Online audience measurement body UKOM (UK Online Measurement Ltd.) has appointed Ipsos as the new supplier of the UK industry standard for online audience measurement from January 2021.
The appointment follows a broad industry consultation and a tender process undertaken to ensure that media owners, advertisers and agencies can continue to rely on UKOM endorsed data for audience reporting and be confident that it is at the forefront of an evolving online marketplace.
It means that:
- UKOM endorsed data will recognise the primacy of mobile devices for accessing internet content.
- UKOM data is currently reported monthly and from January 2021 the data will for the first time cover day of week and time of day over a broader range of audience segmentation, beyond simple demographics, providing a substantial increase in the granularity, frequency and speed to market of online audience data.
- For the first time there will exist a capability for UKOM endorsed data to measure the audience of advertising campaigns delivered online.
- In addition to current measurement of UK online audiences to websites and apps across PC, tablet and smartphone, UKOM will look in the future to endorse measurement for online audiences on smart TVs, and the fast-growing area of streamed and downloaded online audio. Future TV and radio cross media measurement could be facilitated by Ipsos MediaCell passive meter technology.
Ipsos are recognised as a leader in providing advanced market research expertise across the media industry. They have developed and deliver the survey methodology that produces key audience metrics on PAMCo, RAJAR, Route, IPA TouchPoints and the BARB Establishment Survey. Ipsos also run Compass for the BBC, focussing on understanding audience behaviour across all BBC platforms (including TV, radio and online). The Compass panel will form part of the foundation of the new service.
Ian Dowds, UKOM CEO, said: “We recognise a growing desire from publishers, agencies and marketers for a more joined-up view of online audiences in the UK. What set the Ipsos approach apart was its single-source approach to building, via rigorous Establishment Survey, a high-quality panel of 10,000 consumers willing to participate in research and install meters on multiple devices. Ipsos’s methodology measures the individual consumer, not separate devices or browsers, making the data straightforward and transparent.”
Liz Landy, Global Head of Audience Measurement at Ipsos, said: “We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with the industry to build a measurement system that sets the global benchmark for understanding online audience behaviour, both now and in the future. The UK is the largest online advertising market in Europe and we are thrilled to be able to deliver an approach that reflects this.”
Dominic Carter, Group Chief Commercial Officer at News UK, said: “With the UK on track to be the first market in the world to exceed 70% of total spend via digital media, Ipsos’s appointment is a positive step forwards towards measurement of this tremendously complex area.”
