UKOM 2012 – more devices covered; more people-based data

Nielsen launched its new hybrid methodology for digital measurement yesterday to a select audience in London. The methodology has already been rolled out in the USA and Spain and will soon be running in Australia and New Zealand too.

The hybrid combines panel-based and site-centric data, but with an emphasis on the individual data. For media owners it means there will be a push to get sites tagged with the Nielsen tag, which the company are confident will not affect download speeds.

The focus of the hybrid method is to measure people, not cookies and to research who is accessing from any device – “expanded enumeration”. The benefits outlined yesterday included:

Data captured from all sources, not just home and work
Measures people not devices
Enables (continued) cross-media measurement to be possible
Consistent market-wide rules – comparable data across all tagged sites
Tagging provides a more accurate representation of sites

In the USA the top 1,000 sites saw their visitors/hits go up by 30% under the new methodology.

The hybrid method does not include ad networks, which remain “a bit of a challenge”, and are not included in the USA or Spain either. James Smythe, General Manager of UKOM said that they were “still appraising actual reach methodology for ad networks”.

The tagging process can begin immediately, but Nielsen expect to focus on market leading sites in several sectors to achieve a “diverse representation in the marketplace”. Other sites would then see their data modelled in line with similar tagged sites.

The new data will be released through Nielsen systems “once the UKOM Board is satisfied”. Likely launch would appear to be Q1 2012.

During the testing period publishers will be able to see their own data under the new tagging methodology.

More from Nielsen on the measurement here