Mobile data is the fuel of the new advertising paradigm

The inclusion of mobile and tablet data in NRS PADD will allow us to fully harness the power of news and magazine brands – and reach a wider, more fragmented audience, writes Jide Sobo, head of mobile, MEC.

Imagine a world where, as advertisers, we are able to gain real insight into consumers’ needs and interests, what influences them and when they are most open to suggestion. A world where we not only know all of this, but are able to deliver advertising that is tailored to the individual, and their circumstances through the right media, at the right time.

In today’s connected world, where so much data exists, just how far away are we from this fantastical world? While it won’t solve all of our problems, the announcement to extend The National Readership Survey’s Print and Digital Data report (NRS PADD) to include mobile and tablet data is one that brings us one step further to understanding consumption behaviours.

When the web existed solely on desktop and laptop computers, it was relatively easy to use cookies to track a consumer’s usage and to target them accordingly. There were only two operating systems and a handful of browsers.

Now that the web can be accessed from multiple devices it is a far more complicated ecosystem to provide consistency of tracking. And that’s before we consider apps, where there is no consistency of identifier with a browser, even on the same handset.

Add in that the fact that Apple blocks cookies, as a default setting within Safari, and we can see that cookies can only offer a view on a very small section of mobile traffic.

At present, there is no report detailing mobile respondent level data in the industry. While the most recent UKOM comScore digital measurement is a starting point in understanding cross platform behaviour, it does not give a clear understanding of total net brand reach. NRS PADD will be the first UK data set of audiences across all platforms.

It will enable publishers to see their total brand reach, and provide agencies with a continuous single-source trading and planning currency, enabling us to compare and analyse brands’ multi-platform audiences any way we wish. It will allow us to fully harness the power of news and magazine brands to reach a wider, more fragmented audience – something the industry has been crying out for.

News and magazine brands have had some stick over the last few years for the decreases to print readership. So why should agencies still worry about this channel in everyday brand planning activity?

The simple fact is that this more traditional media still has an unprecedented power to influence and engage consumers. NRS PADD has shown over the last 18 months that the number of readers has not declined, and has been offset by the growth of their digital audiences, and so a person’s media profile – even in this increasingly digital world – is as important as ever.

Furthermore, by taking into account mobile and tablet users, these figures will only increase, painting an even more positive picture for media owners.

Of course the extended NRS PADD will by no means be perfect. The figures are estimates for the overall website or newspaper and – to begin with at least – won’t be able to show the specific areas people visit, and exactly who is visiting them. Sample sizes may also be an issue, with a relatively small number of magazine brands measured to start with.

So just how far away is this utopia? It’s certainly not this year, and probably not next, but it will be here much sooner than any of us imagine. Think back a mere six years to when the iPhone 3G was launched, who would’ve thought that we’d be living in a post-PC world, where mobiles and tablets are becoming our right hands?

While the NRS continues to evolve in order to provide a viable industry metric across a range of platforms, it – along with other media metrics – will need further investment and development to meet the future needs of advertisers, publishers and agencies in the UK.

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