GroupM & Nielsen to launch Cross-Platform Advertising Measurement Tool.

GroupM and Nielsen announced a collaboration to create a new measurement service that will integrate media planning and measurement across television and the Internet.

The goal is to overcome challenges posed by separate media planning, buying, and analysis processes for TV and the Internet, and to answer a growing demand by advertisers for cross-platform measurement tools that help them streamline their marketing strategies.

The new service, dubbed Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings, will leverage the Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings product, as well as its existing television audience measurement capabilities, to provide clients with total and overlapped reach and frequency of their marketing campaigns. Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings provides reach, frequency and GRP measures for Internet advertising.

The effort calls for GroupM each to contribute resources and expertise to create Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings and make it available to GroupM clients. The two companies will also work together to develop innovative new measurement tools that extend beyond TV and online to other platforms.

“Our advertiser clients increasingly recognize that traditional television advertising and online video advertising must work together,” said Rino Scanzoni, GroupM’s Chief Investment Officer. “It’s vital that we have consistent measurement, and that’s our goal in working with Nielsen.”

Executives from both companies said consistent measurement across TV, the web and beyond is critical in order to calculate the total reach and frequency of a cross-platform campaign—a goal previously unattainable because TV and web measurement traditionally employ different metrics.

“Cross-platform metrics are essential to both buyers and sellers of advertising,” said Steve Hasker, president of Media Products and Advertiser Solutions for Nielsen. “Every day, we’re hearing from advertisers, online publishers, TV networks and agencies that a better system of measurement is required. Through working closely with GroupM and others in the industry we believe we can help create best practices that will benefit the entire ecosystem.”