Online Publishers Address Audience Measurement

CAANZ and Online Publishers Address Audience Measurement Standards

CAANZ 09 303 0435
WWW.CAANZ.CO.NZ

12 November 2001

Media Release

CAANZ and Online Publishers Address Audience Measurement Standards

CAANZ has embarked on a project with the nzherald.co.nz, nzoom, Stuff, Xtra/MSN and The Internet Bureau to develop an industry standard for online audience measurement as part of an initiative launched earlier in the year by the CAANZ Media Committee.

According to CAANZ Executive Director, Lynne Clifton this is a major initiative this year for the Media Committee. It is also an essential step for online to be recognised as an established mainstream advertising media. “In many ways what we are going through now with online is what radio went through 10 -15 years ago in reaching a pan-industry agreement on measurement standards”, said Clifton.

Comprehensive top level demographic and media consumption information about New Zealand Internet users is already available through Nielsen NetWatch, however there is also a requirement for reliable information about the online publication audiences. Currently there are so many different measurement and rating systems being used to measure online audience activity that there is a lot of confusion over which numbers are right.

The major online publishers have taken an active role in working with CAANZ to develop an audience measurement standard, which is a very positive move.

The publishers are also working with CAANZ to resolve the impact of the ACNielsen’s NetRatings service support for New Zealand being moved to Australia. The major concerns for the industry are the maintenance of the current “at home” panel and the establishment of a “business / at work” panel. Other services provide ranking or site traffic information, however demographic information is seen as an important ingredient for online media buyers just as it is for TV, radio, newspapers and other traditional media. The publishers and CAANZ believe that rankings and categorisation alone cannot provide enough information for robust media buying decisions.

Contacts

Lynne Clifton – Executive Director CAANZ 09-3030435

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