visitors per Month” is Not the Most Useful Metric for Media Planning and Buying Decisions

The Online Publishers Association (OPA) today released a new White Paper entitled Internet Metrics: The Loyal Audience, the first in a series of OPA White Papers intended to provide marketers with a better understanding of audience measurement and the role of various metrics in evaluating a site’s advertising potential.

“Despite a growing body of research proving the efficacy of the online medium for marketers, the metrics to support buying decisions are still not firmly in place,” said Michael Zimbalist, executive director of the Online Publishers Association. “The purpose of this White Paper is to help advertisers make better use of existing audience measurement data to help guide planning and buying decisions.”

The paper begins by exploring Total Reach (“unique visitors per month”), the dominant comparison metric to date, and explains why, despite its widespread adoption, it is not the most useful measure of a site’s advertising value. Using custom analysis of data from Media Metrix and comScore, the paper goes on to show how alternative statistics calculated from existing audience measurement data can offer a more appropriate understanding of the relative strengths of competing media packages.

Based on this analysis, the paper concludes that online media with loyal audiences provide rich advertising opportunities by both delivering reach and driving exposure frequency among desirable demographic targets. Since advertisers typically buy only a portion of a site’s available inventory and the majority of a site’s inventory is generated by Loyal Users, it is important to take frequency of site visits and demographics of Loyal Users into consideration when evaluating a site’s advertising opportunity.

The paper was authored by Steve Coffey, an industry research veteran who co-founded Media Metrix in 1995 and was responsible for the first ratings release. Mr. Coffey is currently serving as a research consultant to OPA on its 2002 research initiatives.

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http://www.online-publishers.org/OPA%20White%20Paper%20-%20Loyal%20Audience.pdf

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