Zee Melt 2015: Measurement challenges and techniques

In the session organised by BARC India, speakers from Médiamétrie, Mark Data, Nielsen Asia Pacific and William McKenna & Associates, discussed and debated about the highs and lows of measurement techniques.

Melt 2015, the two-day event organised by Kyoorius along with D&AD, Group M and Zee, comprised sessions on a variety of topics. Workshops and seminars aside, one of the most looked-forward-to sessions at the event was the 'Think BARC India', where a panel of eminent people discussed how multiple countries are dealing with measurements.

Bruno Chetaille, chairperson and managing director, Médiamétrie, started off by saying that internet provides a lot of new opportunities. He shared his experience of the mushrooming multiple screens in France. According to recent data, each household now has over six screens - such as television, computer, laptop, tablet and smartphone.

"The penetration rate has gone up 75 per cent in the last 10 years with smartphones and tablets coming in. This also gives more broadcasting options and methods," Chetaille said.

According to data shared by him, penetration of cable has decreased, while IPTV and DTT have seen a jump. Free-to-air channels have also increased in number, from seven in 2004 to 25 in 2014. Thematic channels have risen from 121 to 148 during the same time. This also meant an increased time spent on television and on the internet - around four hours for TV and two hours on the net. Médiamétrie research also showed that for individuals over 15 years of age, there has emerged new ways of watching TV.

Chetaille discussed the challenges for audience measurement which included going from mono to multi-screen, from mono media to pluri-media approach, and from audience measurement to ad-effectiveness measurement. The four levels to transform the process, according to him, is based on technology, new scientific methods, merging TV and internet panels, with the help of a road-map which was shared with market players.

Mark Data's Jose Manuel Olivera explained how analysing big data was a global vision. He believed that audiences and content are connected through classic media and digital media.

According to William McKenna, from William McKenna & Associates Inc, today's cross-platform dynamics have shown some distinct characters. Firstly, the TV business model in US has seen major shifts. According to McKenna, consumers have started gaining control of the viewing cost and viewing choices. This has led to advertisers and brands chasing the shift in eyeballs, resulting in TV everywhere. In such a scenario, agencies are lagging with some being unable to and some unwilling to satisfy brands.

He continued that media planning and buying requires current metrics presented in a competitive context. For media plan execution or performance monitoring, it is important to campaign specific measures. Post evaluation is a vital stage where audience, target and costs or campaign specific delivery measures can be measured. Finally, the ROI assessment including brand conversion and purchase data.

Taking the stage at the end was Erica Boyd, SVP - Cross Platform Audience Measurement Asia Pacific, at Nielsen. According to Boyd, there are three factors that are considered - the connected consumer and device usage, content and advertising strategy, and finally bringing it together for a total audience.

"Societies have changed from having many people watching one single screen, to a single person being surrounded by multiple screens. Every one of these screens has a potential opportunity and significance in the day," Boyd stated.

She also pointed out that online video has two prime times in India - once just before lunch and once again after work hours. In this scenario, the challenges for media owners include time-shifted viewing. This means, though live TV is going down, it does not mean that audiences, especially the youth, are less engaged. But, they are choosing how and when to consume content.

Boyd concluded her talk by sharing a forecast. According to her, digital ad spends targets will see a growth defined at a brand level. It is also likely, she said, that there would be continued declines in traditional TV consumption and acceleration in media fragmentation.

While the talk was about media and measurements in various countries, India's BARC as well as marketers and broadcasters surely did take a leaf or two out of the international handbook, as presented by the speakers at Melt 2015.