ANA backs MRC amid Nielsen suspension

The Association of National Advertisers is backing the Media Rating Council, despite the time and money the media accrediation process takes, and is calling for a gathering of industry trade bodies to set priorities on media measurement, the group said in a statement today.

The statement comes amid unprecedented turmoil in media measurement, with industry leader Nielsen having, at least temporarily, lost MRC accreditations for its TV ratings in the U.S., and its Digital Ad Ratings, widely used on digital campaigns, also on accreditation hiatus. NBCUniversal has launched a request for proposal from media measurement firms, which has brought in 70 participants, many of which haven’t applied for MRC accreditation yet. And VideoAmp, which has also yet to apply for MRC accreditation, said last week that it is working on pilot tests with a host of networks and agencies on using its cross-media measurement as currency in deals. Comscore, while planning to seek MRC accreditation for its TV measurement, doesn’t have it yet, but still is being offered as a currency alternative by networks in the interim.

“Marketers of all sizes insist on a measurement system that is objective, independent, transparent, neutral, and third-party verified,” the ANA said in its statement. “We fully support the MRC and its body of work. Although the MRC accreditation process and attendant rigor require time and resources, it is an indispensable organization. It is necessary to support and justify the billions of advertising dollars spent annually on paid media.”

A cross-media measurement solution “built to meet the principles of MRC accreditation” is the most important measurement priority for marketers, the ANA said. Having joined the Measurement Innovation Forum launched earlier this month by the TV trade group VAB, the ANA in its statement invited the organization to reciprocate by joining the ANA’s cross-media measurement steering committee.

The ANA said that committee is making “excellent progress” piloting component tests for cross-media video advertising with Comscore, doing exploration work with measurement panel providers (alternatives to Nielsen’s TV panel), and preparing for a full pilot test next year.

But the marketer trade group also would like to see a consortium of trade bodies representing all corners of the ad industry, including small-to-medium-sized businesses, form a consortium to “advance and increase the focus on measurement.”

But the ANA acknowledged: “We have had many gatherings in the past on this topic and most, if not all, have fallen short of their stated objectives. Making meaningful progress now requires a substantial commitment for real change accompanied by a significant pledge of resources to overcome the material barriers that have impeded past progress.”

The ANA statement comes as the Advertising Research Foundation prepares to open its AudienceXScience virtual conference today with a host of speakers covering the industry's recent measurement issues.