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MRCDigitalAudience-BasedMeasurementStandards
April,2017v5.1PublicCommentDraft
Sponsoringassociations:MediaRatingCouncil(MRC)InteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)
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TableofContents1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 41.1 Overview and Scope ............................................................................................................................. 61.2 Standards Development Method .......................................................................................................... 72 Top-Line Measurement Definitions ......................................................................... 72.1 Audience-Based Calculation Explanation and Components ................................................................ 7
2.1.1 Segregation of Content/Advertising Vehicles and Genres .......................................................... 112.2 Impression Counting .......................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.1 Viewable Definition..................................................................................................................... 122.2.2 Audio Considerations .................................................................................................................. 13
2.3 Duration .............................................................................................................................................. 142.4 Audience Assignment ......................................................................................................................... 143 Audience-Based Universe Estimates – Basis for Projection ............................. 153.1 Universe Estimates ............................................................................................................................. 153.2 Coverage ............................................................................................................................................. 16
3.2.1 Device Identification ................................................................................................................... 173.2.2 IP-Enabled Television or OTT Device ........................................................................................ 173.2.3 Accounting for Duplication ......................................................................................................... 17
4 Audience-Based Currency Measurement Standards – Technical Details ........ 184.1 Tracking of Advertising Access – Technical Details ......................................................................... 18
4.1.1 Client-Initiated (and viewable) ................................................................................................... 184.1.2 Audience vs. Ad Measurement .................................................................................................... 184.1.3 Script-based Tracking Method/Assets ......................................................................................... 204.1.4 Encoding, Fingerprinting and Meter-based Tracking Method/Assets ........................................ 204.1.5 Rich Media Usage ....................................................................................................................... 224.1.6 Video Usage ................................................................................................................................ 224.1.7 Advertising Measurement in Applications .................................................................................. 23
4.2 Duration .............................................................................................................................................. 234.2.1 Inactivity ...................................................................................................................................... 254.2.2 Duration Editing ......................................................................................................................... 254.2.3 Duration Value ............................................................................................................................ 25
4.3 Tracking of Users (Sources and Attribution) Technical Details ........................................................ 264.3.1 Adjustment of Uniques ................................................................................................................ 274.3.2 Identifying Users Across Devices ............................................................................................... 284.3.3 Accounting for Duplication ......................................................................................................... 304.3.4 Tracking Method – Panel Methods, etc. ..................................................................................... 314.3.5 Data Enrichment Sources and Process ....................................................................................... 33
4.3.5.1 Data Enrichment Methods (including behavioral analysis) ................................................................ 344.3.5.2 Data Enrichment Quality Checking and Monitoring .......................................................................... 34
4.3.6 Registration ................................................................................................................................. 354.3.7 Data Passed in an Ad Request: ................................................................................................... 35
5 Data Preparation and Quality Checking ............................................................... 365.1 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................... 36
5.1.1 Validation Procedures ................................................................................................................ 365.1.2 Identification and Monitoring of Data Gaps in Transactional Data .......................................... 36
5.2 Data Editing ........................................................................................................................................ 375.2.1 Empirical Support ....................................................................................................................... 38
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5.2.2 Documentation and Consistent Application ............................................................................... 385.3 Quality Control Over Other Data Sources ......................................................................................... 385.4 Data Aggregation Controls ................................................................................................................. 38
5.4.1 Completeness Checks .................................................................................................................. 385.4.2 Tests of Significance for Missing Data ....................................................................................... 39
5.4.2.1 Systematic Data Issues ........................................................................................................................ 395.4.2.2 One-time Data Outages or Natural Disasters ...................................................................................... 39
6 Enhancing Audience Based Tracking Accuracy ................................................. 406.1 General ............................................................................................................................................... 406.2 Filtration for Invalid Activity ............................................................................................................. 406.3 Privacy ................................................................................................................................................ 407 Reporting Parameters ............................................................................................ 417.1 General Parameters ............................................................................................................................. 417.2 Time .................................................................................................................................................... 417.3 Location .............................................................................................................................................. 427.4 Segregation of Non-like Ad Activity ................................................................................................. 437.5 Qualification of Data Adjustment Procedures .................................................................................... 437.6 Minimum Reportability Standards ..................................................................................................... 437.7 Data Retention Requirements ............................................................................................................. 438 Disclosure Guidance .............................................................................................. 449 Auditing Guidelines ................................................................................................ 469.1 General ............................................................................................................................................... 469.2 U.S. Certification Recommendation .................................................................................................. 469.3 International Certification Recommendation ..................................................................................... 4710 Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................ 4711 Supporting Associations and Participating Organizations .............................. 5312 Contact Us ............................................................................................................. 54A. Appendix: Digital Audience Checklist ................................................................ 55
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1 ExecutiveSummaryTheDigitalAudienceBasedMeasurementStandardsareintendedtoapplyprimarilytothemeasurementofdigitaladvertisingaudiences,althoughtheconceptsitincludescanbeusedtoguidethemeasurementofdigitalcontentaudiences,untilsuchtimethatcontent-specificaudiencemeasurementguidelineshavebeenestablished.Thisdocumentwillserveastheframeworkformeasuringandreportingaudiencesfordigitaladsthatareviewable,filteredforinvalidactivity,attributedtoanaudiencesegment(orintarget),durationweighted(forvideowhereapplicableandincross-mediacomparisons)andcomparable/abletobededuplicatedacrossmediatypes.Specifically,theseStandardscoverthemethodsusedformeasurementofdigitalmediaactivitycoveringadvertisementsincluding:
1) Establishingtheappropriateuniverseinformationforprojectionofmeasurements;2) Establishingexposuredatatoadvertisements(discretely)withappropriatequalityand
granularity;3) Providingguidanceandreferencesforthepossibleuseofnewer(passive)datasources;4) Attributingaudienceofexposuredatatoadvertisingormeasuringexposure
simultaneouslythroughmethodssuchaspanels,oracombinationofmethodswithsufficientqualityandgranularity;
5) Ensuringadoptionofviewableimpressionguidancewithinthedigitalaudience-basedmeasurementprocesswithgranularitysufficientforreporteddatabreaksandcharacteristics;
6) Guidanceoninternalcontrols,qualitycontrolandothermeasurementpracticesconsideredbestpractices(includinginvalidtrafficfiltration);
7) Guidanceonappropriateweighting,projection,calculationandreportingprocesses;and8) Considerationsforcross-mediacomparabilityofaudience-baseddata.
Further,theStandardsincludethefollowingkeytenets(withappropriateSectionreference):• ViewableImpressionsaretheminimumrequiredqualifyingmeasurementunitfordigital
audience-basedmeasurementincludingdigitalandcross-mediaReach,FrequencyandGRP(Sections2.1and2.2.1).
• Fordigitalvideoaudiencemeasurement,viewabledurationreportingisrequired.Further,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredalongwithcampaignorcreativesegregationwhenusedforinputintocross-mediavideoFrequencyandGRP(Sections2.1and4.2.3).
a. Digitalvideoaudiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarepermissibleifreportedinadditiontoduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediacomparisonsorcombinations.
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b. Digital-onlyaudiencemeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting,butmustincludereportingofviewableduration.
c. Durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouragedinconjunctionwithmeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweighting.
d. Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurement.• Forreportingpurposes,measurementsshouldbesegregatedbythevariousadvertisement
typesoreventsincludedinthecampaign(placement);countsshouldbereportedseparatelyforadswithinthecampaignofdifferentsizesorfunctionalities(whereknown),differentlengths,etc.(Sections2.1.1and7.4).
• MeasurementorganizationsareencouragedtoseparatelyreportViewabletimethatisalsoaudibleandtoconsiderthisindurationweightingofaudienceestimates;cross-mediaaudiencecombinationsrequirethesameaudiblecriteria(Section2.2).
• TheUniverseusedforcalculatingaGRPmustbebasedonthetotalaudience(orselecteddemographic/target)measuredandmustbeconsideredwhendeterminingthecoverageofmeasurements;forcross-mediaaudiencemeasurement,theminimumacceptableuniverseshouldbethede-duplicatedtotalofallpersonsinthemediauniverseforeachmedium(Sections3.1and3.2).
• Durationmeasurementfordigitaladsshouldbebasedonatleastsecond-leveltimegranularity(althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis)(Section4.2).
• Digitalaudienceassignmentshouldonlybedoneattheuniquedeviceor,morepreferably,uniqueuserlevel(Sections2.4and4.3).
• PanelsourcesshouldbecongruentwiththeMRCMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearchandarestronglyencouragedtobepartofanauditedandaccreditedservice;otherindustrymeasurementguidanceaswellastheMRC’sguidelinesfordataintegrationarelikelyapplicable(Section4.3.4).
• Thesourcesofassignmentdata,dataassignmentorintegrationmethodsanddatasetsinvolvedindataintegrationprocessesshouldbedisclosedtomeasurementservicecustomers;ameasurementserviceusingassignment/integrationmethodsmustuseatleastsome“truth”information(basedonrecordsofsufficientqualityobtaineddirectlyfrompeopleoractuallyobserveddata-relationships)aspartofitsperiodicvalidationprocedures(Sections4.3.5and4.3.5.1).
• Robustdataenrichmentqualitycheckingandmonitoringisrequired;thisincludesvalidationprocedures,identificationandmonitoringofdatagapsintransactionaldata,empiricalsupportandqualitycontroloverdataediting,dataaggregationcontrolsandcompletenesschecks(Sections4.3.5.2and5).
• DigitalaudiencemeasurementandreportingrequiresfiltrationinclusiveofbothGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTraffic(Section6.2).
• Vendorsandpublishersmustdisclosetotheenduserthroughtheprovisionofconcise,clearprivacypolicynoticesdescribinghowtheirappproductsand/orwebservicesuseandsharedataandwhattheconsumer’schoicesare.Measurementorganizationsare
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encouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryandregulatoryguidelinesinthisarea;privacyregulationsmustalsobeconsidered(Section6.3).
GuidanceandrequirementsofotherIAB,MRC,and,whereapplicable,MMAmeasurementguidelinesareapplicablewhererelevant.TheseincludetheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelines(forbothdesktopandmobileviewableimpressionmeasurement),theIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines,theIAB/MMA/MRCMobileWebandMobileIn-ApplicationMeasurementGuidelines,amongothers.
1.1 OverviewandScopeThisdocumentpresentsastandardforthemeasurementofdigitalaudiencestoadvertisingusingcommonlyunderstooddigitalaudience-basedmetrics–suchastheGrossRatingPoint(hereinreferredtoasthe“GRP”).ThedocumentwaspreparedfortheuseandbenefitofthemediaIndustry,especiallythoseconstituentsthatanalyzeaudiencevolumes,compositionandbehaviorsondigitalmediaandthosethatmonetizeaudiencestoadvertising(whetherbuyerorseller)inadigitalenvironment.The“best”methodsandapproachtomeasuretheaudienceofanymediaisdrivenbythenatureofthatmedium,itsenvironment,itsmode(s)ofdeliveryandhowitsaudienceviewsandinteractswiththemedium.Thisdocumentestablishesadetailedsetofmethodsandcommonpracticesforentitiesthatmeasureandusedigitalaudience-basedmetrics.TheseStandardsareintendedtoestablishanddocumentgoodpracticesofmeasurement;improvepracticesanddisclosuresusedbypractitioners;andprovideeducationtousersofdigitalaudience-basedmeasurementdatafromallsegmentsoftheIndustry.Thisdocumentalsoestablishesarecommendationandbenchmarkforauditprocesseswhereby,thepracticesanddisclosuresofdigitalaudience-basedmeasurementorganizationscanbevoluntarilyvalidatedbythirdparties.Insummary,ourgoalsforthisdocumentwereasfollows:
• Provideforaconsistentsetofdefinitionsforkeyelementsofdigitalaudience-based
measurement;• Recommendminimumdisclosureswhichshouldbeprovidedtomeasurementdatausers;• Provideaclearstatementofrecommendedresearchoperatingpractices,qualityand
describeminimumrequirementsaswellasbestpractices;• Encourageexperimentationandadvancestoimproveaudienceresearchquality;and• Encouragecross-mediacomparabilityaswellascomparabilityacrosscountries.Withregardtocross-mediacomparabilityconsiderations,asstatedabove,thisdocumentrepresentsthedigitalinputintoaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard,whichwillsoonfollow.However,thefocusofthesecross-mediacomparabilityconsiderationswithinthescopeofthisdocumentwillbevideoads.Futureandseparateinitiativeswilladdresscross-mediacomparabilityfordisplayadvertisingcontentwithotherofflinemediasuchasprintaswellasanyapplicableconsiderationsofaudio-basedmedia.
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IncludedwithintheCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard,wewillalsoseektoadvancetheearlierworkforthecapture,accumulation,andprocessingofReturnPathData(RPDdata,Multi-ChannelDigitalVideoDataCapture,AccumulationandProcessingGuidelinesissuedJune2012)bysettingstandardsfortheprocessingofRPDtocreatereportableaudienceestimates,includingpuretuningaswellasestimateswithaudienceattribution.TheCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandardwillalsoaddresscontentmeasurementwhereasthisdocumentfocusesonexposuretoadvertising.
1.2 StandardsDevelopmentMethodTheStandardscontainedinthisdocumentoriginatedfromaprojectledbytheMediaRatingCouncil(MRC)andsponsoredbytheInteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)andarepartoftheMakingMeasurementMakeSense(3MS)initiative,ajointinitiativeoftheAssociationofNationalAdvertisers(ANA),theAmericanAssociationofAdvertisingAgencies(4A’s)andIAB(U.S.).TheseStandardsweredevelopedwiththeparticipationofalargegroupofDigitalmediacontentproviders,advertisingagencies,advertisers,vendors/consultants,measurementorganizationsandotherinterestedorganizations.TheseStandardswillalsobereviewedandapprovedbymajorbuyer-sidetradeorganizations(4As,ANA)andtheirconstituentsandthereafterprovidedtothepublicthroughaformalperiodofpubliccommentpriortoadoption.ThefinalStandardisexpectedtobepublishedandavailableontheMRCwebsiteandwillbere-assessedperiodicallytoensureitremainsapplicableovertime.
2 Top-LineMeasurementDefinitions
2.1 Audience-BasedCalculationExplanationandComponentsViewableImpressionsandDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsAdImpressionsrepresentameasurementofresponsesfromanaddeliverysystemtoanadrequestfromauser,whichisfilteredforinvalidtrafficandisrecordedatapointaslateaspossibleintheprocessofdeliveryofthecreativematerialtotheuser'sdevice.SeetherelevantIABguidelinesfordisplay,video,mobilewebandmobilein-appadimpressionsmeasurementforfurtherdetails.ViewableImpressionsareAdImpressionsthatmeetcertainpixelandtimeexposurethresholds(minimum50%ofthead’spixelsfor1or2continuoussecondsfordisplayandvideo,respectively).Thesethresholdsaredesignedtoaddgreaterassurancethattherewasan“opportunitytosee”theadbytheuserbeyondassurancethattheadwasproperlyservedandrenderedbythedevice.SeetheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementandMRCMobileViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelinesforguidanceonViewableImpressions.WhileAdImpressionsmaybemeasuredinaggregateincross-mediaenvironments,ViewableImpressionsaretheminimumrequiredqualifyingmeasurementunitfordigitalaudience-basedmeasurementincludingdigitalandcross-mediaReach,FrequencyandGRP.
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Fordigitalvideoaudiencemeasurement,viewabledurationreportingisrequired.Further,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredalongwithcampaignorcreativesegregation(adsofdifferinglengthshouldnotbecombinedunlessunderreportingofcombinationsofunitsofequivalentlength)forinputintocross-mediaFrequencyandGRP.Digitalvideoaudiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarepermissibleifreportedinadditiontoduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediacomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalviewabledurationdividedbyadduration(unitlength).DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsarecalculatedas:
(ΣViewableDuration)÷(AdUnitLength)
Digitalonlyaudiencemeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting,butviewabledurationreportingisrequired.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouragedinconjunctionwithmeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweighting.Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurement.ReachForpurposesofdigitalaudience-basedandcross-platformmeasurementReachrepresentsuniqueusers,unduplicatedhomesoraudiencewhohavebeenexposedtoads(havegeneratedaViewableImpression)atleastonceduringatimeperiod(daypart,programoranypieceofcontent)expressedasapercentageofthemeasuredpopulation,universeortarget.Uniqueaudiencereportingnecessitatesde-duplicatingindividualswithmultipleexposuresoverthemeasuredtimeperiod.Reachiscalculatedas:
[(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100Reachcanalsobepresentedasawholenumberrepresentingthesumofuniqueusers,unduplicatedhomesoraudiencewhohavebeenexposedtoads.FrequencyandDurationWeightedFrequencyForpurposesofdigitalaudience-basedandcross-platformmeasurementFrequencyrepresentsthenumberoftimesauser,homeoraudiencegeneratedaViewableImpressionandcontributedtoReachwithinaSessionortimeperiodexpressedasanaverageamongthoseuniqueusers,unduplicatedhomesoraudiencewhohavebeenexposedtoads(havegeneratedaViewableImpression).
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Frequencyiscalculatedas:
(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)FordigitalVideoFrequencymeasurement,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredalongwithcampaignorcreativesegregation(adsofdifferinglengthshouldnotbecombinedunlessunderreportingofcombinationsofunitsofequivalentlength)forinputintocross-mediaDurationWeightedFrequency.Digitalvideoaudiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarepermissibleifreportedinadditiontoduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediacomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalviewabledurationdividedtotaladduration(adlength).DurationWeightedFrequencyiscalculatedas:(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)Digital-onlyFrequencymeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouragedinconjunctionwithmeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweighting.DurationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadFrequencymeasurement.RatingDigitalRatingsmaybecalculatedforre-purposedTVcontentorotherepisodiccontentaswellasforplatformspecificmeasurementfordiscretetimeperiods.Forpurposesofdigitalaudience-basedandcross-platformmeasurementaRatingpercentageiscalculatedas:(A)thenumberofViewableImpressionsauser,homeoraudiencegenerateddividedby(B)measuredpopulation,universeortarget.Thepresenceofameasuredperiodoftimeisacriticalcomponentofarating.
Ratingiscalculatedas:
[(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100
FordigitalVideoRatingmeasurement,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredalongwithcampaignorcreativesegregation(adsofdifferinglengthshouldnotbecombinedunlessunderreportingofcombinationsofunitsofequivalentlength)forinputintocross-mediaDurationWeightedRating.Digitalvideoaudiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarepermissibleifreportedinadditiontoduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediacomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalviewabledurationdividedtotaladduration(adlength).
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DurationWeightedRatingiscalculatedas:(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(ΣMeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)x100Digital-onlyRatingmeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouragedinconjunctionwithmeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweighting.DurationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadRatingmeasurement.ThesumofdigitalcampaignRatingsacrossvariouspages,propertiesandapplicationsequalsthecampaignGRP.GrossRatingPoint(GRP)andDurationWeightedGRPThesumofalltheRatingsforaspecifiedadvertisementoradvertisingcampaignreportedasagrossnumber.ReachmultipliedbyFrequencyequalsGrossRatingPoints.Similarly,ViewableImpressionsdividedbyUniversemultipliedby100equalsGrossRatingPoints.GRPiscalculatedas:
ΣRatings
Or
ReachxFrequencyOr
[(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100FordigitalvideoGRPmeasurement,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredalongwithcampaignorcreativesegregation(adsofdifferinglengthshouldnotbecombinedunlessunderreportingofcombinationsofunitsofequivalentlength)forinputintocross-mediaDurationWeightedGRP.Digitalvideoaudiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarepermissibleifreportedinadditiontoduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediacomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalviewabledurationdividedbyadduration(unitlength).DurationWeightedGRP(DWGRP)iscalculatedas:
ΣDurationWeightedRatings
Or
ReachxDurationWeightedFrequency
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Or
[(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100Digital-onlyGRPmeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouragedinconjunctionwithmeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweighting.DurationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadGRPmeasurement.SeeSections2.3and4.2forfurtherguidanceondurationmeasurement.CalculationofGRPasReachmultipliedbyFrequencywhereReachispresentedasawholenumberrequiresalsomultiplyingthisproductbythemeasuredpopulation,universeortarget.
NotesforRatingandGRPDefinitions:Themeasuresabovecanbecalculatedforprogramcontentforatime-periodusingthesamemathematicalapproach.Activity(browsers,users,etc.)includedinaudiencemusthaveboththeopportunitytoseetheads/contentandsufficientevidenceoftimespentduringthemeasuredtimeperiod(meetingViewableImpressionrequirements).
Audiencescanbesegregatedbasedondemographicorothercharacteristicsforreportingpurposesaswellasday-partsand/orweek-parts.Inferences,adjustmentsandassignmentofaudienceinformationaswellasprojectionmethodsandimpactsshouldbedisclosedwiththereportedestimates.
2.1.1 SegregationofContent/AdvertisingVehiclesandGenresItiscriticalthatactivitymeasurementisgranularenoughtosegregateadtypesandmediagenresforinputintodigitalaudience-basedreporting.Accordingly,audienceassignmentmethodsshouldbeequallygranular,whichmayinvolvecertainsamplesizeanddata-adjustmentchallengestoaudienceassignmenttechniques.Likewise,measurementofadsshouldbesegregatedanddistinctfrommeasurementofcontent(inclusiveofads).Thebasisformeasurementshouldbedisclosed.Whileimpressionlevelmeasurementisstronglyencouraged,wheredigitalcontentismeasuredasaproxyforaddelivery(suchasinplanning),theaddeliverymechanism(staticordynamicadserving;seeSection4.1.2forfurtherdetails)mustbeconsideredandaccountedforinreportinganddisclosures.Situationswhereaudienceassignmentmethodsbreakdown,orbecomeunreliable,inthesegregationofcontent/advertisingvehiclesandgenres,shouldbedisclosedwithcausesandestimatesofachievedaccuracylevels.Measurementofanadvertisingcampaignmustbesegregatedbythevarioustypesofadsincludedinthecampaignfordigitalaudiencereportingandcross-mediacombinations.Forinstance,countsshouldbereportedseparatelyforads(byplacementtype)withinthe
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campaignofdifferentlengths(specificallywithregardtodurationweightingofvideocreatives),sizesorfunctionalities(whereknown).MeasurementvendorsshouldusecommonindustrysourcesforgenreclassificationandsegmentationsuchastheIABContenttaxonomy(http://www.iab.com/guidelines/iab-quality-assurance-guidelines-qag-taxonomy/)fordigitalmedia.Thesourceandtaxonomyusedingenreclassification(includingproprietarysources)shouldbedisclosedandperiodicallyupdated.
2.2 ImpressionCountingAnAdImpressionisgenerallyameasurementofdeliveryofanadthatmeetsestablishedminimumthresholdsforqualityandthetermsandconditionsestablishedbetweenasellerandabuyer.Inanapplicationenvironment,thisincludesthemeasurementofanadvertisingexposureoccurrence,containedwithinreal-timeorstoredandtransmittedapplicationuseactivityrecords,client-initiated,sourcedfromafullydownloaded,opened,initializedapplicationinanapplicationSessionwithaClientUser.ADigitalVideoAdImpressionisthemeasurementofresponsefromadigitalvideoaddeliverysystemtoanadrequestfromthedigitalvideocontenthost.Avaliddigitalvideoadimpressionmayonlybecountedwhenanadcounter(loggingserver)receivesandrespondstoanHTTPrequestforatrackingassetfromaclient.Thecountmusthappenaftertheinitiationofthestream,post-buffering,asopposedtothelinkeddigitalvideocontentitself.Specifically,measurementshouldnotoccurwhenthebufferisinitiated,rathermeasurementshouldoccurwhentheaditselfbeginstoappear(beginstoplay).ValidAdImpressionsmustmeettheminimumrequirementsoftheIABMeasurementGuidelinesfortheapplicablecreativetype(Display,RichMediaorVideo)anduserenvironment(desktopbrowser,mobilewebandapplicationenvironments).SeetheapplicableIABMeasurementGuidelines(DesktopDisplay,MobileWeb,MobileApplicationandVideo)forfurtherdetailsofAdImpressionmeasurementguidance.
2.2.1 ViewableDefinitionAnAdImpressionmustmeetcertainpixelandtimethresholds(minimum50%ofthead’spixelsfor1or2continuoussecondsfordisplayandvideo,respectively)inordertoqualifyasaViewableImpression.Thesethresholdsaredesignedtoaddgreaterassurancethattherewasan“opportunitytosee”theadbytheuserbeyondassurancethattheadwasproperlyservedandrenderedbythedevice.SeetheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementandMRCMobileViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelinesforguidanceonViewableImpressions.Forcountingofviewableadimpressions,existingkeyconceptsofimpressioncountingshouldbefollowed,asdetailedinpreviouslyissuedIABMeasurementGuidelines.Theseinclude:
• Client-InitiatedCounting
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• Mobilemeasurementfordownloaded,opened,andinitializedapplications• Inclusionofoff-lineapplicationactivityduringacampaignreportingperiod• FiltrationofInvalidActivitycommensuratewithMRC’sInvalidTrafficDetectionand
FiltrationGuidelines• CacheBustingTechniques• DifferentiateSignificantAuto-RefreshversusUser-InitiatedActivity• DifferentiatePre-FetchandPre-RenderActivity(fromtraditionalrenderedactivityand
eachotherwherepossibleandcountsadsonlyaftertheyappearonauser’sbrowser)• DifferentiateImpressionsOut-Of-FocusorwithObstruction
o Measurersarerequiredtoaccountforsituationsofobstructiontotheextenttechnicallyfeasibletodeterminethein-focusstatusofmeasuredcontent.Limitationsintheabilitytodetectcertainobstructionsorocclusionsofmeasuredcontentshouldbefullydisclosedwithimpactonreportedresultsquantifiedwherematerial.
• DisclosingandFilteringMaterialInternalTraffic• FullDisclosureofmeasurementmethodsandkeymetricsbyPublishers,Portals,Ad-
Servers,AdNetworksandExchangeso Inthecontextofviewablemobileadimpressions,thisprincipleoftransparency
ofmeasurementprocessestodatausersshouldapplytoallmeasurersofviewablemobileimpressions,including3rdpartymeasurers.
WhileAdImpressionsmaybemeasuredinaggregateincross-mediaenvironments,ViewableImpressionsaretheminimumrequiredqualifyingmeasurementunitfordigitalaudience-basedmeasurementincludingdigitalandcross-mediaReach,FrequencyandGRP.
2.2.2 AudioConsiderationsAscurrenttechnologicallimitationsmakeitdifficultorimpossibleforameasurertodetectthepresenceofunmutedaudioinallsituations(whileplayeraudiomaybemorereadilydetectable,deviceorhardwaremutingdetectionmaypresentchallenges),detectionofaudioisnotcurrentlyarequirementforaViewableVideoAdImpression.However,weencouragethedevelopmentofatechnologicalorothersolutiontodeviceorhardwarelimitationssothataudiomaybeconsideredinthefuture.Also,westronglyencourage,butdonotcurrentlyrequire,thatthepresenceofaudioduringthedurationofthetimebeaconsiderationindeterminingaViewableVideoImpression(andinputintoGRP)inthosesituationswhereitisfeasibletodosotoday.Somevideoadsmaynothaveaudio,whichmayrepresentalimitationoffutureconsiderationsofaudiomeasurementrequirements.MeasurementorganizationsareencouragedtoseparatelyreportViewablevideodurationthatisalsoaudible(non-muteornon-zero)fordevice/hardwarevolumeandtoconsiderthisindurationweightingofaudienceestimates.Measurementorganizationsshouldseparatelyreportandconsiderdurationthatisaudibleforplayervolumewhereknown.Furthermore,cross-mediaaudiencecombinationsrequirethesameaudiblecriteria(inadditiontothe
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viewablecriteriadiscussedabove).Forexample,televisionmeasurementmayrequirenon-zerovolume/non-mutingconditionsforinclusioninreportedresultsandassuch,cross-mediaaudiencemeasurementcombinationoflineartelevisionanddigitalvideomeasurementwouldrequirethesesameaudibleconditionsforthedigitalcomponentmeasuringthesameads.Theuseandconsiderationofaudibleconditions(orlackthereof)mustbefullydisclosedalongwiththemethodologyusedtomeasureaudibilityandanyrelatedlimitations.Audibleexposurewithoutviewabilityisnotqualifiedfordigitalaudiencemeasurementexceptinaudio-onlyapplications.Aspartoftheconsiderationofaudioindigitalvideoaudiencemeasurement,vendorsareencouragedtostudythefurtherdevelopmentoftechnologyormethodologytobetterdeterminedeviceaudiostateandincorporatethisintomeasurement.
2.3 DurationDurationistheamountofelapsedtimefromtheinitiationofannadexposuretothelastaudienceactivityassociatedwiththatadexposure.Asdiscussedthroughoutthisdocument,fordigitalvideoaudiencemeasurement,viewabledurationreportingisrequired.Further,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredalongwithcampaignorcreativesegregation(adsofdifferinglengthshouldnotbecombinedunlessunderreportingofcombinationsofunitsofequivalentlength)forinputintocross-mediaFrequencyandGRP.Durationmeasurementfordigitaladsshouldbebasedonatleastsecond-levelgranularity(althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis).Forvideo,eachexposurecontributingtodurationmustatleastmeetviewabilityguidelines(50%ofpixelsinviewandatleast2continuousseconds)tocontributetodigitalaudienceandcross-mediameasurement.TheMRCandIABplantocontinuallyupdatetheDigitalVideoMeasurementGuidelinestoincorporateaddurationmeasurementandanymeasurementofdigitalvideoaudiencemustadheretothisguidance.SeeSection4.2forfurtherguidanceontechnicalaspectsofdurationmeasurement.
2.4 AudienceAssignmentAudiencemeasurementgenerallyinvolvesassigningcharacteristicstoauniquedeviceorusereitherforattributionofadandcontentexposureoraudience-basedtargetingofadvertisements.Assignmentofdemographics,behaviorsorothertargetingcharacteristicstouserswithdigitaladexposuremayinvolveseveraldifferentmethodsanduseofdirectlycollected(firstparty),passivelytracked(thirdparty),declared,inferred,probabilistic,orotherwisemodeleddata.Whilethisdocumentmayapplytoassignmentofonlinepurchasebehaviortousersforpurposesofaudiencereporting(suchasinuseofpastpurchasecategoriesasatargetingdemographic),itdoesnotincludeattributionofsuchpurchasebehaviortoasingleadorcontentexposurenordoesitincludeofflineattribution.
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WhiletheIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesestablishcertainlevelsofuniquemeasurement,digitalaudienceassignmentshouldonlybedoneattheuniquedeviceor,morepreferably,uniqueuserlevel.Asaresult,adigitalaudiencemeasurementvendormusthavearobustmethodologytoidentifyanddeduplicateuniquedevicesand/orusersforsuchassignment.SeeSection4.3forfurtherdetailonclassificationofuniques.
3 Audience-BasedUniverseEstimates–BasisforProjection
3.1 UniverseEstimatesGenerally,ademographic/geographicuniverseorcoveragedefinitionstatedonthebasisofpopulationamountsisrequiredfordigitalaudiencemeasurement.Thesemaybecustomized(orlimited)basedonthespecificattributesofthemeasuredaudience.ThesourceusedforsuchuniversedefinitionsmustbereferencedandshouldbefromgenerallyacceptedindependentIndustryorgovernmentalthird-partysourcesaswellasderivedbymeasurementvendorsdirectlyaspartofhighqualityobservationorsurveys.Thesefiguresarecriticalfortheprojectionofaudiences.Thisdatashouldbeupdatedatregularperiodicintervalsandpreferablybestatedonabasisthatcorrespondstotheaudiencetargetsandweightingvariablesbeingemployedbythemeasurementorganization.Adjustmentstouniverseestimates(suchassurveystoupdatethemorobtainmoregranularestimatesthanavailablefromgenerallyacceptedsource)shouldbesupportedbyempiricalevidence(ifbasedonamodel/projection),subjecttorobustqualitycontrolanddisclosed.TheUniverseusedforcalculatingaGRPmustbebasedonthetotalaudience(orselecteddemographic/target)measured.TheUniversemustbeconsideredwhendeterminingthecoverageofmeasurements(seeSection3.2below)aswellaswhenprojectingmeasurementestimates.UseoftotalUSpopulationispreferred(forUSmeasurement),giveneventualinputintocross-mediaaudience-basedmeasurement(totalpopulationisrequiredforcross-mediaGRPs).However,incertaindigitalmeasurement,specificpopulationsubsetsmaybeused(suchastheInternetpopulationfordigitalonlymeasurement,themobilepopulationformobile-onlymeasurementandtheTVpopulationforReturnPathorSet-Top-Boxmeasurement).Wherespecificpopulationssubsetsareutilized,accessorabilitytoaccesswithinthesesubsets(suchasTVordigitalaccess)shouldbeconsideredandaccountedfor.TheUniverseusedinGRPcalculationsandestimateprojectionsmustbeappropriateforthemeasurementandbefullydisclosedtousers.Forcross-mediaaudiencemeasurement,theminimumacceptableuniverseshouldbethede-duplicatedtotalofallpersonsinthemediauniverseforeachmedium.
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3.2 CoverageDigitaladsandcontentcanbeconsumedfromabrowserorfromwithinadigitalapplication.Bothconsumptionmethodscanbemeasuredthroughcensus-likecountingtechniques,essentiallytrackinginstancesofconsumptionthroughtrackingassetssuchasaJavaScripttag,beaconorapplicationcode(suchasanSDKorAPI)forallmeasurableaccesses.Despitetheinferenceof“census”therearelikelytobecertainlimitationsofcoverage(incompatibletypesofplayersorbrowsers,functionalitylimitationsincertainmobiledevices,etc.);therefore,itisimportantforthemeasurementuserstofullyunderstandthetruecoverageofthereportedestimatesandwhatmaybeexcludedfromthemeasurementorganization’sabilitytomeasure.Thecoverageof,andmateriallimitsorexclusionsto,coverageofdigitalaudiencemeasurementarerequiredtobedescribedbythereportingentity.Anylimitations(includinganythatresultinsystematicbiases)inmeasurementoftheintendedUniverse(eitherinsamplingsuchasgeographicareasandcertainrespondenttypesnotsample/measuredorduetotechnicallimitationsofmeasurement)shouldbefullydisclosedandquantified(whereknownandquantifiable).Measurementorganizationsmustperiodicallyassessanymeasurementlimitationsandresultingbiases.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryguidelinesinthisarea.Additionally,measurementorganizationsseekingMRCaccreditationarerequiredtoadheretorelevantMRCMinimumStandardsinthisarea.Measurementorganizationsshoulddisclosetheoperatingsystemsandmajorbrowsertypesthatarenotmeasurableusingmetersand/ormeasurementassets(orconverselydiscretelydisclosethosethataremeasurable).Theimpactoftheseexclusionsonthereportedmeasurementsshouldalsobeestimatedanddisclosedifthemeasurementorganizationisprojectingitsresultstotheentireuniverseofbrowsersand/orusers,regardlessofoperatingsystemorbrowsertype.AsdiscussedintheIABMobileApplicationMeasurementGuidelines,mobileapplicationscanhavevaryingcoverageacrosstheuserpopulationbecauseofpopularity,distributionmethods,hardwareandoperatingsystemcompatibilitylimitsorotherfactors(suchasplatformavailability).Therefore,itisimportantthatin-appmeasurementconsiderthecoverageoftheapplicationitself.Thisisparticularlyimportantifanyformofsamplingisusedinthemeasurementofapplicationimpressionsorothermeasuredmetrics.Limitationsincoverageshouldbeconsideredindecisionsaboutprojectabilityofsampledresultsoriginatinginapplications.Theseguidelinesrequiredisclosure(and,ifprojectionisused,quantification)ofapplicationcoveragetousersofadvertisingmeasurements.Digitalaudiencecanbemeasuredthroughtakingsamplesofconsumersand/ordevicesandprojectingtheactivitiesofthesesamplestothepopulationofusersand/ordevices.Thisistraditionallyknownaspanel-basedorsamplebasedmeasurement.HereinwereferencetheIAB’sAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesasanexistingsourceofacceptablepracticesfor
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thistypeofmeasurement.Additionally,theMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearch,publishedbytheMediaRatingCouncil,arealsoapplicabletothistypeofmeasurement.Forsample-basedmeasurementofanykind,themeasurementorganizationshouldbediligentaboutensuringvalidprojectionsaremadeandthatthesampleisrepresentativeofthepopulationtargetedformeasurement.Methodsforweightingoradjustingdatatoensureprojectabilityshouldbesupportedbyempiricalstudy,andtheseempiricalstudiesshouldbeupdatedperiodically.Standarderrorsaroundsample-basedprojectionsshouldbedisclosed.
3.2.1 DeviceIdentificationMeasurementvendorsarerequiredtoidentifydevicesusedtoaccessdigitaladsandcontentincludingdeterminingdevicetype,platformandoperatingsystem.Enumeratingaudiencesbydeviceshouldbeusedasaninputintodeterminingcoverageoftheuniversemeasured.Further,deviceaudiencemeasurementandcoveragedeterminationsshouldbeconsideredintechniquestoaccountforduplication,asdiscussedbelow.Thesourceusedfordeviceclassificationmustbedisclosed,supportedandsubjecttoperiodicreviewandupdate.Suchclassificationshouldbegranularenoughtodistinguishdifferentdevicetypeswithinmanufacturerorplatform.Insituationswhereameasurementvendorassignsadefaultdeviceforsessionsorimpressionsforwhichdevicecannotbedetermined,suchassignmentsshouldbedisclosed,quantified(ifmaterial)andempiricallysupported.
3.2.2 IP-EnabledTelevisionorOTTDeviceAudiencemeasurementofIP-enabledTVsandotherOver-The-Top(OTT)devicestoconsumenon-lineardigitaladsisincludedwithintheseguidelines.TheMRCandIABplantocontinuallyupdatetheIABDigitalVideoMeasurementGuidelinestoincorporateIP-enabledTVandOTTdigitaladsorcontentandanymeasurementofdigitalvideoaudiencemustadheretothisguidance.Further,universeandcoverageaspectsdiscussedaboveshouldconsiderwhethersuchdevicesareincludedintheaudiencemeasuredandreflectthemaccordingly.SeetheIABDigitalVideoMeasurementGuidelinesforguidanceonspecificaspectsofOTTmeasurementsuchaslatencyconsiderations,continuousplayandTVOffsituations.
3.2.3 AccountingforDuplicationAusershouldonlybecountedonce(de-duplicatedthroughdirectmeasurementoranalysisofoverlap)foruniquemeasurement,despitethefactthatausercanhavemultiplevisitsduringareportingperiod.Furthermore,inallinstancesrelatedtothereportingofaudiencemeasurement,theuseofthequalifierword“Unique,”shouldbelimitedonlytoreferencestorecordsthathavebeende-duplicatedwithintheentirereportingperiod.SeeSection4.3forfurtherguidanceontechnicalaspectsoftrackingusers/uniquesandaccountingforduplication.
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4 Audience-BasedCurrencyMeasurementStandards–TechnicalDetails
4.1 TrackingofAdvertisingAccess–TechnicalDetails
4.1.1 Client-Initiated(andviewable)Thesestandardsrelyonthecentralconceptthatcountingofadexposureshouldinitiateontheclientside,nottheserverside(measurementcountingmayhappenattheserversideaslongasitisinitiatedbasedonclient-sideevents),andthatcountingshouldoccurascloseaspossibletothedeliveryofanadvertisementtothemeasureduserandonlywhenadcontenthasbeenloaded.Pass-throughmethodsofsignalinginteractionsdetectedontheclientsidefromserverinfrastructureareacceptable.Recordsevidencinglongitudinalconsumptionofcontent(duration)duringthemeasuredtimeperiodshouldbebasedonactiveuseraffirmation,oratminimumperiodicconfirmationwiththedevicethatcontentandadscontinuetobedeliveredwithanopportunitytosee(forexample,remainviewable).AllcountedadactivitythatcontributestoaudiencemeasurementsshouldmeetparametersoftheMRC’sViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelines,toensureopportunitytoseeispresent.ImpressionactivitynotmeetingIndustryqualitystandards(filtration,viewableparameters,etc.)shouldhaveassociatedaudienceactivityremoved.ContentviewabilityguidelineshavenotyetbeencreatedanditislikelythatMRCandIABwillneedtoconsiderfurtherworkinthisareaaspartofCross-MediaAudience-BasedStandardefforts.However,atminimumitisrequiredthatdisplayandvideocontentatminimummeetthedesktopandmobileviewabilitypixelandtimethresholdstobeconsideredviewableandforinclusionindigitalaudience-basedandcross-mediameasurement.MeasurementorganizationsareencouragedtoseparatelyreportViewabletimethatisalsoaudible.Furthermore,cross-mediaaudiencecombinationsofadsrequirethesameaudiblecriteria(inadditiontotheviewablecriteriadiscussedabove).Forexample,televisionmeasurementmayrequirenon-zerovolume/non-mutingconditionsforinclusioninreportedresultsandassuch,cross-mediaaudiencemeasurementcombinationoflineartelevisionanddigitalvideomeasurementwouldrequirethesesameaudibleconditionsforthedigitalcomponentmeasuringthesameadsorcontent.
4.1.2 Audiencevs.AdMeasurementOverall,forsimplificationpurposes,itisdesirable(butnotrequired)forthesametechnicalimplementationstomeasurebothaudiencesandadswhereverpossible.Technicalimplementationsthatfacilitatemeasurement(trackingassets,etc.)mayvarybetweenaudienceandadsbecauseofdifferencesinthetypeofdecisionsbeingmadebymeasurementdatausers.Forexample,contentaudiencemeasurementsmaybeorientedtoprovide“planning”typesofinferencestobuyersastothesize,location,demography,ReachandFrequency,typesofusersattractedtothecontent,howthecontentisaccessed,timespent,device/userbehavior
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tracking,andlongitudinaldevice/usermovementsacrosscontent.Planningmetricsaregenerallystatedonthebasisofaspecifictimeperiodorcontent(suchasepisodeorprogram).Measurementfordigitaladvertisementdelivery(meaninganAdImpressionorViewableImpression)representsacountingorientationwithaudienceassignedReachandFrequencyofdiscreteexposuretotheadvertisement.Bothadvertisement,audienceassignedadvertisingandmetricsrelatedtocontentcanbesubjectedtodiscreteGrossRatingPointmeasurement,assumingpropergranularityoftrackingassetsandaudienceassignmentmethods.Incaseswherethemeasurementdoesnotrelyonafullcensusorientation,measurementatalocallevelmaybechallengingbecauseofsamplesizeand/ordataqualityconsiderations(qualityconsiderationsmayincludecoverage,representationofthepopulationbeingmeasured,dataloss,bias,etc.).Measurementofdigitaladvertisementdeliveryandad/contentaudiencesaregenerallyperformedseparately,versusthegeneralizedmeasurementorientationthatcurrentlyexistsforlegacymedia(inferringthesameaudiencetothecontentandadvertising).Itiscriticallyimportantthatmeasurementorganizationsconsidervaryingtypesofcontentandadvertisingdeliverymodelswhentheyareestablishingmeasurementproducts,measurementandreporting.Specifically,differenttypesofcontentandadvertisingdeliverymodels(staticvs.dynamic)shouldbeseparatelytrackedandsegregatedforreportingpurposesandclearlydescribedtousersofmeasurementandaudiencedata.Foraudienceplanningpurposes(pre-buy),usersmayevaluatepotentialaudiencesreachablebyadigitaldeliverymodel;theseorientationscouldbeonthebasisofthetotaldeliverymodelaudience,marketaudienceorwithinprojecteddemographicbreaks.Inallcases,themeasurementserviceshouldbeabletodemonstratethatplanningbasesrepresentrealisticscenarioswherebyactualadcampaignscanbeexecuted,notmerelya“theoreticalreach.”Considerationshouldbegiventothesufficiencyofsamplesizesand/ordatacoverageadequacyindevelopmentofaddeliveryandplanningmetrics.Thesemetricsshouldbefilteredtoexcludeinvaliddigitaltraffic.Thesemetricsshouldbecountedusingclient-initiatedcountingtoensurethattheadand/orcontenthaveactuallybeenloadedandpresentedtotheuser.Theseguidelinesrecommendthatmeasurementoccurinawaythatallowsforthemostdiscretemeasurementoftheaudienceasispossible,inconsiderationoftheadvertisingmodelemployedandthecharacteristicsofthetechnologyusedtodelivercontent.Inshort,underdynamicadvertisingmodels,audiencesforspecificadswithincontentshouldnotbeinferredbasedongeneralmeasurementsotherthanthosethatmeasureeachdiscreteadoccurrence.Userandlocationattribution,audiencedatamodelingandothertypesofaudiencemeasurementinferencesshouldalsoconsidertheaddeliverymodelandlikelyneedtobeappliedseparatelybasedondeliverymodel.
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4.1.3 Script-basedTrackingMethod/AssetsFordigitalmeasurementofadvertising,measurementmethodsmayincludeatrackingassetsuchasatag.ThefollowingdetailsarekeycomponentsofexistingIABMeasurementGuidelines:
1. Permissibleimplementationtechniquesinclude(butarenotlimitedto)HTTPrequestsgeneratedby<IMG>,<IFRAME>,or<SCRIPTSRC>.Forclient-sideadserving,theadcontentitselfcouldbetreatedasthetrackingassetandtheadserveritselfcoulddotheadcountingaslongascountingdoesnotoccuruntiladcontenthasbeenloaded.
2. Theresponsebytheadcounterincludesbutisnotlimitedto:
a. Deliveryofa“beacon,”whichmaybedefinedasanypieceofcontentdesignated
asatrackingasset.Beaconswillcommonlybeintheformofa1x1pixelimage,buttheseguidelinesdonotapplyanyrestrictionstotheactualmedia-typeorcontent-typeemployedbyabeaconresponse.
b. Deliveryofa“302”redirectorHTML/JavaScript(whichdoublesasatracking
asset)toanylocation,and
c. DeliveryofadcontentSeeSections4.1.5through4.1.7forspecificguidanceonmeasurementconsiderationsforRichmedia,VideoandApplicationadvertisingandcontent.
4.1.4 Encoding,FingerprintingandMeter-basedTrackingMethod/AssetsInadditiontothetrackingassetsdiscussedabove,measurementofadsandcontentmayalsoinvolveembeddingdigitalassetswithincontentinsomefashiontoinjectadditionalmetadataorinformationorthecreationofsignaturesorfingerprinting.Forexample,encodingorwatermarkinginvolvestheprocessofputtingaspecialcodeoruniqueidentifier,oftenasequenceofcharacters(letters,numbers,punctuation,andcertainsymbols),intoaspecializedformatforefficienttransmission,storage,privacyprotection,securityormeasurement.EncodingcanbeproprietarytoameasurementvendororcommonlyavailablesuchasAd-ID®andtheEntertainmentIdentifierRegistry(EIDR)whichrepresentuniqueIDlayers.Additionally,mediamaybeanalyzedforspecificsignaturestodevelopfingerprintingandcorrespondingmatchingtechniques.Encoding(vendorspecificorcommonlyavailable)orfingerprintingisstronglyencouragedforeffectivecross-mediameasurement.Specifically,adoptionofcommonassetidentifiersacrossmediatypesfacilitatesseamlessaccumulationoftotalcampaignactivityforaparticularadvertisement/creative.
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Further,certainscript-basedtechniquessuchastrackingviaplayerintegration,mayinvolvesomelevelofencodinginadditiontoscripting.Forexample,theIAB’sVideoAdServingTemplate(VAST)hashistoricallyprovidedaplaceholderforacreativeIDandinversion4.0thisplaceholderisaUniversalAdIDelement,whichisrequiredforlinearadsinlong-formvideoandenablesalldataassociatedwiththecreativetofollowacrosssystems.Hardwareandsoftwaremeters(specificguidanceformeasurementviaapplicationsisdiscussedinSection4.1.7)mayalsobeusedtotrackdigitaladsandcontentandmayincludemetersspecificallydesignedtodecodeandcaptureexposuretoencodedcontent,capturefingerprintsforsignaturematchingortotrackandmeasuretrafficregardlessofwhethersuchtrafficisencoded.Metermeasurementismostoftenaccomplishedviarecruitmentofparticipantsforongoingmeasurementaspartofpanels,whichmayberecruitedusingeitherprobabilistic(proportionatetotheuniversemeasured)ornon-probabilistic(suchasinopt-inorconveniencepanels)methods.SpecificguidancerelatedtorecruitmentandmaintenanceofpanelsisdiscussedinSection4.3.4.TheMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearch,publishedbytheMediaRatingCouncil,areapplicabletothistypeofmeasurementmethodology.Specifically,useandmaintenanceofencoding,uniqueidentifiersandmeteringsolutionsmustinclude:
• Robustqualitycontrolindesignandmaintenanceoftechnologyandalgorithmsusedwithempiricalsupportforanyassumptionsorparametersapplied.
• Initialandongoingdetaileddesignedlabtestingincludingsimulationoftheintendedmeasurementenvironmentandanypotentialchallengingenvironmentalfactors(suchasintroducedinterference,devicetypes,compression,anti-virussoftware,etc.)togaugesurvivability.
• Robustqualitycontroloverencodingdatasourceorreferenceconstruction(ad,content,program,page,domainnetwork,channel,etc.)toenablecreditingofexposure.
• Considerationofandminimizationofanyuserorrespondentimpactsuchasdistortionorinterferenceintroducedbyencodingorperformanceimpactonmetereddevices.
• Considerationofencodingormeteringgranularity(atleastsecondlevelgranularityrequiredforduration,althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis);activitymeasurementmustbegranularenoughtosegregateadtypesandmediagenreswithincampaignsaswellasadsfromcontentforinputintodigitalaudience-basedreporting.Periodiccollectionortransmissionofmeasurementdatadoesnotneedtobeasgranularasactualmeasurement(datamaybebatchedforefficiency).
• Considerationofintendedmeasurementenvironmentsandrelativecoverage,aswellasanylimitations(includinganythatresultinsystematicbiases)inmeasurementoftheintendedUniverse(suchasduetotechnicallimitationsofmeasurement)shouldbefullydisclosedandquantified(asdiscussedinSection3.2).Measurementorganizationsmustperiodicallyassessanymeasurementlimitationsandresultingbiasesonanongoingbasis.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustry
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guidelinesinthisarea.Additionally,measurementorganizationsseekingMRCaccreditationarerequiredtoadheretorelevantMRCMinimumStandardsinthisarea.
• Continualmonitoringandanalysisofcollectedmeterdataforpotentialconsiderationofdowntime,bugs,compatibilityissues,emerginglimitations,errorsanddefectsforsupportofmeterupdatesandmaintenance.
• Polling(whereapplicable)andtransmissionofdatathatisappropriatelygranularandfrequentfortheintendedmeasurementandincongruencewithanyapplicablerequirements(suchasinviewabilitypollingrequirements).
• Sufficient(timeandsize)memoryandcachingtoensurecollecteddataiscompleteandabletobestoredlocallytoallowtransmissionofcollecteddata.
• Managementofversioningtoensureencodingandequipmentisthemostuptodateaswellaseffortstoreducetheimpactsofmultipleversionsinproduction.
4.1.5 RichMediaUsageRichMediaAdvertisingisdefinedasadvertisementswithwhichuserscaninteract(asopposedtosolelyanimation)inawebpageformatandincludecreativetypesthatrequirefunctionalitynotnativetothebrowseritselftorender.IntheRichMediaarea,whereadvertisingcreativeismoreprocess-resourceandbandwidthintensiveforInternetusers,serversandpublishers,thenumberofredirectsinthetransactionstreamcanimpacttheaccuracyofadcountingduetolatency.AllpartiesareencouragedtoconsiderthislatencywhenconsideringthestructureofRichMediaserving.SeetheIABDisplayMeasurementGuidelinesforfurtherguidance.
4.1.6 VideoUsageAvaliddigitalvideoadimpressionmayonlybecountedwhenanadcounter(loggingserver)receivesandrespondstoanHTTPrequestforatrackingassetfromaclient.Thecountmusthappenaftertheinitiationofthestream,post-buffering,asopposedtothelinkeddigitalvideocontentitself.Specifically,measurementshouldnotoccurwhenthebufferisinitiated,rathermeasurementshouldoccurwhentheaditselfbeginstoappearontheuser’sbrowser(beginstoplay).VideodeliveredtoaplayerusingaprogressivedownloadtechniquedeliversthedigitalvideoinaseriesofdownloadsthatarestoredlocallyontheClientUserdevice.Inaprogressivedownloadenvironment,apersistentconnectionisnotmaintainedandinstead,groupsofcontent/adsaresenttotheuser’sbrowser/playerthroughaperiodic(notpersistent)onlineconnection.Thesegroupsofcontent/adscanbevariableinlength(dependingonthesensedconnectionspeedandothercommunicationenvironmentattributessuchasqualityofconnection)soastoenableauserexperiencethatappearstobeacontinuousconnection,butmaynotcontainadsinfull.Assuch,AdVideoImpressionsarecountedwhentheadbeginstoappearanddonotrequiretheadtobefullyloadedincacheinprogressivedownloadenvironments.SeetheIABVideoMeasurementGuidelinesforfurtherguidance.
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4.1.7 AdvertisingMeasurementinApplicationsPhysicalattributesoftheadvertisementandtheplacementoftheadvertisementwithintheapplicationshouldbedisclosedbymeasurementvendorstousersbycampaignorplacementtype;thisdisclosurecanbemadeaspartofinitiatingthecampaignwiththeadvertisingagencyorbuyer.Additionally,anyvariableattributessuchasadsizeoftheadvertisingduringtheapplicationSessionshouldbedescribed.EventBasedAdsshouldbedescribedintermsofattributesandtriggercriteria.Theapplicationmeasurementorganizationshouldhavesufficientcontrolstodeterminethat:
• Theapplicationwasdownloaded,openedandinitializedasdesignedonthatClientUserpriortothemeasuredSession.
• Theapplicationitself(ormeasurementassetswithinit)wasfunctioningasintendedduringthesessionbyexaminingdatareceivedforcompletenessorsignsofcorruption.SessionsandAdImpressionmetricsassociatedwith“faulted”conditions(situationsoffunctionalityissueswiththeapplication,errorsornon-workingconditions)shouldbetrackedandsegregatedfromfullyfunctioningSessionsandAdImpressionmetrics
Applicationtransactionrecords,whichcontainevidenceofadvertising,canbederivedandtransmittedtotheapplicationmeasurementorganization:(1)onareal-timebasisduringapplicationexecution,(2)inbatchedgroupsthataretransmittedperiodically(inwholeorinpart)duringanon-lineapplicationSessionor,(3)firststoredduringoff-lineapplicationuseandlatertransmittedduringasubsequenton-lineSession(notnecessarilyassociatedwiththesameapplication)oftheapplicableClient-User.Incertaincases,mobileapplicationsmaybeconfiguredto“Pre-load”ads(generallyfull-screeninterstitials)wherebyopenandactiveapplicationsloadadassets,buttheappdeterminesiftheadisshownatalatertime(orifatall)suchasuponspecificuserinteractionorengagement.Pre-loadrequestsdonotqualifyformeasurementasavalidrenderedimpressionunlessadcontenthasbeenloadedonresponsetoarequestbyauser.However,suchPre-loadingmaybeindistinguishablefromuser-drivenadrequests.Assuch,ameasurementvendorshouldonlycounttheseads(pre-loadedin-appinterstitials)asafterexecutionofthelastpartoftheapplicationcodethatchecksforapre-loadedadandthenifpresent,choosestodisplayit,ifknown.Alternatively,pre-loadedinterstitialsshouldonlybecountedwhendisplayed/visible.SeetheIABMobileApplicationMeasurementGuidelinesforfurtherguidance.
4.2 DurationDurationmeasurementfordigitaladsshouldbebasedonatleastsecond-leveltimegranularity(althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis).Periodiccollectionortransmissionofmeasurementdatadoesnotneedtobeasgranularasactualmeasurement(datamaybe
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batchedforefficiency).Forvideo,eachexposurecontributingtodurationmustmeetviewabilityguidelines(minimumsof50%ofpixelsinviewandatleast2continuousseconds)tocontributetodigitalaudienceandcross-mediameasurement.Whileeachexposurecontributingtoaudienceanddurationmustmeetviewabilityguidelines,videodurationofviewableimpressionsincludesalltimetheadwasinview,includingthetimeitwasinviewpriortohavingmetthethresholdtobeconsideredaviewableimpression.TheMRCandIABplantocontinuallyupdatetheDigitalVideoMeasurementGuidelinestoincorporateadandcontentdurationmeasurementandanymeasurementofdigitalvideoaudiencemustadheretothisguidance.AsrequiredbytheIABAudienceReachGuidelines,alltimespent(duration)thatisincludedinmeasurementshouldoccurwithinthedefinedreportingperiod.Duration,whichoccursinwholeorinpartoutsidethereportingperiod,shouldbeexcludedfromthecalculation;however,ifaSessionoverlapsbetweenareportableandanon-reportableperiod,theportionoftimeassociatedwiththatSessionthatoccurswithinthereportableperiodmaybeincluded.Onlyunduplicatedviewabledurationshouldcontributetosessionduration.Recordsevidencinglongitudinalconsumptionofcontent(duration)duringthemeasuredtimeperiodshouldbebasedonactiveuseraffirmation,oratminimumperiodicconfirmationwiththedevicethatcontentandadscontinuetobedeliveredwithanopportunitytosee(forexample,remainviewable).Suchperiodicconfirmationmayalsobeaccomplishedviatheuseofperiodicbeaconsor“heartbeat”pings.Measurementorganizationsshouldinstitutespecific“inactivityrules,”bywhichauservisitisterminatedandthusexcludedfromadditionalcontributionstodurationafterapre-determinedlevelofconsecutiveinactivity.Theseinactivitycriteriashouldbefullydisclosed,anditisexpectedtheymaybemodifiedinthefuturebasedonevidencefromempiricalstudyoftheevolutionofusers’browsinghabits.Seebelowforspecificguidancerelatedtoinactivity.Timespentordurationmaybemeasuredwithregardtocertainprogresseventssuchascompletions,quartiles,decilesorsomeothersegmentationofvideoads.Progressdurationmeasurementforadsshouldbebasedonatleastsecond-levelgranularity(althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis).Periodiccollectionortransmissionofmeasurementdatadoesnotneedtobeasgranularasactualmeasurement(datamaybebatchedforefficiency).Further,durationshouldbeconsideredwithregardtoviewability(asdefinedintheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelines)andpresentedasdurationwhileviewable.Certainorganizationsmayhaveeditrulesinplacethatbridgegapsinuseractivitywithinasession,iftheyoccurwithinacertaintimeframe.Ifsucheditrulesexist,theymustbefullydisclosedtousers.Inaddition,theyshouldbesupplementedbyempiricalresearchthatsupportstheirapplication,andthisresearchshouldalsobemadeavailabletousers.
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4.2.1 InactivityMeasurementorganizationsshouldinstitutespecific“inactivityrules,”bywhichauservisitisterminatedandthusexcludedfromadditionalcontributionstoTimeSpentafterapre-determinedlevelofconsecutiveinactivity.Theseinactivitycriteriashouldbefullydisclosed,anditisexpectedtheymaybemodifiedinthefuturebasedonevidencefromempiricalstudyoftheevolutionofusers’browsinghabits.Formobileapplicationmeasurement,inactivityrulesmaybebasedonapplicationidle,whichisgenerallydefinedbytheapplicationdeveloperbasedontimesincelastinteractionandcanresultinanapplicationrunninginthebackgroundorbeinginactive.Deviceidleorpowerstateshouldalsobeconsideredforinactivityrulesandthemechanismsusedtodetectinactivitymaybeuserconfigurable.Theseinactivityrulesmayvarybasedonthetypeofapplicationinvolved.Forinstance,someapplicationsaredesignedforlongperiodsofinactivity(suchaslong-formvideo,orscoreboards,tonametwoexamples),inwhichcasealongerinactivitythresholdmaybemoreappropriatethaninanothersituationwherelongerperiodsofinactivityarenotnormallytobeexpected.Or,asanotherexample,whileanapplicationthatisnotinfocusonthescreenwouldusuallybeconsideredinactive(ifoutoffocusforthepre-definedinactivityduration),incertainlimitedcases,suchaswithapplicationsthatcontainaudioads,theinactivityrulesmayallowfortheapplicationsessiontobeconsideredasstillactive.Inallcases,inactivityrulesappliedmustbefullydocumentedanddisclosed.Themobileenvironmentmayallowfordifferingoptionsfordetermininguseractivitythanareavailableintraditionalonlineenvironments,andtheseshouldbeleveragedinmakinginactivitydeterminations.Forinstance,screendimsanddarks,orscreentouches,canbeusedinhelpingtomakeinactivitydeterminations.
4.2.2 DurationEditingProgressevents(e.g.quartileordeciles,etc.)aloneshouldnotbeusedtoaccumulatetimeforpurposesofduration.Theuseofprogresseventsforcompletionofvideocontent(andcontributiontoduration)requirescontinuousmeasurementandsecond-levelgranularityconfirmingexposuretotheentiresegmentmeasuredbeforecreditcanbereported.Periodiccollectionortransmissionofmeasurementdatadoesnotneedtobeasgranularasactualmeasurement(datamaybebatchedforefficiency).Certainorganizationsthatengageincensus-basedmeasurementhaveeditrulesinplacethatbridgegapsinuseractivitywithinasession,iftheyoccurwithinacertaintimeframe(includingascribingmissingprogressevents).Sucheditrulesanddataadjustmentshouldbeempiricallysupportedanddisclosedtouserswithappropriatequantificationofimpactonreportedresults.
4.2.3 DurationValueAsstatedthroughoutthisdocument,fordigitalvideoaudiencemeasurement,viewabledurationreportingisrequired.Further,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredalongwithcampaignorcreativesegregation(adsofdifferinglengthshouldnotbe
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combinedunlessunderreportingofcombinationsofunitsofequivalentlength)forinputintocross-mediaFrequencyandGRP.Digitalvideoaudiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingareifreportedinadditiontoduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediacomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalviewabledurationdividedbyadduration(unitlength).Digital-onlyaudiencemeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting,butviewabledurationreportingisrequired.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouragedinconjunctionwithmeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweighting.Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurement.Durationweightingaccountsfordifferingadlength(whileadsofdifferinglengthshouldnotbecombinedinGRPreportingasdiscussedabove[unlessunderreportingofcombinationsofunitsofequivalentlength],durationweightingmakesseparateGRPsforcampaignsofdifferentlengthmorecomparable)andnormalizesexposureacrossplatformsandmedia.Simpledurationweightingassumesadirectandlinearrelationshipwithviewabletimeandeffectiveexposure.However,theactualsegmentofanadviewedmayhavedifferentialvalue.Forexample,segmentsofanadwithstrongbrandingpresencemayrepresentmoreeffectiveexposure.Further,viewabledurationduringconcurrentusageofothermediaorrepeat(orsingle)exposuremayhavedifferentialeffectiveness.Finally,exposuretodifferingmediamaylikewisecarrydifferentialeffectiveness.Furtherresearchinthisareaisstronglyencouraged.TheconceptofexposureeffectivenessandthetranslationofitintothecontributionofdifferinglevelsofexposuretoaudiencewillbefurtherdelineatedinaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard.Thisincludestheconsiderationofanyeffectiveexposurethresholds(abovewhichanadexposurefullycontributestoaudiencemeasurementincross-mediaenvironments)tohelpfurtherequalizeaudiencemeasurementincross-mediacomparisonsandcombinations.Specialconsiderationforre-purposedTVcontentindigitalmediaandwhetherdifferentialtreatmentrelatedtoanyoftheabovedurationvalueconceptswillneedtobeincludedinfurtherresearchperformedaspartofeffortstocreateCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandards.
4.3 TrackingofUsers(SourcesandAttribution)TechnicalDetailsTheclassificationdetailsofuniquemeasurementsmustbeproperlyexplainedforreportingpurposesbymeasurersofaudience,becauseunderstandingthenatureoftheunderlyingdatausedasthebasisforthereporteduniquemeasurementisafundamentalpartofproperlyusingthemeasurement.Therefore,eachreportingentityisrequiredtoaccuratelyandprominentlylabelonthefaceofanyreportthatincludesuniquemeasurements,thebasisforthecalculationoftheuniquemeasurementinvolved(e.g.devices,users,etc.).Discretedetailsofthebasisofthecalculationshouldbeincludedinmethodologicalsupplements.
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Whilethebasisusedforthesemeasurementsinmobilein-applicationenvironmentsmaydifferfromthoseusedfortraditionalandmobilewebenvironments,thesameprincipleofprominentdisclosureshouldapply.Atminimumoneofthefollowingtermsshouldbeutilizedwhendescribingthefoundationforthereachmeasures:Machine-BasedMeasures:
• UniqueCookies• UniqueBrowsers• UniqueDevices
People-BasedMeasures:
• UniqueUsersorVisitors(bothtermsareacceptableandequivalentgenerallyindigital;CumeandReachmayalsobeused)
WhiletheIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesestablishcertainlevelsofuniquemeasurement,digitalaudienceassignmentshouldonlybedoneattheuniquedeviceor,morepreferably,uniqueuserlevel.Asaresult,adigitalaudiencemeasurementvendormusthavearobustmethodologytoidentifyanddeduplicateuniquedevicesand/orusersforsuchassignment.Itiscritical,andacompliancerequirement,thattheaudiencereachmeasurementorganizationdoesnotmisrepresentmachine-basedmeasurementsaspeople-basedmeasurements.Themeasure’sstatusaseitherapeople-basedoramachine-basedmeasureshouldbeclearlydisclosed.Inherentinthisdisclosurerequirementisarecognitionthatderivingunduplicatedaudiencepeople-basedmeasuresfromdigitalactivityandotherresearchisthemostdifficultofthemetrics;however,itisalsoinherentlythemostvaluabletousersofmeasurementdata.Innoinstanceshoulda“unique”metricberepresentedinreportingandelsewhereas“UniqueUsers”(orrepresentedaspersonsCume)withoutappropriatefoundationinameasurementofpeople.
4.3.1 AdjustmentofUniquesWhileitispossibleforcensus-basedmeasurerstoproducecountsofUniqueUsersundertheIABAudienceReachGuidelines,thethresholdofmeasurementdifficultyforachievingthismeasureinacensus-basedenvironmentisquitehigh(generallybecauseofthedifficultyofbeingabletoidentifyacookieasauniquepersonpersistentlyduringthemeasurementperiod).Themeasurementorganizationmayutilizealgorithmsandotherdataadjustmentprocedures,utilizingmeanssuchascookies(ormobileadvertisingIDsanduniquedeviceidentifiers),aswellasotherpossibleidentificationmethodssuchasonlineorofflinestudies,tocalculateUniqueBrowsersandUniqueDevices.Likewise,census-basedmeasurersmaysimilarlyhaveproceduresthatultimatelycanresultinaUniqueUsermetric.However,inordertoreportaUniqueUser,
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themeasurementorganizationmustutilizeinitsidentificationandattributionprocessesunderlyingdatathatis,atleastinareasonableproportion,attributeddirectlytoaperson.Forinstance,datacollectedfromregistrantsisonepossiblesourcethatcanbeutilizedincreatingaUniqueUsersmeasurebyacensus-basedmeasurementorganization,ifregistrantsrepresentareasonableproportionofthetotaluser-baseandwhenappropriatescientificprojectionmethodsareusedfornon-registrants(seeSection4.3.6forfurtherdiscussionofregistrationdataandrequiredqualitycontrol).Activityoftrackedusersshouldoriginatefromactualrecordsofuseractivityorcollectionproceduressourcedfromusers.Ifthisdataisinferred,thenatureandextentofinferenceaswellastheinferencetechniquesshouldbedisclosed.Ifaudiencedemographicinformationisgatheredfromusersdirectlythroughregistration,panels,surveysorothertechniques,thesemethodsshouldbedisclosed.InnoinstancemayacensusmeasurementorganizationreportUniqueUserspurelythroughalgorithmsormodelingthatisnotatleastpartiallytraceabletoinformationobtaineddirectlyfrompeople,asopposedtobrowsers,computers,oranyothernon-humanelement.AmeasurementorganizationmayusepassivetechniquestoassociateUniqueUserstoinferavirtualhouseholdasastand-alonereportingunit(suchasinvirtualpanels)orforthepurposeofcross-mediacombinationsorcomparisons.Forexample,IPaddressesmaybeusedtolinkusersandinferahousehold,butaresubjecttomanychallengesthatmustbeaccountedfor.SuchuseofIPaddressesmustaccountforavailability,granularityandreliabilityofcollectedIPaddressdataaswellashouseholdmembersordevicesthatneverconnecttotheseIPaddressesandalsogueststhatmaynotbepartofthehousehold,butdoconnecttotheseIPaddresses.Further,deviceportabilityandthepotentialforadevicetoconnecttomultipleIPaddressesmustalsobeaccountedfor.Inferencesusedtodeterminehouseholdsfromuserrecordsmustbeempiricallysupported,disclosedanddemonstratedtobemateriallycomplete.Further,totheextentthatmodelsareusedtoadjustuniques,itiscriticalthatrobustempiricalsupportisusedtodevelopthesemodelsandthatsuchmodelsaregranularenoughtoaccountfordifferencesinmediausage(indigitalthisincludesbutisnotlimitedtositecategory,differencesbydevice,locationandlocalconsiderationssuchasmaintainingthediversityoflocalaudiencebehaviors).Thesemodelsshouldbesubjectedtoongoingvalidationandanylearningdataorsourceoftruthusedshouldbeempiricallysupportedandconsiderandreflectthepopulationbeingmeasured.
4.3.2 IdentifyingUsersAcrossDevicesVendorsandpublishersmustdisclosetotheenduserthroughtheprovisionofconcise,clearprivacypolicynoticesdescribinghowtheirappproductsand/orwebservicesuseandsharedataandwhattheconsumer’schoicesare.Inconnectionwithenduserswhovoluntarilydisclosedata,theuseofclearopt-inpracticesisrequired.Thisisparticularlyimportantwith
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regardtotrackingusersacrossdevicesorsites.SeeSection6.3ofthisdocumentforfurtherdetailsrelatedtoprivacyconsiderations.Withregardtocross-mediacomparabilityconsiderations,asstatedabove,thisdocumentrepresentsthedigitalinputintoaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard,whichwillsoonfollow.Inthisregard,theIAB’sDigitalAttributionPrimer(v2.0August2016)providesguidanceforidentifyingusersacrossdigitalmediascreens.Specifically,thePrimerstates:Devicegraphsaregenerallybuiltandmaintainedbythirdpartyanalyticsorganizationsandareassembledbyassociatingfiveprimarydevicecurrencies:DeviceIDs,AdvertisingIDs,StatisticalIDs,CookieIDs,and/orWANIPaddresses.Usingpubliclyavailablesignals,mappingprovidersneedfirsttobeabletoconsistentlyidentifythesamedeviceagainstthesecurrenciestodevelopaconfidencethreshold.Thesecondstepistomakeanassociationwithotherknowndevices,aprocessthatisoftenproprietaryandusedasaprimarydifferentiatorbydevicegraphingproviders.Inadditiontodevicemapping,thesecurrenciescanalsobeusedfortargeting,segmentation,and/oronline-to-offlinetracking.DeviceIDs,AdvertisingIDsandStatisticalIDsareprimarilymobiledevicemarkers.ThekeydifferencebetweenDeviceandAdvertisingIDsisthepersistenceoftheIDwiththedevice.WhereasDeviceIDsaretiedtothehardwareorsoftwareofthedevice,AdvertisingIDscanberesetbyconsumerssothatpastbehaviorisnotassociatedwiththeirnewAdvertisingID.StatisticalIDs—determinedindependentlybyeachindividualmeasurementorganization—areinherentlydifferentthanDeviceIDsandAdvertisingIDsinthattheyarenotsupplieddirectlybythedeviceitself.Instead,theyaredeterminedandassignedbythemeasurementproviderbasedonstatisticalanalysisofdisparatedevicesignals.Devicegraphsrelyontwodistinctapproaches:deterministicandprobabilisticmethods:DeterministicApproaches–Thedeterministicmethodreliesonpersonallyidentifiableinformation(PII)tomakedevicematcheswhenapersonusesthesamepersistentidentifier—suchasemailaddresses,aphonenumber,orcreditcardinformation,etc.—whenloggingintoanapporwebsite.Whenauserlogsinatanypointacrossmultipledevices,deterministicdataproviderscanassociatethosedeviceIDsinadevicegraphandusethatinformationtoidentifyortargetthesameuseracrossmultiplescreenswithsubstantialconfidence.Thisapproachgenerallycannotdeterminewhenotherindividuals—friends,family,etc.—areusingaprimaryuser’sdeviceandassuchmeasurementvendorsusingdeterministicapproachestoidentifyusersacrossfordevicesshouldaccountforsuchsituations.SeeSection4.3.6forfurtherdetailsonuseofRegistrationdata.ProbabilisticApproaches–Bydrawingonaggregationtechniques,probabilisticapproachesmayincorporatethousandsofanonymousdatapoints—thingslikedevicetype,operatingsystem,locationdataassociatedwithbidrequests(seeSection4.3.7forfurtherguidanceonusinginformationpassedinadrequests),timeofday,andahostofothers—toidentifystatisticallysignificantcorrelationsbetweendevices.Signalsmayalsobedrawnfromknownmulti-user
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identifierslikeIPaddresses,orfromgeographicregions.ByusingIPtoGeotechnology—whichcanestablishaZIPcodeorothergeographicalcoordinatesfromanIPaddress—theincorporationofadditionalaggregatesignalsispossible.AsdiscussedinSection7.3,locationmeasurementanddisclosureshouldbeconsistentwithMRClocation-basedadvertisingguidancewhereapplicable(seethisguidanceforspecificdiscussionofthelimitationsassociatedwithIPaddresswhendetermininglocation).Basedonthesesignals,probabilistictechniquesattempttodeterminethedevicesthatarelikelybeingusedbythesameperson.Oncethisdeterminationismade,thatproviderwouldlikelyassignaparticularstatisticalIDtothedevice.Forexample,ifasmartphone,desktopcomputerandalaptopconnecttothesamenetworksorWi-Fihotspotsatthesametimeandinthesameplaceseveryweekday,onemaydevelopadegreeofconfidencethatallthreedevicesbelongtoaspecificperson(althoughwithinhouseholdsthismayrepresentdifferentpeoplelivinginthesameplace).Probabilisticapproachesaregenerallyconsideredtobelessaccuratethandeterministicapproacheswhenassociatingdevicepairings,astheyarelargelybasedoninferredand/ormodeleddata.However,thesesolutionsmayhavegreaterflexibilitytoscaleacrossdevices,meaningthatdevicemappingscanpotentiallyincorporatemoreoverallconsumerdevicesthandeterministicpartners.
4.3.3 AccountingforDuplicationAusershouldonlybecountedonce(unduplicated)foruniquemeasurement,despitethefactthatausercanhavemultiplevisitsduringareportingperiod.Furthermore,inallinstancesrelatedtothereportingofaudiencemeasurement,theuseofthequalifierword“Unique”shouldbelimitedonlytoreferencestorecordsthathavebeende-duplicatedwithintheentirereportingperiod.Thefoundationfortheinitiationofuniqueusercountingisameasurableincidenceofaudienceactivity,unduplicatedforthatuser,respectively,andrelatedtotheapplicableweb-site,propertyorapplication,duringthereportingperiod.InadditiontoaccountingforduplicationwhenreportinguniqueaudiencemetricssuchasReach,whendeterminingcoverageofthemeasureduniverse,ameasurementvendormustaccountforduplicationacrossdevicesorplatformswithinthesameuniverse.Measurementvendorsareencouragedtodevelopandutilizerobusttrackingassetsthatcanidentifyusersacrossdevicesandplatformsforpurposesofde-duplication.Alternatively,vendorsmaymeasuredeviceorplatformaudiencesindependentlyandestimate/removeduplicationacrossthem.Suchtechniquesmustbeempiricallysupportedanddisclosed.Itiscriticalthatthoroughdescriptionsofhow“users”areactuallydeterminedandhowde-duplicationduringmeasurementperiodsisaccomplishedareprovidedtousersofuniqueusermeasurements.Trackingmethodsshouldbesubjecttointernaltestingandvalidationuponoriginalimplementationaswellasperiodicinternalverificationtesting.Trackingmethodsand
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disclosureswillbethesubjectofintenseproceduralverificationifexternalcertificationissoughtbythemeasurementorganization.Itislikelythatmethodsforlinking“identity”(individualsandhouseholds)acrossdigitaldevicesandplatformstoaccountforduplicationrequirerobustassetsandtechniques.Further,accountingforduplicationacrossmediawillneedtoaccountforuniquesituationssuchasconcurrentusageand“casting”(useofamobiledevicetobroadcastcontenttoTVs).Withregardtocross-mediacomparabilityconsiderations,asstatedabove,thisdocumentrepresentsthedigitalinputintoaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard.Aswasdiscussedabovewithregardtoadjustinguniques,totheextentthatmodelsareusedtoaccountforduplication,itiscriticalthatrobustempiricalsupportisusedtodevelopthesemodelsandthatsuchmodelsaregranularenoughtoaccountfordifferencesinmediausage(indigitalthisincludesbutisnotlimitedtositecategory,differencesbydevice,locationandlocalconsiderationssuchasmaintainingthediversityoflocalaudiencebehaviors,wherereportingisatthelocallevel).Thesemodelsshouldbesubjectedtoongoingvalidationandanylearningdataorsourceoftruthusedshouldbeempiricallysupportedandconsiderorreflectthepopulationbeingmeasured.
4.3.4 TrackingMethod–PanelMethods,etc.Syndicatedmeasurementorganizationshavecomplexmethodologiesforselecting,recruiting,andmaintainingpanels(orothermethodsofuser-trackingbasedmethodsofattribution,forexampledataenrichmentmethodsbasedontrackedactivityanduserlinkages);collectingdata;editing;projectingandweightingdataandreportingaudienceactivity.Onestrengthoftheseorganizationsistheabilitytoattributeaudienceactivitytousersandtheknowndemographyofusersinapanelorsomeotheruser-attributeddatasource.Thisinformationisgatheredthroughacombinationofmanualandautomatedtechniques,someofwhichcaninvolvedirectcontactwithpanelistsandsomeinvolvetheuseofsoftwaremeteringtechniquesorotherdata-collectionmethodssuchasSDKswithinapplicationsordataenrichmentprocesses.Panelsmaybeprobabilisticandutilizerandom,representativesamplingtechniques,maybenon-probabilisticsuchasinconvenienceoropt-inpanelsormayutilizeahybridapproachinvolvingsomelevelofbothtechniques.Ineithercase,panelsourcesshouldbecongruentwiththeMRCMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearchandarestronglyencouragedtobepartofanauditedandaccreditedservice.InadditiontotheMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearch(andsupplementalguidanceforthosepractitionersusingnon-probabilitytechniquesand/orusinglargetransactionaldatasetsaspartoftheirmeasurementprocesses),otherindustrymeasurementguidanceaswellastheMRC’sguidelinesfordataintegrationarelikelyapplicabletouseofpaneldatafordigitalaudience-basedmeasurement.Ifnon-probabilitysamplesareutilizedeitheronastand-alonebasisasthesolemeasurementsourceorinhybridtechniques,theymustbeadjustedorcalibratedtoaccountformediausagebiasandpotentialpopulationexclusions,andtheratingservicemustmakeperiodic
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assessmentsoflongitudinalvalidityofthedataresults(alsoreferredtohereinasprojectionvalidity).Similartocensus-basedandclient-initiatedtrackingmethods,thequalityofthepaneluserattributionprocess(logging,activityassessment,etc.)iscriticaltomeasurementaccuracy.Thefollowingotherareasarecriticaltoaccuracyamonguserattributedtrackingmeasurementorganizationsandarerequiredtobeconsidered:
• Completenessofframeforselectionofpanelists• Completenessofassignmentdata-source(ifnon-panel)• Panelistselectionprocedure• Panelistcharacteristicupdating• Panelrefreshandturnover-replacementprocedures• Panelcooperationandincentivetechniques• Panelrepresentationversuspopulation(andnon-responsebiasconsiderations)• Panelcalibrationmethods• Measurementcoverageissues(inclusiveoflocalconsiderationswhereapplicable)• Characteristicassignmenttechniques,includingmodeling,ascription,etc.• In-tabulationqualificationrules• Accuracyofsoftwaremetersand/orotherdatacollectiontools• Completenessofdatacollection• Informationprocessingcontrols• Reasonablenessandsupportfordataediting,adjustment,modelingand/orascription
techniques• Reasonablenessandsupportforweightingvariablesandmodels• Appropriatenessandqualitysourceofuniverseestimatedata• Accuracyofdatacalculationsandreporting• Overallratesofresponse• Disclosureofstandarderrors
Iforganizationsuseadataenrichmentprocesstoattributeaudience,thefollowingadditionalmattersmustbeconsidered:
• Completeness• Coverageofdataintegrationsource• Accuracyofdataintegrationsource• Testingandqualitycontrolofdatatransferbetweenthemeasurementserviceanddata
integrationsource• Privacyconsiderations• Assessmentofanyadjustments,ifany,thatneedtobemadeofthedataintegration
sourcedata• Processesforon-boardingandterminatingdataintegrationsourcesaswellasdisclosing
thesechangestocustomers.
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Disclosureandauditingisstronglyrecommendedforthesecomplexsyndicatedmeasurementorganizations.
4.3.5 DataEnrichmentSourcesandProcessMeasurementservicesoftenemploytechniquesforattributinginformationtomeasurementdatasetsfromthird-partysources(suchasindatafusion)orintegratingdatafromonedatasetwithanotherunrelateddatasettoexpandtheamountofinformationassociatedwithmeasurementrecords–thereforepossiblyimprovingtheusefulnessofdatatocustomers.Theresultingexpandeddataattributesmayrepresenttargetingattributesorothermarket/personsbreaksthatcanbeusedtosegmentmeasuredactivitybasedonprescribedadvertisingcriteria.Therearemanylegitimatemethodsforthesetypesofassignmentorintegrationprocedures–howeverallimplementationsare“custom”innatureinthattheyshouldreflectthespecificsofthedatainvolvedandthespecificobjectivesofthemeasurementservice.Alloftheseproceduresrelyonsignificantresearchandmethodologicaljudgmentandaccordinglyrequireextensiveperiodicempiricalsupportforjudgmentsmadeaswellasaccuratedataprocessingandqualitycontrolprocedures.Datafieldsorvariablesusedaslinksintheassignment/integrationprocessshouldhavedemonstrablepower(i.e.,astatisticallydemonstratedabilityofthefieldorvariabletoexplaindifferencesinmediaconsumptionbehavior),whichissufficientfortheprocess.Empiricalanalysesshouldsupportintegrationprioritiesincludingweightsordistancedecisions;thisisalsoapplicabletovariableoron-the-flymethods.Thesourcesofassignmentdataaswellasdatasetsinvolvedindataintegrationprocessesshouldbedisclosedtomeasurementservicecustomersinthedescriptionofmethodology.Changestotheseassignment/integrationsourcesshouldbereflectedincustomerdisclosuresonatimelybasis.Relevantinformationtoincludeinmethodologicaldisclosuresofthistypeincludethefollowing:
• DataSourceOrganizations• FrequencyofExecutionoftheAssignmentorIntegrationProcesses• GeneralDescriptionoftheAssignmentorIntegrationMethodology
o ADescriptionofEmpiricalSupportforMethodsChosen;FrequencyofValidationProceduresEmployedwithLatestValidationResultsSummarized
§ ForExample,SplitSampleorFold-OverTestingisaparticularlyRelevantValidationMethod
• UltimatelyReportedDataElements,bySourceDataSeto DescriptionsofMethodsofCollectionofSignificantDataFields(e.g.,registration
ordirectlygathered,collectedfromotherthird-parties)• ApproximateAgeofDataBeingUsed• KeyLinkingDataElementsorIntegrationDependencies
o CommonDefinitionsofLinkingDataElements–DefinitionsshouldbeSufficientlyComparableandPreferableIdentical
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o ExtentofAscriptionAppliedtoDataElements,Pre-AssignmentorIntegrationo ExtentofModelingorOtherInferencesMadetoDataFields
• KnownPopulationExclusionsfromDataSetsUsedo MagnitudeofExclusions,WhereKnown
• KeyAssignmentorIntegrationPerformanceIndicators• SizeofApplicableDataSetsinTermsofRelevantAttribute(Households,Persons,Media
Devices,ActivityRecords,etc.)wherepermissibleo NatureofDataOverlapsorCommonalitiesBetweenRelevantDataSetswhere
permissible• ExtentofExternalAuditingorVerificationProcessesEmployed
4.3.5.1 DataEnrichmentMethods(includingbehavioralanalysis)Thedataassignmentorintegrationmethodsusedbythemeasurementserviceshouldbeincludedinthedescriptionofmethodologysuppliedtocustomers.Changesinassignment/integrationmethodsand/orsignificantchangestounderlyingdatasets(includingthosefromthirdparties),especiallylinkingdatafields,shouldbeupdatedtimelybythemeasurementserviceinthedescriptionofmethodologywherepermissible.
Assignmentorintegrationmethodsshouldbedescribedfromatechnicalperspectiveintechnicalsupplementssuppliedbythemeasurementserviceorincustomerunderstandabletermsinthedescriptionofmethodology.Adescriptionorsummaryofvalidationproceduresperformedaswellasvalidationperformanceforthelatestroundofexecutionshouldbeincludedinthecustomerdisclosures.Ameasurementserviceusingassignment/integrationmethodsmustuseatleastsome“truth”information(basedonrecordsofsufficientqualityobtaineddirectlyfrompeopleoractuallyobserveddata-relationships)aspartofitsperiodicvalidationprocedures,asopposedtosolelyrelyingoninferreddataorinferreddata-relationships.
4.3.5.2 DataEnrichmentQualityCheckingandMonitoringThemeasurementserviceshouldatminimummaintainthefollowingongoingqualitycontrolprocessesandmonitoringprocessesrelatedtotheassignment/integrationprocessesperformed:
• Maintaininganunderstandingofdatasources,datacollectionmethods,field
definitions,ageofdata,datacustody,generalprocessingproceduresanddataeditsappliedonapre-assignment/integrationbasis;thisunderstandingisrequiredregardlessofwhethertheseprocessesareappliedbythemeasurementserviceorathird-party.
• Monitoringofthelevelsofpre-integrationascription,dataadjustmentoreditingappliedbythemeasurementservice(orthird-partysource;maybeincludedaspartofpartneronboardingandvettingprocedureswithappropriateperiodicmonitoringforchanges)levels.Thevolumeofthisascriptionordataadjustmentshouldbeminimizedwhere
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possible.Effortsshouldbemadebythemeasurementservicetoreducethepossiblebiasordistortionintroducedbyascription,dataadjustmentsoreditingapplied.
• Appropriatequalitycontrolsoverinformationsystemsarerequiredintheareasofaccesscontrols,systemsdevelopmentandqualitytesting,controlsofperiodicsystemsupdatesaswellasbusinesscontinuity
• Ameasurementserviceshouldhaveanongoingprogramofmethodsresearchtoseekqualityimprovementsandmaintainanup-to-dateassignment/integrationprocess
4.3.6 RegistrationTheuseofregistrationdatamaybeusedtodetermineaudiencecharacteristics.Theuseoffirst-partyorregistrationdatashouldbesubjecttoperiodicreviewandupdatealongwithappropriaterecencyor“freshness”rulessuchastimetolivepolicies.MeasurementvendorsutilizingregistrationdataareencouragedtoemployleadingpracticessuggestedbytheCouncilforResearchExcellenceorCRE(http://researchexcellence.com/files/pdf/2015-02/id97_can_publisher_data_play_a_role_4_3_12.pdf)whendesigningregistrationcollectionandmaintenanceprocedures.Suchpracticesinclude,butarenotlimitedto:
• Dataedits/validationsatthetimeofcollectiontodetermineiftheresponseisvalidinthecontext(e.g.,avalidZIPcodebasedonreferencetoaUSPSdatabase).
• Reviewofdeclareddataforillogicalorsuspectresponses.Forexample:– Selectionof12345,90210,orothercommonZIPcodesforlocation.– Selectionofthefirstoptioninanydrop-downselectionfield,etc.
• Datavalidationtechniquesinitiatedbyandfocusedonuserchangestotheirprofiledata.
• Cross-validationtechniquesemployingexternaloralternatedatasources.• Definedprocesstoaddressdataconflictsacrosscollectionmethodologiesandparties.
– Dataqualityproceduresthatpre-identifypotentialconflictsamongmultiplesources,andapolicysuchasadatahierarchy.
• Abilityofuserstoreviewtheircollecteduserdata,sotheycanupdateorcorrectit,ifnecessaryorpossiblyremoveitfromtheirprofile(maintainedbyfirst-partycollector).
• Adata“TimeToLive”(TTL)policythatconsidersthedifferentdatatypes,association(firstorthirdpartysources)andderivation(declaredorinferred)foreachelementandestablishesaTTLforthatdata,atwhichpointthedatamusteitherberefreshedordiscarded.
• Centralizedfunctiontooverseedatacollection,qualityanduseacrosstheorganization,suchasaresearchorCRMfunction.
4.3.7 DataPassedinanAdRequest:ProtocolssuchasOpenRTBmayincludeinformationaboutanimpression,UserorDevice.Further,thetypeofattribute(methodofcollection)andrelativeaccuracyandprecisioncanbeincludedandshouldbefactoredintoaudiencecharacteristicdeterminationwhereavailable.Adrequestdatashouldalsobesubjecttorobustvalidationeditrules/qualifyingcriteria.Theuseof
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multipledatasourcestocorroborateandinspectadrequestdataandaccuracy/precisionparameterrequirementsisencouraged.
5 DataPreparationandQualityChecking
5.1 DataCollectionAppropriatetransactionrecordsshouldbemaintainedforaudiencemeasurements.Insofarascommerciallyreasonable,thesetransactionrecordsshouldincludeactivityfacilitatedbytransactionpartnersorfacilitatorsdownstreamfromthecontentprovider(suchasthird-partyorfourth-partyservers).TheserecordsareanimportantpartofenablingthemeasurementandfiltrationproceduresdescribedintheseGuidelinesandshouldberetainedinamannerthatcanbeaccessedbythemeasurementorganizationtovalidate/filteraudienceactivity.Ifchangesaremadetothisinformationthroughtheinformationprocessingofthemeasurementorganization,thesechangesshouldbedocumentedandcareshouldbeexercisedtonotbiasordistorttheaudiencemeasurementprocess.Processinginformationrelatedtovisits(sessions)includesidentificationofinitialuseractivityandtrackingthisinformationduringaudienceactivitiesforthatbrowseroruserattributabletothewebsiteorproperty.Appropriatelycontrolleddataaccumulationmethodsarecriticaltoaudiencemeasurementsbecausethesemeasurementsarederivedusingaudienceactivityoverthereportingperiod.Additionally,thefoundationforaudiencemeasurementistheidentificationandassignmentofactivitytoanunduplicateduser,whichrequiresappropriateidentificationandflaggingofuniqueinstances,anddifferentiationofthesefromreturnvisitsorotheraudienceactivity.Insomecasesthesedataaccumulationmethodsareapplicableacrossmultiplewebsitesorproperties,sothisinformationshouldbesharedacrosstheseproperties(withinthesamedomain)inacontrolledmannerwithappropriaterecord-detailsandtime/dateinformation.
5.1.1 ValidationProceduresMeasurementvendorsshouldapplyrobustvalidationandqualitycontroltechniquescontinuouslytocollectedandreporteddataincludingcleaningandeditingfunctionality.Suchtechniquesshouldbeperiodicallymonitoredandassessed.Measurementvendorsshouldconsiderwhetherotherdatavalidationprocessesshouldbeincludedaspartofroutineandongoingdatainspection,validationandediting.AlldigitalaudiencemeasurementdatamustbesubjecttoinvalidtrafficfiltrationasrequiredbytheMRCInvalidTrafficDetectionGuidelines(seeSection6.2forfurtherdetailsregardingfiltration).
5.1.2 IdentificationandMonitoringofDataGapsinTransactionalData
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Themeasurementorganizationsshouldmaintainprocessestoidentify,assessandpotentiallyact-uponfordisclosurepurposes,situationswhereunderlyingtransactionalmeasurementdata,orthedatausedinaudienceassignmentorintegrationprocesses,hassignificantgapsormissingintervalsforareportingperiod.Thisincludesnon-reportingorsuspectdatatransferconditions,datainterruptions,naturaldisastersthatmaycausedatagaps,systemfailuresorotherconditionsthatmaysuppressnormaldataacquisitionlevels.Thesegapsshouldbeassessedforsignificanceusingjudgmentastotheuseandsignificanceoftheinformationfromthestandpointofmeasurementservicecustomers(i.e.,whichdataisimportantforcommerceorotherformsofdecisionmaking).DataGapsshouldbeconsideredindisclosuresofratesofresponseorcooperationoronthe“projectionvalidity”oftheresearchascomparedtothepopulationbeingmeasuredforthereportingperiod.Ifameasurementservicedecidesthatdatagapsaresignificantenoughtocurtailmeasurementreportingforaperiodorforageographicarea(orifsuchgapsareassessedandameasurementservicedecidestoreport),thisdecisionshouldbesupportedbyappropriateempirical(preferablystatistical)analysisandretainedforauditorsandlatercustomerreview.Specificnon-reportingsituationsshouldbereportedtocustomerswiththeunderlyingempiricalsupportsummarized.
5.2 DataEditingDataeditingisahighlycriticalaspectofameasurementserviceproducingaudiencecurrency.Oftentheunderlyingmeasurementtransactionaldataorotherdatasourcesforassignmentorintegrationcanhaveunderlyingproblems/situationswhereindividualdataelementsaresuspect,incomplete,corrupt,missingorotherwiseoutsidetheboundariesofqualityexpectations.Inthesecasesdataeditingprocessesaregenerallyusedtoeliminate,cleanorpossiblymodifytheseproblematicconditionswithinthedatarecords.Dataeditingitselfisconsideredaqualitycontrol.Additionally,dataeditingrulesincluderoutineprocessingrulesthatareappliedtorawcollecteddataintheprocessofconvertingthatdatatouseabletuningrecordsforratingsaudienceestimates.Forexample,closinggapsincollecteddata,bridgingbetweendatarecordsorcreditingbroaderlevelsofestimatesfrommorediscretedata.Themeasurementorganizationshouldmonitortheextentofdataeditingappliedwithinreportedresults.Significanttypesofdataeditingshouldbedisclosedwithaccompanyingvolumesinreportstocustomers.
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5.2.1 EmpiricalSupportAmeasurementserviceshouldhaveappropriateempiricalsupportofdataeditingrulesanddecisionprocessesandthissupportshouldbeperiodicallychallengedandupdatedtoreflectchangingconditions.Themeasurementorganizationsshouldhaveadedicateddataqualityfunction,akeyresponsibilityofwhichistodetermineandmonitortheapplicationofdataeditingwithingeneralmeasurement,dataassignmentordataintegrationsprocesses.Empiricalevidencegatheredbythemeasurementservicetosupporteditrulesasrequiredaboveshouldatminimumestablishthattheeditrulesdonotleadtosystematicover-orunder-statementsofaudience.
5.2.2 DocumentationandConsistentApplicationAmeasurementorganizationshouldhaveeditsdocumentedincludinganassessmentoftheirimpactsothatanindependentpartycandeterminethepurposeandspecificoperationalparametersoftheeditbeingapplied.Dataeditsshouldbeconsistentlyappliedbetweenmeasurementperiodsandsignificantchangestoeditingprocessesshouldbedisclosedwithestimatedimpactsonreportedresults.
5.3 QualityControlOverOtherDataSourcesAlldatathatismateriallyrelevanttoaudiencemeasurement,audienceassignmentorintegrationprocesses,regardlessofsource,shouldbesubjecttoadequatequalitycontrolproceduresbythemeasurementservice–specificallyameasurementorganizationdoesnotreduce/eliminateitsresponsibilityforadequatequalitycontroljustbecauseanotherorganizationisthedatasourceorhasearliercustodyofthedata.Theseprocessescanbeapplied(andupdatedovertime)throughperiodicdirectcontactwiththedatasource(s),integratedsystemstesting/monitoring,orseparatelymaintainedlabtestingusingthesourceequipment,orpreferablyacombinationofthesemethods.Intheseareasproceduralconsistencyovertimeiscriticalandconsideredanaspectofqualitycontrol.
5.4 DataAggregationControlsAmeasurementserviceshouldmaintainappropriatedataaggregationcontrolstoensurethatmaterialinformationisnotlostinthecollectionprocessandthatnochangestothecollecteddataaremade,unlessthroughorganizationallyauthorizededitingordataadjustmentprocedures.Theseaggregationcontrolscanbereal-timerun-streamorbatchoriented–buttheyshouldbeperiodicallytestedandmonitoredbythemeasurementservices.Underlyingdataaggregationcontrolsandcompletenesscheckingstatisticsshouldberetainedforauditorreviewforaperiodofatleast12months.
5.4.1 CompletenessChecksIndividualdatacollectionfunctionsshouldincludedatacompletenesschecksthatareappropriatelystructuredtominimizedataloss,andflagsituationswheredatagapsexist.Thesecontrolsshouldbeperiodicallytestedandmonitoredbythemeasurementservice.
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5.4.2 TestsofSignificanceforMissingDataThemeasurementserviceshouldapplyappropriate,preferablystatisticallybased,testingtomissingdataconditionsordatagapstodeterminetheimpactofthesesituationsonreportedmeasurementresults.Missingdataordatagapscanbecausedbysystematicproblems(generallyrecurringissueswithinthedatathatpersistovertimeorbetweensimilardatarecords)ortheycanbeone-timedataoutagesornaturaldisasters.Measurementserviceprocessesmayvarybasedonthetypeofissueencountered.
5.4.2.1 SystematicDataIssuesBytheirnature,systematicdataissuesarerecurringandtheyaregenerallycausedbyspecificconditionswithindatacapturemechanismsorthetechnicalenvironmentatthetimeofdatacollection/creation.Ingeneraltheseareerrorconditionsorfailuresandmostareattributabletomistakeswithinthesoftwareortechnicalstructureofdatacapture.Systematicdataissuesshouldbeassessedformaterialitybasedonthenatureandextentoftheiroccurrencesandtheimpactofeachoccurrence.
5.4.2.2 One-timeDataOutagesorNaturalDisastersBytheirnature,one-timedataoutagesornaturaldisastersarenotrecurringandtheyarecausedbysituationslargelyoutofthecontrolofthemeasurementservice(althoughtheextentofdataoutagescanbemitigatedbystrongcollectionprocessesandinternalcontrols).Thesesituationsshouldbeassessedindividuallyacrosstheoccurrenceformaterialityanddisclosureconsiderations.Inbothcasesabove(systematicoron-timedataoutages),wheremissingdataisdeterminedtobeimmaterialtoreportedresultstheevidenceofthemeasurementserviceassessmentsofthesituationshouldberetainedforlaterreviewbyauditorsforaperiodofatleastoneyear.Incaseswheremissingdataisdeterminedtobematerial,themeasurementserviceshouldtakeactionstoappropriatelydisclosethesituationandtheimpactonreportedresults.Inextremecasesofmissingdataorgaps,themeasurementservicemayconsiderwithholdingtheentiremeasurementreport–thesesituationsrequirethoroughandtimelydisclosuretocustomers.MeasurementorganizationsshouldmaintainrobustandcomprehensiveBusinessContinuityandDisasterRecoveryplansandproceduresbasedonorganizationalriskassessments,andperiodicallyteststheseplansandprocedures.
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6 EnhancingAudienceBasedTrackingAccuracy
6.1 GeneralGuidanceandrequirementsofotherIAB,MRC,and,whereapplicable,MMAmeasurementguidelinesareapplicablewhererelevant.Theseinclude(butarenotlimitedto)thefollowingimpressioncountingguidanceareas:
• SegregationofPre-fetch/Pre-renderActivity• Auto-RefreshAds• Auto-playAdsandVideo,OtherNon-userIntendedContent• ForcedDuration• ApplicationsOn-linevs.Off-lineActivityandOtherIssues• InactivityConsiderationsandLimits
6.2 FiltrationforInvalidActivityFiltrationofsiteorad-servingtransactionstoremoveinvalidactivityishighlycriticalforaccurate,consistentcounting.AllmetricssubjecttoauditbyMRCwillbeexpectedtocomplywiththeMRC’sInvalidTrafficandFiltrationGuidelinesAddendum.Thisincludesadimpressionmetrics,whichshouldbefilteredforknownGeneralInvalidTrafficasrequiredbythoseguidelines.Furthermore,whileapplicationofSophisticatedInvalidTrafficdetectionprocessesisstronglyencouragedformonetizedtraffic,digitalaudienceandpersonslevelmeasurementrequiresahigherdegreeofprecisionandaccuracy.Assuch,digitalaudiencemeasurementandreportingrequiresfiltrationinclusiveofbothGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTraffic.
6.3 PrivacyVendorsandpublishersmustdisclosetotheenduserthroughtheprovisionofconcise,clearprivacypolicynoticesdescribinghowtheirappproductsand/orwebservicesuseandsharedataandwhattheconsumer’schoicesare.Inconnectionwithenduserswhovoluntarilydisclosedata,theuseofclearopt-inpracticesisrequiredandvendorsareencouragedtoestablishfirst-partyrelationshipsforcollectionofaudiencedatawherefeasible.Entitiesemployingmobilewebvoluntaryaudiencecollectionmustincludethefunctionalitytoprovidepromptswhenvisitingawebsiterequestingcurrentaudiencedata,withaclearopt-inaswellasthewebsitehostname,andtheoptionfortheconsumertoacceptordenypermission.Entitiesusingmobileapplicationservicesforvoluntaryaudiencecollectionmustgettheuser’spermissionviaapop-upatapplicationinitializationorduringuseandrequestthisaccessagaineachtimeauserchangesthepermissionintheservicessettingwithinthedevicesettings.Apublisherorvendormustclearlystateintheirprivacypolicywhytheyarecollectingthisinformationandhowitmaybeshared.Ifrespondentshavebeenledtobelieve,directlyorindirectly,thattheiranonymitywillbeprotected,theirnames,addressesandothersuch
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identifyinginformationshallnotbemadeknowntoanyoneoutsidethemeasurementserviceorganization.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryandregulatoryguidelinesinthisarea.Specifically:TheIAB’sMobileLocationDataGuideforPublishers:(http://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IAB_Mobile-Location-Data-Guide-for-Publishers_Feb2016-Revised.pdf)TheDigitalAdvertisingAlliance’sSelf-RegulatoryPrinciples:(http://www.aboutads.info/principles)TheNetworkAdvertisingInitiative’sCodeofConduct:(http://www.networkadvertising.org/code-enforcement/code)Additionally,measurementorganizationsseekingMRCaccreditationarerequiredtoadheretorelevantMRCMinimumStandardsinthisarea.Privacyregulationsmustalsobeconsidered.Privacyregulationsastheyemergemustbemonitoredandstagedforthemeasurementorganizationassoonasknown.Finally,ifavendororapplicationcollectsdatathatisintendedtobeusedforbehavioralanalysistodetermineuserheuristics,thismustbemadeknowntousersaspartofpermissions,termsandconditionsandprivacypolicies.Trackingusersthroughoutadayandcombiningsessionstodeterminecertainheuristicshasprivacyimplicationsthatmustbeconsideredindisclosuresanduser-facingpoliciesortermsandconditions.
7 ReportingParameters
7.1 GeneralParametersGeneralreportingparameters(dayparts,weekparts,timezones,etc.)provideforconsistencyandcomparability.Theseshouldbebasedonthelogicalapplicationofinformationabouttheusagepatternsofthemedium.Inordertoprovideformorestandardizationindigitalmediameasurementreporting,thefollowinggeneralreportingparametersarerecommended.Notethattheseareonlyseveralofthepossiblereportingparametersthatmaybeused.Ifparametersinadditiontothesearereported,similarrulesshouldbedefinedandapplied.ManyofthesehavebeenspecifiedonaconsistentbasiswithpriorMRC/IABmeasurementguidelines.
7.2 TimeDay—12:00midnightto12:00midnightDaypart—Digitalmediausagepatternsneedfurtheranalysistodeterminetheusefulnessofestablishingeffectiveandlogicalstandardizedreportingdayparts(suchasworkinghoursand
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non-workinghoursnormalizedacrosstimezones).Weencouragesuchanalysistodeterminetheneedforstandardizationofthismeasurementparameterbasedonmarketplaceneedsandbehaviors.Totheextentthataudiencemeasurementisspecifictoamediavertical(e.g.,TV),measurersareencouragedtoconformtoexistingandstandardizeddayparts(e.g.,broadcastday),especiallywithregardtocross-mediacomparisonsorGRPs.However,itislikelythatmedia-agnosticmeasurementwillneedtobefurtherstudiedtodeterminetrafficandusagepatterns.Digitalspecificdaypartsshouldbesupportedbyempiricaltrafficanalysis.Customdaypartsshouldbefullydisclosed.TimeZone–Fulldisclosureofthetimezoneusedtoproducethemeasurementreportisrequired.Itispreferable,althoughnotacurrentcompliancerequirement,forcertifiedmeasurementorganizationstohavetheabilitytoproducemeasurementreportsinaconsistenttimezonesobuyerscanassessactivityacrossmeasurementorganizations.ForUS-basedreportsitisrecommendedthatreportsbeavailableonthebasisoftheEasternTime;fornonUS-basedreportsthisisrecommendedtobeGMT.Week—MondaythroughSundayWeek-parts—M-F,M-Sun,Sat,Sun,Sat-SunMonth–Threereportingmethods:(1)TVBroadcastmonthdefinition.Inthisdefinition,theMonthbeginsontheMondayoftheweekcontainingthefirstfullweekendofthemonth,(2)4-weekperiods–(13peryear)consistentwithmediaplanningforothermedia,or(3)acalendarmonth.Forfinancialreportingpurposes,amonthisdefinedasacalendarmonth.
7.3 LocationIfinformationaboutthegeographiclocationoftheusersiscollectedandreported,anylimitationstothemethodsusedshouldbedisclosed.LocationmeasurementanddisclosureshouldbeconsistentwithMRClocation-basedadvertisingguidancewhereapplicable.User/devicelocationmayrepresentpointintimelocationormaybeusedtodeterminehomelocationandsuchdistinctionshouldbedisclosedtousersaspartofmethodologicalanddefinitionaldisclosures.Thelocationofmediausageshouldbeconsideredandconsistentincross-mediacombinationsrelativetotheUniversebeingmeasuredforbothgeographicreportingaswellastheimpactonreportedresults(forexamplehome-onlymeasurementofmediathatcanbeconsumedbothinhomeandoutofhome).Materiallycompletecoverageofpossiblemediausagelocationsisrequiredfortotalaudienceandcross-mediameasurement.Reporteddatashouldbefilteredtoexcludeactivityoutsideofthegeographicareaintendedformeasurement.
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7.4 SegregationofNon-likeAdActivityForreportingpurposes,measurementsshouldbesegregatedbythevariousadvertisementtypesoreventsincludedinthecampaign(placement).Countsshouldbereportedseparatelyforadswithinthecampaignofdifferentsizesorfunctionalities(whereknown),differentlengths,etc.
7.5 QualificationofDataAdjustmentProceduresSection5ofthisdocumentdiscussedvariousdatapreparationandqualitycheckingproceduresthatmaybeappliedtodigitalaudience-baseddata.SuchproceduresmayresultinEditingorAdjustmenttorawdata.DataEditingandAdjustmentprocedurescanbecriticaltoprocessingdigitalaudience-basedmeasurementdata.Theseprocedurescanbeapartofbestpracticesforensuringcompleteandconsistentmeasurementresultsovertime.However,thespecificdataadjustmentandeditingparametersusedshouldbesupportedbyempiricaljustificationbasedonpriorstudy.Thevolume/extentofeditingandadjustmenttooriginallycollectedtrafficandrespondentdatashouldbedisclosed,wherethisvolumeismaterialtothetotal(generallyifthatexceeds5%ofrecords).Thesedisclosuresshouldbegranularbytypeandreportedonthebasisofweightedandreportedcharacteristic.Ifeditingoradjustmentratesareonlyperiodicallymeasured,thismeasurementshouldbefrequentenoughtobepertinenttoreporteddata.
7.6 MinimumReportabilityStandardsMeasurementvendorsmustestablishempiricallysupportedminimumrequirementsforreporting(forspecificmeasuredpropertiesormetrics)andifestablished,arerequiredtodisclosetheminimumrequirements.
7.7 DataRetentionRequirementsDetailedcollecteddata(preandpost-processing)supportingdigitalaudience-basedmeasurementshouldberetainedforasufficientperiod–atleastoneyearafterthereleaseofdata.Obfuscatedortruncateddatamaybemaintainedtosatisfythisrequirement,shouldtherebePersonalIdentifyingInformation(PII)orprivacyconcerns,butshouldbeavailableinatransparentmannertoaccreditation/certificationauditorsandatadetailedleveltoallowreprocessingofreportedestimatedwherenecessary.Differentmetric/transactiontypesandvaryingrisksassociatedwithtransactiontypesshouldbeconsidered.PIIlegalrestrictionsmaydictateeliminatingoneormoreofcollectedfieldsfromretainedrecordsoralteringthecontentoffieldsforidentityprotectionpurposes.Further,privacyorcontractualrestrictionsonrawdatamaystipulateshorterretentionperiods.Suchrestrictionsmaystillallowforalternativelevelsofretentionthatarestillsufficienttosupport
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reprocessingofdata.Inthesecasesdeviationsshouldbesupportedbythemeasurementorganization’sprivacypolicyandshouldbeavailableforreviewbyauditors.
8 DisclosureGuidanceDigitalaudience-basedmeasurementorganizationsshoulddisclosetheiraudiencemeasurementactivityrecordingprocesstobuyers,sellersandotherusersofthemeasurementdata.Anorganization’smethodologyforaccumulatingdigitaladvertisingaudiencemeasurementsshouldbedescribedtousersofthedata,includingmethodsforcalculatingunitaudienceswhereapplicable.Specifically,thenatureofcountsand/ormeasurements,methodsofsamplingused(ifapplicable),datacollectionmethodsemployed,dataeditingproceduresorothertypesofdataadjustmentorprojection,calculationexplanations,reportingstandards(ifapplicable),reliabilityofresults(ifapplicable)andlimitationsofthedatashouldbeincludedinthedisclosure.Thefollowingpresentsexamplesofthetypesofinformationdisclosed.NatureofDigitalAudience-BasedMeasurements
•Name/TypeofAudienceActivityIncludedintheMeasurement•NameofMeasurementReport•TypeofMeasurementsReported
o TimePeriodsIncludedo DaysIncludedo UniverseEstimatesandCoverageEstimatesusedforProjectiono BasisforMeasurement(MeasurementUnit)o GeographicAreaso SignificantSub-GroupingsofData
o Demographiccategories•FormatsofReportedData•SpecialPromotionsImpactingMeasurements•AuditingAppliedandDirectionstoAccesstoAuditReport•Sampling/ProjectionsUsed
o SamplingMethodsUsedo ExplanationofProjectionMethods
DataCollectionMethodsEmployed
•MethodofDataCollectiono CacheBustingTechniquesEmployedo ExposureLevelDatao AudienceDataSourceso ViewableCriteriaEmployed,i.e.,MRCViewableImpressionGuidelineso AudienceQualifiers,InclusionSpecifics,etc.
•TypesofDataCollected
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o CensusTagging,Surveys,Diary,Observations,ElectronicMeasurements,etc.o FrequencyofCollectiono ProcedurestoDetectandReportPre-fetch/Pre-renderaswellasAuto-
Play/Auto-RefreshandForcedDuration(whereapplicable)•ContactswithUsers(ifapplicable)•ResearchonAccuracyofBasicData
o LatencyIssueswithPeriodicMeasurement,AsApplicable•RateofResponse(ifapplicable)
EditingorDataAdjustmentProcedures
•CheckingRecordsforCompleteness•ConsistencyChecks•AccuracyChecks•RulesforHandlingInconsistencies•CircumstancesforDiscardingData•FiltrationProcedures•HandlingofPartialDataRecords
o AscriptionProcedures
ComputationofReportedResults•DescriptionofHowEstimatesareCalculated
o Illustrationsaredesirable•WeightingTechniques(ifapplicable)•VerificationorQualityControlChecksinDataProcessingOperations•Pre-ReleaseQualityControls•ReprocessingorErrorCorrectionRules
ReportingStandards(ifapplicable)•RequirementsforInclusioninReports,BasedonMinimumActivityLevels• DemographicandGeographicBreaksReported
ReliabilityofResults•SamplingError(ifapplicable)
Dataretentionrules•Maintainingsufficientdataorprocessesthatallowforaudittrail
LimitationsonDataUse•Non-samplingError•ErrorsorUnusualConditionsNotedinReportingPeriod•LimitationsofMeasurements
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9 AuditingGuidelines
9.1 GeneralThirdpartyindependentauditingisencouragedforalldigitalaudience-basedmeasurementsusedinthebuyingandsellingprocess.Thisauditingisrecommendedtoincludecountingmethods,measurementmethodsandassignmentforaudienceandprocessing/controlsasfollows:
1. CountingMethods:Independentverificationofactivityforadefinedperiod.Countingmethodproceduresgenerallyincludeabasicprocessreviewandriskanalysistounderstandthemeasurementmethods,analyticalreview,transactionauthentication,validationproceduresandmeasurementrecalculations.
2. Panel/Census/AssignmentMethods:Independentverificationofactivitytoattributeaudience.Theseproceduresgenerallyincludeprocessreviews,methodstoensureaccuraterepresentation,qualifiersappliedandtestingofapplicationofthesequalifiersforinclusioninaudiences,transactionauthentication,validationofweightingandprojectionproceduresandmeasurementrecalculations.
3. Processes/Controls:Examinationoftheinternalcontrolssurroundingallphasesofthemeasurementprocess.Processauditingincludesexaminationoftheadequacyofappliedcountingandqualificationtechniques.
Althoughauditreportscanbeissuedasinfrequentlyasonceperyear,someaudittestingshouldextendtomorethanoneperiodduringtheyeartoassureinternalcontrolsaremaintained.Auditreportsshouldclearlystatetheperiodscoveredbytheunderlyingaudittestingandtheperiodcoveredbytheresultingcertification.
9.2 U.S.CertificationRecommendationAlldigitalaudience-basedmeasurementproductsusedinthebuyingandsellingprocessarerecommendedtobecertifiedascompliantwiththeseguidelines,atminimumannually.Thisrecommendationisstronglysupportedbythe4Asandothermembersofthebuyingcommunity,forconsiderationofmeasurementsas“currency.”InadditiontoMRC,thereareanumberofothercertifiersandtypesandlevelsofcertificationavailabletoorganizationsinvolvedinmediameasurement.Anumberofdigitalaudience-basedproductsexistintheUSandsomeoftheseproductshavebeenaccreditedbytheMRCinsomefashion.Uponfinalizationoftheseguidelines,inadditiontotimelyevaluationofeachoftheseproductsforcompliance,areconciliationprocesswilllikelyneedtotakeplacethataccountsforthedifferentialdatacollection,editingandprojectiontechniquesemployedbytherespectivevendorsandthepotentialimpactsonreportedestimates.
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SpecialAuditingGuidanceforAdvertisingAgenciesorOtherBuyingOrganizations:Ifbuyingorganizationsmodifyorotherwisemanipulatemeasurementsfromcertifieddigitalaudience-basedaudiencemeasurementorganizationsuponreceipt,auditingoftheseactivitiesshouldbeconsidered.
9.3 InternationalCertificationRecommendationTheMRCencouragesnon-U.S.measurersofactivitytoadoptthepracticesspelledoutintheseguidelines.Whilecertificationregimesmayvaryonacountry-by-countrybasis,weencouragemeasurerstobeauditedforcomplianceannuallybyindependent,third-partyauditingorganizations.
10 GlossaryofTermsAdCampaign–Acollectionofmessagesfromanadvertiserorclientthatisdesignedtorunduringaspecificintervaland/orwithinasetofmediaoutlets(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).AssetIdentifier–Ingeneral,thedigitalmeasurementassetusedtotrackuniqueadvertisingandcontentbothwithindigitaldistributionandincross-mediaenvironments.Fordigitalmeasurementofadvertisingthisismayincludeatrackingassetsuchasatagorotherdigitalmeasurementmethodaswellasencoding,watermarkingorotherindustryandproprietaryidentifiers(forbothadvertisingandcontent).SeeSections4.1.4forfurtherdetailsandguidancerelatedtoassetidentifiersthatmaybeusedfordigitalaudience-basedmeasurement.Audience–AudienceactivitygenerallyconsistsofcountsofInternetusersaccessingcontentand/oradvertisingthroughoneormoreInternetapplicationssuchasabrowserorabrowser-equivalent[ormobileapplication],filteredtoremovesuspectedInvalidTraffic(Source:IAB).AudienceComposition–Theaudiencebreakdownofaggregated,segmentedcharacteristics,oftenreportedasapercentage,basedonsuchelementsasage,gender,income,education,householdcharacteristicsetc.(Source:IAB).Inadditiontodemographiccharacteristics,AudienceCompositionmayalsoincludebehavioralvariablessuchassitevisitation,purchaseactivity,locationetc.AverageAudienceRating–Theamountofviewing(expressedasapercent)onaverage,toaprogram,network,channel,ad,versionortimeperiodoutoftheuniverseorfullpopulation.(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).Basedontheaveragesecond,5second,minuteorothertimeframe(mostprecisepossiblegranularityispreferred)withinthetotaldurationoftheadorprogramcontentandmaybeaggregatedbychannelorbrand.InTV,averageminuteaudienceisoftenusedandrepresentedtheaveragenumberofindividualsviewingachannel.Averageminuteaudienceiscalculatedbyaveragingthetotal
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minutesvieweddividedbythetotalviewinguniverseoveraspecifiedtimeorprogramandmaybeconsideredforuseinlongerformatvideoads.
Browser(orWebBrowser)–Asoftwareapplicationforretrieving,presenting,andtraversinginformationresourcesontheWorldWideWeb.Caching–Memoryusedtotemporarilystorethemostfrequentlyrequestedcontent,filesorpagesinordertospeeditsdeliverytotheuser.Cachescanbelocal(i.e.onabrowser)oronanetwork(Source:IAB).Asdiscussedinthisdocument,IABmeasurementguidelinesrequirecertaincachebustingtechniquesdesignedtominimizetheimpactonmeasurementaccuracyofcachedmeasurementassets.CensusData–Measurementdesignedtorepresentacompletecountofapopulationofauniverseasopposedtoasampleorsubset.Compression–Theprocessbywhichfilesofdataorvideocontentarereducedinsizetofacilitatefasttransmissionandrequiringlessstoragespace(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).ClientUser–Amobiledevicethatinteractswithanapplication,essentiallyexecutingorotherwisereviewingtheapplication.ThenumberofUsers(people)orthedemographiccharacteristicsoftheUsersinteractingwiththeapplicationthroughtheClientUserisnotnecessarilyknown.Cookie–Asmallpieceofinformation(i.e.,programcode)thatisstoredonabrowserforthepurposeofidentifyingthatbrowserduringaudienceactivityandbetweenvisitsorsessions.Cookiesaretypicallysettoexpire.Somecookiesareintendedtoremainonthebrowsertemporarily(forexample,duringasession)andsomearepersistentinthattheyareintendedtoberetainedforlongerperiods.(Source:IAB)
Coverage–Theextentorareacoveredbysamplingoradatasourcerelativetothepopulationmeasured.Throughoutthisdocumentcoverageisusedwhendiscussingprojectingaudienceestimatesbasedonasubsetorsampleofthemeasuredpopulationaswellasthedegreetowhichaparticulardatasetorsourcerepresentsameasuredpopulation.DataFusion–Combiningdatafromtwoormoredifferentsourceswherethedatamergesandbecomesblendedintoanewdatasource(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).DataIntegration–Combiningdatafromtwoormoredifferentsourceswhilehavingthedatamaintainitsindividualdatabaseintegrity(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).DataNormalization(alsoCalibration)–Wheretherearetwoormoredisparatedatapointswithinadataset,combiningtheminsuchawaythatmaintainsdataintegrityandaccuracywhileimprovingusability(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).
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Duplication/De-Duplication–TheinstanceswhereaUnique(Cookie,Browser,Device,Household,Respondent,UserorVisitor)isexposedtothesamecontentoradvertisementmorethanoncewithinthesamedatasetormeasurementperiod.De-DuplicationisthedataeditingtechniqueusedtoremoveDuplicationfromreportedprocesseddataorreportedresults.Encoding/Watermarking–Theprocessofputtingaspecialcodeoruniqueidentifier,oftenasequenceofcharacters(letters,numbers,punctuation,andcertainsymbols)intoaspecializedformatforefficienttransmission,storage,privacyprotection,securityormeasurement(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).ForcedDuration–Theportionordurationofvideoadsduringwhichausercannotskiptheadtobegincontent.Forceddurationmaybeconfiguredtospantheentiredurationofanadoronlyaportionofitandcontrastswiththeportionordurationofvideoadsduringwhichtheuserhastheabilitytoskipthead(generallyreferredtoas“OrganicDuration”).Frequency–ThenumberoftimesanadisdeliveredtothesameBrowser(oruser)inasingleSessionortimeperiod(Source:IAB).Theaveragenumberoftimestheunduplicatedhomes[orpersons]reachedareexposedtoascheduleofcontentwhetheranad,aprogram,avideoorascheduleofspots(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).DurationWeightedFrequencyincludesdurationweighting(totalviewabletimedividedbytotaladdurationorunitlength)andisintendedforinputintocross-mediaGRP(campaignorcreativesegregationisrequired).GrossRatingPoint(GRP)–Thesumofalltheratingsforaspecifiedadvertisementoradvertisingcampaignreportedasagrossnumber.Foragivenpopulation,ReachmultipliedbyaverageFrequencyequalsGrossRatingPoints.DurationWeightedGRP(DWGRP)includesdurationweighting(totalviewabletimedividedbytotaladdurationorunitlength)andareintendedforinputintocross-mediaGRP(campaignorcreativesegregationisrequired).Impressions–AnAdImpressionisgenerallyameasurementofdeliveryofanadthatmeetsestablishedminimumthresholdsforqualityandthetermsandconditionsestablishedbetweenasellerandabuyer(Source:IAB).ValidAdImpressionsmustmeettheminimumrequirementsoftheIABMeasurementGuidelinesfortheapplicablecreativetype(Display,RichMediaorVideo)anduserenvironment(desktopbrowser,mobilewebandapplicationenvironments).Inactivity–Indigitalmediamayrefertospecificinactivityrules,bywhichauservisitisterminatedandthusexcludedfromadditionalcontributionstoTimeSpentafterapre-determinedlevelofconsecutiveminutesofinactivity(Source:IABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines).
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In-Tab–Generally,measureddatathatisconsideredandincludedwithinreportedresults(in-tabulation)andnotremovedforeditingpurposesorbecauseofnoncomplianceissues.Meter–Anyautomaticrecordingdeviceorappliance,whichmaybehardwareorsoftwarebasedandwhichisusedtoelectronicallycollectmeasurementdataincludingtuning,Internetactivityandothermediaexposure.MobileApplication–MobileIn-Application(In-App)referstocontentandadswithinthenativeUserInterfaceofanapplicationandnotcontentwithineitheramobilebrowseroranembeddedbrowserwithinanapplicationenvironment(aninstancethatisembeddedwithinanativeapplication;typically,thisoccurswhenauserclicksonaURLinamobileapplicationandtheapplicationexecutestheembeddedbrowser).Non-ProbabilitySample–Atypeofsamplethatisgenerallynotprobabilisticandmayormaynotbeproportionatetoameasureduniverse.Anexampleofanon-probabilitysampleisaconveniencesamplewhichincludesrespondentsordatapointsthatmaybetheeasiesttoreachormeasureandasaresultmayincludecertainresponseandnon-responsebiases.Non-ResponseBias–Thelackoforunder-representationofaspecificsegmentofthemeasuredaudienceorthesamplewhichcanleadtoerroneousresearchconclusionsaboutoverallbehaviorbecausetheomittedsegmenthasdifferentbehaviorsorpatternsthantherestofthepopulation(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).PanelData–Aselectedcrosssectionofopt-inconsumersorviewers[consumersorviewerswhoagreedtohavetheirbehaviorandusagemeasured]whosebehaviorandusageismeasuredoveraperiodoftimeasagrouporsetofsubgroupswiththeintenttoformopinionsandtrendsabouttheirbehaviors(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).PersonallyIdentifiableInformation(PII)–Datathatcanbeusedtoidentifyaspecificindividual.Thisincludesnames,addresses,emailaddresses,phonenumbers,amongothers(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).Anyinformationaboutanindividualmaintainedbyanagency,including(1)anyinformationthatcanbeusedtodistinguishortraceanindividual'sidentity,suchasname,socialsecuritynumber,dateandplaceofbirth,mother'smaidenname,orbiometricrecordsand(2)anyotherinformationthatislinkedorlinkabletoanindividualsuchasmedical,educational,financialandemploymentinformation(Source:NIST,GuidetoProtectingtheConfidentialityofPII).Referstoinformationsuchasanindividual‘sname,mailingaddress,phonenumberore-mailaddress(Source:IAB).ProbabilitySample–ArandomselectionmethodtocreateasamplethatisdesignedtobestreplicatethegreatercensusorUniversebeingmeasured.Eachselectioninthesamplemusthavethesameprobabilityofbeingchosenwithinrelativesamplingstrataforsampleselection.Rating–Apercentagecalculatedas:(A)thenumberofrespondents(orprojectedrespondentsinasampleorotherwisemeasuredgroup),filteredforinvalidactivitythatconsumed(i.e.,
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representedbytheopportunitytosee;viewable)anadvertisementoveraperiodoftime,dividedinto(B)thetotalpopulationincludedinthemeasuredframe(i.e.,theUniverseEstimate).Reach–Theamountofunduplicatedhomesoraudience,expressedeitherasapercentageorinthousandswhohaveviewedortuned[consumed]atleastonceduringatimeperiodorprogramoranypieceofcontent(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).Uniqueusersthatvisitedthesitemeasuredoverthecourseofthereportingperiodorthetotalnumberofuniqueuserswhowillbeservedagivenad(Source:IABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines).RegistrationData–Datacollectedviaaprocessforsitevisitorstoenterinformationaboutthemselves.Sitesuseregistrationdatatoenableorenhancetargetingofcontentandads.Registrationcanberequiredorvoluntary(Source:IAB).ReturnPathData/ReturnPath–AcommunicationchannelthatcanbeusedbyaSet-topBoxorSmartTVtocommunicatewiththecableheadendoraserviceprovider.Somehomesandcertaintypesofdevices(e.g.nondigitalSet-topBox)donothavereturnpathcapability.ReturnpathcommunicationinSatellitehomesisfacilitatedthroughlandlinephonelinesoranindependentbroadbandconnection.Session–Asingleapplication-useeventthatspansanunspecifiedperiodoftimeofconstantorongoingapplicationactivitybyaUserthroughtheClientUser.SessionsareterminatedbyUseractionsindicatingtheclosingoftheapplication,orbyinactivitylevelsthatmeetorexceeddefinedthresholds.Sessionsaregenerallyapplicabletothecalculationofreachmetrics(Source:IABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines).
Targeting–Atechniqueusedbyonlinepublishersandadvertiserstoincreasetheeffectivenessoftheircampaignsbasedonbehaviorordemographiccharacteristics[byfocusingadvertisingimpressionsagainstapre-determinedsub-setoftheuniverseorthe“target”;targetingmaybebasedondemographics,behavior,orothermeasurablecharacteristics].Behavioraltargetingusesinformationcollectedonanindividual‘swebbrowsingbehaviorsuchasthepagestheyhavevisitedorthesearchestheyhavemadetoselectwhichadvertisementstobedisplayedtothatindividual(Source:IAB).
TimeSpent/DwellTime/Duration–Theamountofelapsedtimefromtheinitiationofavisittothelastaudienceactivityassociatedwiththatvisit.Timespentcanbereportedonthebasisofcookiedbrowsers,registrationorpanelparticipation,butinconceptshouldrepresenttheactivityofasinglecookiedbrowseroruserforasingleaccesssessiontotheweb-siteorproperty.(Source:IABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines)
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Unique(Various;SourceIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines):
Machine-BasedMeasures:
UniqueCookies–Acountofuniqueidentifiers(Cookies)thatrepresentsunduplicatedinstancesofInternetactivitytoInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.
UniqueBrowsers–AnidentifiedandunduplicatedCookiedBrowserthataccessesInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.
UniqueDevices–AnunduplicatedcomputingdevicethatisusedtoaccessInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.
People-BasedMeasures:
UniqueUsersorVisitors(bothtermsareacceptableandequivalent)–AnidentifiedandunduplicatedindividualInternetuserwhoaccessesInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.
WhiletheIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesestablishcertainlevelsofuniquemeasurement,digitalaudienceassignmentshouldonlybedoneattheuniquedeviceor,morepreferably,uniqueuserlevel.Asaresult,adigitalaudiencemeasurementvendormusthavearobustmethodologytoidentifyanddeduplicateuniquedevicesand/orusersforsuchassignment.Universe–Thetotalpopulationincludedinthemeasuredframe.ViewableImpression–AnAdImpressionthatmeetscertainpixelandtimethresholds(generally50%ofthead’spixelsfor1or2continuoussecondsfordisplayandvideo,respectively)inordertoqualifyasaViewableImpression.Thesethresholdsaredesignedtoaddgreaterassurancethattherewasan“opportunitytosee”theadbytheuserbeyondassurancethattheadwasproperlyservedandrenderedbythedevice.SeetheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementandMRCMobileViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelinesforguidanceonViewableImpressions.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsareViewableImpressionsthatincludedurationweighting(totalviewabledurationdividedbyaddurationorunitlength)andareintendedforinputintocross-mediaGRP(campaignorcreativesegregationisrequired).Weighting–Thestatisticalapplicationthatcreatesstrongerorlesserimpactonpartsofasampleorasubsetofadatasettohelptheentiresampleresultsbetterconformtotheuniverseitisprojectingtomeasure(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).
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11 SupportingAssociationsandParticipatingOrganizationsAbouttheMediaRatingCouncil(MRC)TheMediaRatingCouncilisanon-profitindustryassociationestablishedin1963comprisedofleadingtelevision,radio,printanddigitalmediacompanies,aswellasadvertisers,advertisingagenciesandtradeassociations,whosegoalistoensuremeasurementservicesthatarevalid,reliableandeffective.MeasurementservicesdesiringMRCaccreditationarerequiredtodisclosetotheircustomersallmethodologicalaspectsoftheirservice;complywiththeMRCMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearchaswellasotherapplicableindustrymeasurementguidelines;andsubmittoMRC-designedauditstoauthenticateandilluminatetheirprocedures.Inaddition,theMRCmembershipactivelypursuesresearchissuestheyconsiderprioritiesinanefforttoimprovethequalityofresearchinthemarketplace.Currentlyapproximately110researchproductsareauditedbytheMRC.AdditionalinformationaboutMRCcanbefoundatwww.mediaratingcouncil.orgAbouttheInteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)TheInteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)empowersthemediaandmarketingindustriestothriveinthedigitaleconomy.Itiscomprisedofmorethan650leadingmediaandtechnologycompaniesthatareresponsibleforselling,delivering,andoptimizingdigitaladvertisingormarketingcampaigns.Together,theyaccountfor86percentofonlineadvertisingintheUnitedStates.Workingwithitsmembercompanies,theIABdevelopstechnicalstandardsandbestpracticesandfieldscriticalresearchoninteractiveadvertising,whilealsoeducatingbrands,agencies,andthewiderbusinesscommunityontheimportanceofdigitalmarketing.Theorganizationiscommittedtoprofessionaldevelopmentandelevatingtheknowledge,skills,expertise,anddiversityoftheworkforceacrosstheindustry.ThroughtheworkofitspublicpolicyofficeinWashington,D.C.,theIABadvocatesforitsmembersandpromotesthevalueoftheinteractiveadvertisingindustrytolegislatorsandpolicymakers.Thereare42IABslicensedtooperateinnationsaroundtheworldandoneregionalIAB,inEurope.Foundedin1996,theIABisheadquarteredinNewYorkCityandhasaWestCoastofficeinSanFrancisco.ParticipatingWorkingGroupOrganizations:
4As FOXNews NielsenAudioA+ENetworks FOXTVStations NYTimesA+EOleCommunications FreeReach P&GAbbott FreeWheel PandoraABC GfKMRI PGATourDigitalABCDisney Google PixalateABCGroup GrahamMediaGroup PointRollABCOwnedStations GroupM PwCAllianceforAuditedMedia(AAM) HBO QuantcastAMCNetworks HearstDigitalMedia RadioResearchConsortiumAnnalect HearstTelevision RaycomMedia
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AreYouAHuman HorizonMedia RealVuASIConferences Hulu ReutersAuditBureauofCirculations(ABCUK) IAB SonyTVPicturesBPAWorldwide IABCanada StandardMediaIndexBrightRoll iHeartMedia StarcomMediaVestGroupCampbell-Ewald IndexExchange SymphonyAdvancedMediaCBS Initiative TelevisaCIM InsightExpress tenthavenueCIMM InteractiveOne TremorVideoCommunityNewspaperHoldings ITNNetworks TribunecomScore L'OREALParis TritonDigitalCondeNast Lake5Media TurnerBroadcastingConversantMedia ManagementScienceAssoc. TWCableCoxMediaGroup MansuetoVentures UndertoneCoxMediaGroupDigital Mbooth UnivisionCWNetwork MEC UnivisionRadioDataXu MeredithCorp. ViacomMediaNetworksDeloitte&Touche Microsoft VisibleMeasuresDigitalContentNext MMA WallStreetJournalDiscovery MSNBC WBEBDiscoveryCommunications NAA WeigelBroadcastingESPN NAB WhiteOpsEWScripps NBCOwnedStations WPLG(BerkshireHathaway)EY NBCUniversal xAdFacebook NCCMedia Yahoo!FleishmanHillard NewsInc. ZenithOptimediaFlipboard NGS ForbesMedia Nielsen
12 ContactUsMRC:RonPinelli,VPDigitalResearchandStandards212-972-0300rpinelli@mediaratingcouncil.orgIAB:DennisBuchheim,SVP,Data&[email protected]
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A. Appendix:DigitalAudienceChecklistTOBECOMPLETED-IncludeIllustrativeCalculationExamples-ProvideReportingExamples-IncludeanImplementationChecklist