CIMM is Meeting the Challenge of Measuring Children and Teens

The measurement of viewers under 18 has always been somewhat of a challenge for television. The task has become even more complicated with the fragmentation of media as younger viewers especially are using their devices for a range of media consumption behavior.

CIMM (the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement) has just announced the formation of a new committee on Children and Teens’ measurement that, according to CIMM CEO Jane Clarke, is tasked “with the goal of providing a higher level of urgency and importance to improving cross-platform, digital and mobile measurement (for both content and ads) among children and teens aged two to 17.” The committee has approached both comScore and Nielsen with RFPs to see what measurement approaches they recommend.

The challenge of cross platform measurement for adults is compounded when it comes to those under 18 years old because of the way they use all viewing devices including simultaneous use, OTT, gaming, social media and TV co-viewing. There are also the legal limitations in reaching and measuring young, impressionable consumers because of COPPA*, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires parental consent for children under the age of 13.

This all means that measurement of children and teens requires either the development of an opt-in calibrated panel or accurate ascription of demographics. But even ascription can be problematic. In some cases, measurement companies are collecting significant amounts of traffic data that is unreportable because measurement companies can't use the third party data without parental permission. Some of the major measurement companies face some aspect of this problem. As Clarke explains, ”Nielsen can’t report Facebook data for those under 18 due to the MRC and COPPA and comScore doesn’t report any digital data that it can’t attribute it to a demographic group.”

There are a range of questions and issues in measuring 2-17s from the ethical such as “How do you gain parental approval to measure childrens usage of media?” and “What about privacy on individual devices?” to the practical such as “What data would be most valuable and how would we get it?” and “Is passive capturing of data possible and if so how?” and “How will you capture co-viewing and channel decision-making?”  So when it comes down to it, the big question is “Where do you start?”

One member of the CIMM committee, Marc Normand, VP Research Disney Media Sales & Marketing, said, “Protecting children’s privacy while providing sufficient 3rd party data that can be used for planning/buying/selling media across devices/platforms is the main challenge.  We each have our own 1st party data, but we need a 3rd party measurement company to validate the data and put it in competitive context.” Turner VP of Research Mark Loughney, another committee member, agreed, “We and our advertising partners need to know more about the demographic characteristics of who is watching.  From our 1st party data we know how much content and how many ads we are serving but we don’t know who the content and ads are reaching. ”

Time is of the essence. Even now, as this next upfront gets underway, media companies who target kids and teens have limited data to show, especially in this cross platform environment where those young Digital Natives are most active.

This article was first published in www.Mediapost.comhttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/244238/cimm-gears-up-for-challenge-of-measuring-kids-and.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=80359

·       *  COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (http://www.coppa.org/coppa.htm) was enacted in 1998 and requires parental consent in order to report personally identifiable information collected from persons under the age of 13.  The Federal Trade Commission issued an amended Rule for COPPA on December 19, 2012 that took effect on July 1, 2013. This rule prohibits certain websites and online services from collecting, using, or disclosing personal information of children under 13 without first notifying parents and obtaining consent.  

In order to comply with these regulations, measurement firms such as comScore and Nielsen have undertaken initiatives to enumerate the kids and teens populations, and to obtain parental consent for children’s measurement. 

Measuring the Unmeasured at the ARF

The ARF always offers events that are a must attend for researchers. This year’s audience measurement conference was no exception. Just like with everything else in the media landscape today, research is undergoing challenges that require it to transform the way it does business.

There is now more to measure ... and more that is unmeasured. There are more platforms, more content options, many more large and small competitors for consumer attention and affection and more data to mine for insights. Researchers now wear many more hats- storytellers, neuroscience aware, big data mavens, thought leaders and analytics experts. We now need a working knowledge of ACR, STB data, cross platform relationships, addressable opportunities and privacy pitfalls. The list sometimes appears endless. But it also makes our jobs very relevant and pivotal to the well-being of a company.

The future is screens, according to Laura Desmond CEO, Starcom MV. “Screens will dominate our environment. There are screens at airports, hotel lobbies, on refrigerators and washing machines. There are touch screens and screens that don't move.” She expects that consumer behaviors will changes with the proliferation of all these screens and cited that 50% of Twitter users read tweets as they watch TV. But the way we measure all those screens is still evolving.

Measurement Solutions

ESPNs Artie Bulgrin offered insights into a Multi Platform measurement solution with an update on Project Blueprint. Project Blueprint is a cross platform solution that uses both single-source and data integration in a hybrid methodology. It combines Arbitron TV and radio data with comScore TV STB, PC and mobile data, along with a “Calibration Panel” recruited from the Arbitron PPM panel.  These are integrated in a “duplication engine” that estimates combinations of usage across five platforms. Partner on the project, comScore CEO Gian Fulgoni called it the "best of panels combined with the availability of big data into elegantly integrated system….that can operate at scale."

Mark Loughney of ABC gives an overview of all three of the ABC research panels at the ARF in this video including DVR playback viewing beyond 7 days and the results of two cross platform studies.

Advancements, Opportunities, Pitfalls and Privacy

Dave Morgan, CEO Simulmedia hosted a panel on how big data can move research forward. It is almost a moving target since there are "more big data sources from new devices everyday" according to Millward Brown’s Bill Pink. And there is a talent gap in how to apply insights to data. Researchers need to be discerning in what the data actually says compared to what the data appears to say. Once regarded as a panacea to all research efforts, it seems that Big Data actually spurs the need for more small data initiatives. "We are doing more custom research than ever before. Big data escalates new questions" says Pink.  Explaining the value of Big Data to the C-level is sometimes difficult but Kellogg’s Aaron Fetters has a solution: He finds that using “The Moneyball example” is an effective way to introduce the value of Big Data to the CEO.

Turner’s Jon Marks says that it is a Big Data world where these datasets have a huge role to play when used properly. He talks about Turner’s Athena Project which defines audience target segments by the programs they watch and Turner’s partnerships in cross platform in this video:


   

He also believes that we are in the golden age of market research where the opportunities for the next generation are almost limitless because the questions keep coming and solutions keep changing. There is a need for great analytical minds to help companies navigate the new media frontier.

But there are pitfalls, especially when we don’t look at the full ecosystem when analyzing data. Christian Kugel of AOL advised that we more fully understand consumer behavior to get the best insights from the data. "What does mobile mean? 60% of mobile moment usage is at home. We need to reframe each strategic opportunity based on what we see the usage is via the data." Mary Ellen Gorden from Flurry talked about how the changing technology can impact behavioral results from the data. "There are lots of apps where cookies don't apply. " So culling data based on cookies may skew your results.

And what about privacy? Aside from the usual response that privacy is important, there are some who are taking a more pragmatic view. Some say that it is possible to give consumers choice where they willingly agree to give up some personal information voluntarily so they receive more targeted and therefore relevant ads.

Conclusion

After two intensive days of research panels, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the range of measurement solutions that are possible using Big Data in combination with custom research. Will there be one major solution that advances into a cross platform and / or addressable currency? These senior executives weigh in on solutions in this video:

I say, stay tuned - this is only the beginning.

Q&A with Mark Loughney - ABC

Mark Loughney, VP Sales and Strategy Research for ABC started in academia but customer satisfaction research interested him so much that he decided to transition into the business side of market research. With a stellar career that included stints at MTV Networks, TNN, Nielsen and ABC. In this interview, Mark talks about measurement, cross platform, industry trends, the DIsney Media & Ad Lab and offers some fascinating insights into future trends in the industry.

The five videos of the interview are as follows:

Subject                                                 Length (in minutes)

Background                                                    (4:16)

ABC Cross Platform                                       (4:21)

Cross Platform Measurement                    (5:11)

Media Lab                                                      (5:54)

Predictions, Smart TV, C3                           (6:28)


Charlene Weisler interviews Mark Loughney of ABC who talks about his background in this 4:16 minute video:

 

Mark Loughney talks to Charlene Weisler about ABC Research and their cross platform efforts in this 4:31 minute video:


 

Charlene Weisler interviews Mark Loughney who talks about ABC's cross platform measurement results in this 5:11 minute video:

 

Mark Loughney talks to Charlene Weisler about the ABC Media Lab and its applications in this 5:54 minute video:

  

In this final video, Charlene Weisler talks to Mark Loughney about C3, the impact of Smart TV and some predictions for the media industry over the next five years in this 6:28 minute video:
 

 

Crossroads in Cross Media and Return Path Data

Last week’s Cross-Platform Video Measurement Summit not only addressed new advancements in cross-platform measurement, it also provided an update on the state of return path data. For those of us who have been grappling with how to best measure content in the world of Big Data, it was an opportunity to have some of the best minds in the business present their vision of the digital future.

When it comes to cross-platform measurement solutions in that area seem to be an embarrassment of riches. Research companies such as Nielsen, Arbitron, ComScore, Simmons, GFK MRI and Google are forming partnerships, merging data streams and creating market positions. But the ability to measure a specific piece of video across all potential platforms remains elusive. Artie Bulgrin from ESPN said “We need passive real time measurements” for cross platform in the form of universal watermarks.

CIMM (The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement) is doing just that – developing a universal watermarking protocol for the measurement of video across all possible platforms. This initiative, called TAXI (Trackable Asset Cross-Platform Identification) started in 2010 and, as Managing Director Jane Clarke announced, will be entering a Proof of Concept pilot stage this fall. As with CIMM’s Set-Top Box Data Lexicon which strives to form a common language for return path data measurement, TAXI should help create a common language for cross-platform - a universal watermark which enables video across platforms and across companies to be measured and compared.

Moving the industry towards new measurement protocols takes time. Some are impatient with evolution and advocate an upending of today’s measurement shibboleths. As NBC’s Alan Wurtzel said, we need to “rethink the idea of TV video measurement and be open to new ideas.” Maybe that means dropping household and demographic group metrics (which are only proxies for individual behavior anyway) and focus on behaviorally segmented data.

Return Path Data is another area where measurement partnerships are finding fertile ground and where the need for a common language remains acute. In 2010, CIMM produced a Whitepaper on the STB Data Landscape. This whitepaper was recently updated and the results were presented by GroupM’s Lyle Schwartz and ABC’s Mark Loughney at the Summit. Both the original whitepaper and the re-contact study are posted on the CIMM website www.cimm-us.org.

From 2010 to today, CIMM found that there been positive movement in the use of return path data, predominantly in the advancement of addressable advertising and local measurement. There has been much more acceptance over the past year for the use of the data in various forms – both within companies and externally in the industry. There is even some movement in standardizing the data with the creation of foundational datasets.

But privacy concerns continue to be an important consideration in both cross platform and return path data implementation. In the area of RPD in particular, privacy is one of the reasons why there has not been greater roll-out of data across all MVPDs. The perceived limited amount of data as well as the cost associated with the available data is a source of frustration for some data end users.

For those of us immersed in big data for the media industry, the challenges of last year are still challenges this year. But forward movement is palpable. Some of these challenges are finally, albeit slowly, being met in the form of universal watermarks (for cross platform) and foundational datasets (in RPD). Can we be content with a slow but steady evolution or are we ready to foment a revolution?