Five guiding principles behind Making Measurement Make Sense

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Posted 07 August 2012 22:03pm by Heather Taylor with 0 comments

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Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS) is, in its own words, a cross-industry coalition committed to developing brand-building digital metrics and cross-platform measurement solutions.

Last week, IAB, ANA and 4A's, the member organizations behind the 3MS initiative, led a webinar showcasing the work behind 3MS and where they are to date.  IAB's Sherrill Mane, explained the initiative further:

Basically, [3MS] is a collaboration across the ecosystem to make digital media metrics more brand friendly. We have to have core metrics, standardized metrics and work flow processes to make it easier to have agencies execute campaigns and create a better supply chain. Publishers [also] need this approach as they need a way to speak a language that is understand by all parties.

There are five guiding principles behind 3MS:

1. Move from ad servers measuring "served impressions" to "viewable impressions" to prevent the over-counting of impressions.
2. Online advertising must migrate from gross ad impressions to a currency based on targeted audience impressions and the reach and frequency of these exposures. 
3. Digital media units far surpass the limited number of inventory types used in traditional media. 3MS will create and implement a classification system and taxonomy for banner, rich media and streaming video ads that will be adhered to by all publishers.
4. Define, standardize and accredit metrics for view-through reporting for brand marketing and related social activity.
5. Establish standards to facilitate cross media platform planning and buying so that digital media measurement can be compared and integrated with other media.

By the time this initiative is complete, Mane hopes it will catch up the digital advertising industry in cross-platform metrics and measurement after being more than a decade behind. 

It's a massive change. It will affect everything. It's currency and as currencies change, it's a big change. 3MS will give tools to know what ads work best for which brand goals. 

There is frequently a disconnect. If you are saying ads have to be in view then you need to think about how to design sites to facilitate advertising and to create ads in a different way.  I hope it will refocus the industry as a whole to create more compelling advertising.

To find out more about 3MS, you can watch their recent webinar "Making Measurement Make Sense: Time to Get Up to Speed" with 4A's Mike Donahue, ANA's Duke Fanelli, IAB's Sherrill Mane, MRC's David Gunzerath and Bain & Co's John Frelinghuysen.