Research Seminar Kicks Off Media Playground
MediaTel Group yesterday ran its first Media Playground event showcasing the latest new media opportunities. The day’s first seminar in a packed line-up focused on research, with a stellar panel debating the future of the industry, focusing particularly on digital.
Stuart Corke, director of customer insight at News International, said that it was imperative that standards were put in place so that like-for-like measurement is the norm. He added that in an ideal world we would be measuring “apples and apples” but realistically, the best we can hope for is to measure “apples and pears”.
He also noted that ABCe data becomes less relevant for newspapers when they are competing against a broad range of content providers in the online space.
Fellow panellist Matthew Dodd, VP of research and analytics EMEA at Nielsen Online, agreed with Corke that “people need a common ground for measurement”.
He added: “Site centric measurement might not be as effective at measuring as panel based systems.
“JICIMS is the correct move to get measurement right…Nielsen would happily partner them.”
Meanwhile, Nick Suckley, founding partner of Agenda21, said that research is failing to keep up with the market, adding “if targeting makes advertising better, then I’m for it”.
He also outlined some problems in the industry, saying “people lack experience in using data… Google hires NASA scientists to solve problems – we hire graduates”.
One of the themes that came up during the discussion was a lack of need of conventional research for clients using online, as they use direct response and sales metrics to plan and buy.
Previously, research has been used as a main targeting tool, however, it is now possible to use targeting tools as targeting tools.
Also on the panel was Hugo Drayton, CEO of Phorm. The company has been in the news recently owing to fears over the privacy of the data it collects, although its technology complies with the Data Protection Act, RIPA and other laws.
Phorm’s powerful proposition of targeted advertising coupled with its comprehensive fraud prevention system should mean that the consumer can have no complaints about the service.
Commenting on the current state-of-play in online, Drayton said: “”The majority of online advertising is random because we don’t know who’s there.”
He added: “The mid and long-tail of the internet is dead space at the moment – locating keywords in the dead space of the internet is a massive opportunity.
“There is a massive shift coming in that you can use search type technology across the whole of the industry.”
MediaTel Group: 0207 439 7575 www.mediatelgroup.co.uk