The Digital Committee, chaired by Dan Murphy, Senior Vice President of Research and Analytics for Univision Interactive Media, issued findings in April from its groundbreaking study into digital publishers' handling of user data. This marked an important step in the process of understanding digital audience measurement.

The objective of the study was to examine how various digital publishers capture and maintain user data and to understand how these data can supplement existing research-panel data. The effort to assess current data-collection practices, as well as best practices, is designed to strengthen "hybrid" (panel-based/server-based) digital audience measurement.

While nearly all digital-publisher participants in the study, conducted by Ernst & Young LLP, engaged in some form of user-data collection, the study found there is no common "data owner" – a department, individual or function – charged within these organizations with controlling the publisher's user data. In some cases, these functions are dispersed among different departments, individuals and/or data components.

The lack of common data ownership is seen as one of many reasons only a few digital publishers have developed techniques for utilizing their data for audience measurement, advertising targeting, content refinement or other meaningful purposes.

Among the study's key findings:

• Data conflicts can and do occur, though very few publishers have resolution policies;
• The majority of publishers have minimal or no formal quality and validation practices for the handling of user data;
• Few digital publishers appear to provide user information externally, and few – even though they typically collect user data via third parties such as social media – provide first-party collected data to third parties, making third-party data uni-directional;
• Some publishers anticipate future potential uses of data such as geo-targeting or behavioral targeting – but there is no clear common expectation on how user data may be utilized near-term; and
• Publishers feel the potential to leverage user data is inhibited by a lack of interest or sophistication on the "buy-side" – advertisers and agencies – and are reluctant to develop their processes until they have better sense of what the buy-side wants.

The study's authors offered several recommended "potential leading practices" digital publishers may consider in improving the management of their collected user data. More about these recommendations as well as other aspects of the study can be found in the CRE's announcement of the study findings as well as on the CRE site's Digital Committee page.

"With concurrent industry efforts to create a common currency, MRC audited Digital GRP solutions like Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings (OCR) have been bringing greater focus on data," Murphy noted. "It is natural that the market will shift to mitigate risk associated with these measures, and data practices will change as a result. So we believe the results to be very much a snapshot in time."

The Committee is considering its next project, which will likely look at issues of research concern on the buy-side.

The CRE's Sample Quality Committee, chaired by Ceril Shagrin, Executive Vice President, Audience Measurement Innovation and Analytics, Univision Communications, Inc., is underway with its 2012 study expanding on the significant work publicly reported in 2010 – "Measuring the Unmeasured Viewer" -- at that time the most comprehensive study of its kind to determine the impact of non-response on ratings.

Working with the CRE's recently formed Local Measurement Committee, as well as the Return Path Measurement (formerly Set Top Box) and Universe Estimates (UE) Committees, the Sample Quality Committee is conducting a three-market study encompassing various audience-measurement methods to better understand response bias in address-based audience samples, with the objective of improving diary-based TV-audience measurement and, in turn, ratings quality.

The three television markets in the "SQ:L" (for "Sample Quality: Local") Study are Dallas-Fort Worth, the fifth-largest TV market and a Nielsen local people-meter (LPM) market; Albuquerque-Santa Fe, the 45th-largest TV market and a standard Nielsen-meter market; and Paducah, Kentucky-Cape Girardeau, Missouri-Harrisburg, Illinois -- Nielsen market # 81 and a diary market. The markets were selected due to varying measurement methodology; varying market size; and divergent characteristics, such as geographical coverage, ethnic make-up, number of over-the-air households and penetration levels of electronic devices. For the standard May 2012 diary measurement, a separate diary sample was selected for Dallas, while identified "non-TV homes" in all three markets received a modified diary.

Sample homes in all markets will be mailed a short questionnaire seeking answers on media equipment ownership and general viewing patterns. Homes identified as not having a television set will be contacted and asked if they have any source of viewing television programming; those saying "yes" will be sent a modified diary in which they will be asked to record what they view and the device used for viewing.

Data collected from the new study, conducted with the assistance of Research Triangle Incorporated, will be compared with Nielsen LPM, metered and diary market data in an effort to determine, among other details, the impact on response bias of weighting, adjusting diary data using return path or set-meter data, geographic and demographic variables, and ownership of a traditional TV set as well as a land-line phone or cellphone only.

Findings from the study are expected to be made available by first quarter 2013.

The CRE's Media Consumption & Engagement (MC&E;) Committee, chaired by Joanne Burns, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Research and New Media, 20th Television and MyNetworkTV, recently issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a study to understand if and how mobile media devices (tablets, mobile phones and laptops) impact overall television viewing behavior. The CRE also seeks to improve measurement of mobile media devices. The RFP can be found here.

Among the questions the CRE seeks to answer:

• How does concurrent media usage affect TV viewing, how frequently does it occur, and how does it affect engagement levels?
• Is mobile viewing additive to, or a substitute for, traditional television viewing?
• How does the user access video content (via apps or otherwise) on the device?

The CRE also will seek to:

• Quantify reach and time spent on mobile media;
• Dimension the conditions surrounding mobile-device use, such as location, time of day, and accompanied/unaccompanied; and
• Compare results of the measurement used in this proposed study to the various current industry methodologies employed to collect this data.

The MC&E; Committee's most recent project was the 2011 User Experience (UX) Research Archive.

The Social Media Committee, chaired by Beth Rockwood, Senior Vice President, Market Resources and Advertising Sales Research, Discovery Communications, has completed due-diligence with a number of prospective research partners in anticipation of launching research designed to help media companies, advertisers and agencies to better understand the impact on television viewing of the exploding use of social media. More about the effort will be discussed in the 3rd quarter CRE newsletter.

The CRE's Local Measurement Committee, chaired by Billy McDowell, Vice President of Research at Raycom Media, continues to examine extensive Nielsen diary data to learn about changes over time in statistical variability. The committee also is working closely with the Sample Quality Committee on the newly announced "SQ:L" ("Sample Quality: Local") Study of the Dallas-Fort Worth, Albuquerque-Santa Fe, and Paducah, Kentucky-Cape Girardeau, Missouri-Harrisburg, Illinois, TV markets to better understand response bias in address-based audience samples, with the objective of improving diary-based TV-audience measurement and, consequently, ratings quality.

To better reflect evolving sources of return-path data, the CRE's Set Top Box Committee, chaired by Pat Liguori, Senior Vice President, Research, at the ABC Owned Television Stations, has been re-named the Return Path Measurement (RPM) Committee. The committee produced a significant study, reported in 2010, on the then-state of set-top box research, and is now in the process of commissioning new research to better understand today's RPM environment and its utility for audience measurement.

The CRE's Education Committee in 2011 initiated what is believed to be the first industry-wide internship program solely dedicated to the training of the next generation of audience research professionals. The 2012 internship program, under the guidance of new Committee chair Sharon Warden, is once again dedicated to inspiring the next generation of researchers to join the profession of audience research and to help them obtain proper training.

The internship program features remote learning sessions for teachers; workshops for students, faculty and industry executives; an outreach program focused on college career days; and training materials. The 2012 program began with a CRE survey of CRE member and other Nielsen-client companies returning 130 responses with internship contacts.

The 2012 outreach program includes both faculty and student outreach, coordinated with the assistance of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA), whose executive director, Heather Birks, has joined the CRE's Education Committee.

Additional information on the program, as well as links to 2012 internship opportunities, can be found via an Internship Opportunities "button" on the lower-right portion of the CRE homepage

If your company has internships listed on your company website and would like targeted, added exposure, please email info@researchexcellence.com.

New members admitted in the most recent quarter are Jeffrey Graham, director of advertising research, Americas, at Google; Judy Vogel, managing director, insights and analytics at Media Storm; and Tom Ziangas, senior vice president, research at AMC Networks.

The CRE encourages audience research executives to apply for membership – to share views and ideas with fellow research leaders and to become part of our effort to advance the quality and practice of audience research. Please drop us a note at info@researchexcellence.com.

• Digital Committee: Daria Nachman (ABC), Carrie Nicholson (Turner Broadcasting), Bryon Schafer (Hulu), Debbie Solomon (Mindshare)
• Local Measurement Committee: David Woolfson (Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau), Tony Marinaro (LIN Media), John McMorrow (Cox Television/ HRP), Janice Finkel-Greene (Magna Global)
• Media Consumption & Engagement Committee: Shari Anne Brill (Shari Anne Brill Media), Tim Brooks (Tim Brooks Media/Marketing Research), Laura Cowan (LIN Media), Greg Iocco (Scripps Networks), Susie Thomas (Palisades Media)
• Return Path Measurement Committee (formerly Set-Top Box Committee): John Cogan (OMD), Patti Cohen (CBS), Susan Nathan (Turner Broadcasting)
• Sample Quality Committee: Ann Casey (Tribune Co.), Artie Scott (FOX), Maggie Strickland (Tribune Co.)

If you're interested in our work and would like to join one of our Committees, we invite you to contact us at info@researchexcellence.com.

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In the second in a series of discussions with CRE members – one each from the "sell-side" and "buy-side" – about their roles within CRE and how it helps in their everyday efforts, we speak to Joanne Burns, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Research and New Media at 20th Television and MyNetworkTV, who now chairs the CRE's Media Consumption & Engagement Committee, and Michele Buslik, Senior Vice President, Director Media Research at TargetCast TCM, who serves on the Digital, Return Path Measurement, Steering and Universe Estimates Committees.

When did you join the CRE?

Joanne: 2005. I was a founding member.

Michele:I am also one of the original participants in the CRE, in June 2005. I wanted to join as soon as I heard that Nielsen was initiating a committee whose purpose was to help innovate and improve television audience measurement.

What attracted you to serve on the CRE?

Joanne: It appeared to be a group poised to actually make a difference -- to accomplish some very meaningful projects. Secondarily, but also important, it offered the opportunity for a 'brain-trust' from all levels of the media and advertising industries to come together, forming a unified front for common goals. I did not see anything like it elsewhere in the industry.

Michele: I believed from the start that we were given a great opportunity to produce research studies that would benefit all constituents involved in the advertising industry. I recognized that the media environment, changing consumer behavior and new technologies would impact the traditional way of evaluating advertising opportunities for our clients. I wanted to be part of the community developing research to drive understanding of these changes.

What attracted you to your particular CRE committee?

Joanne: The Media Consumption & Engagement (MC&E;) Committee was ideal for me; multiplatform consumption has been a large focus of my work – personally and professionally. And it has only grown exponentially. It's a burgeoning area of consumer use and, consequently, measurement demands. I saw the MC&E; Committee's work as an area that will continually grow and evolve and present an opportunity to be part of something that had a 'long tail.'

Michele: My goal is to participate on committees whose research topics are top-of-mind to our agency and clients. So I am on several committees dedicated to understanding the rapidly changing media environment and the new technologies impacting how media will be consumed in the future.

What have you found most rewarding from your CRE participation?

Joanne: The Video Consumer Mapping (VCM) Study lived up to and exceeded the goals of bringing together collaborative minds and creating high-level insight. And it opened the door to follow-up studies.

Michele: I knew many members of the CRE before it was organized but certainly not everyone. We all come from different areas of the industry but share a common interest in providing the most actionable research data. I like the way we can all work together to discuss proposed research ideas and agree on the value that these often very expensive research projects bring to our different disciplines.

How would you say your own company has been able to benefit from the work to-date of the CRE?

Joanne: At Twentieth Television, our programming dives deep into the digital platforms, and the work of the CRE has been informative for that process. From a monetization standpoint, I believe we've benefited at Twentieth Television and at FOX overall. The VCM report was shared companywide and I received positive feedback. It's been useful for budget planning and product development.

Michele: CRE studies have raised the level of understanding within TargetCast of the complexity of audience measurement today. We bring this knowledge to our clients as we incorporate research data into our evaluation tools, which are designed to maximize their media ROI. The lessons we learn also provide an important base for us as we develop our own proprietary research studies for clients.

Of the work from your committee, or from others, what have you found to be the most significant revelation so far in terms of its impact on the future of audience research?

Joanne: The VCM study was the deepest study with the broadest insight and greatest opportunity for further exploration.

Michele: If I had to pick one, I would say that the findings from the Universe Estimates research -- which now has us re-thinking the very definition of a "TV household" -- were a significant revelation. I feel privileged to have been a member of that committee. This study has had immediate impact on measurement and will start a very intensive and in-depth dialogue in the industry.

How has your interaction with your peers in audience research changed or evolved since you joined CRE?

Joanne: Being West Coast-based, I often feel somewhat disconnected from the bulk of my research peers located in New York. CRE has helped bridge the coastal divide and provided me with an opportunity to interact much more with fellow researchers -- and the ad industry itself, in fact.

Michele: Each new measurement technology has required changes involving not only research staff but also, now, engineers to handle the myriad coding needed to identify programming. It's interesting to observe how the same viewing information is applied differently to decisions by sellers and buyers. I have a greater appreciation of the efforts of the sell-side to adapt to the changes to ensure that the measurement data we depend on is correct.

Given the rapid growth and change in the ways media are consumed, audience research can be demanding. How do you manage all that you handle in your job?

Joanne: When it comes to time-management, technology is both a blessing and curse. It provides greater flexibility and yet imposes greater demands. I have more and more meetings. That said, new methods for meeting – such as webinars and WebEx – really do help in terms of productivity. The way the CRE utilizes the newest communications technology for meetings – and the way I use it day-to-day – demands more time and attention but it also provides me greater flexibility in terms of time and productivity.

Michele: I believe if you really like what you are doing and feel you have made a positive impact on a client's business then who needs eight hours of sleep every night! Seriously, it's harder today than ever before, but we read the industry newsletters and blogs, we discuss and debate these topics internally, and we associate with best-in-class research partners who will keep us on the leading edge of data development.

Where do you see room for improvement in the approach to audience research?

Joanne: We all have our day jobs, so we welcome and need more participants, at the CRE and industry-wide. Audience research involves active members and participation. The results are incredibly important, but achieving them requires active dedication of members.

Michele: I strongly believe that transparency is the answer. We cannot make the right decisions for our clients when these decisions are made without knowing the full scope of the methodology and processes behind the research results. First attempts at new research may not be perfect, but open discussions can only lead to better solutions which benefit everyone.

How do you see the CRE serving the needs of the Nielsen client community?

Joanne: We're striving to enhance the level of audience measurement. We must to do it well, and do it fast at the same time, to keep pace. Researchers need to be nimble; Nielsen gives us the freedom to act independently, and without being encumbered by budgetary and other constraints we may have in own organizations. Importantly, what the CRE does is for the collective benefit of the media and advertising industries.

Michele: Nielsen is funding very expensive research based on the CRE's recommendations. Nielsen has not turned us down on any of our project ideas and in fact, where appropriate, it helps us with participation from its own experts. It's a strong commitment.

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