ABC Kicks Off First-Ever Trial To Measure Ad Campaigns In Mobile Apps

Nielsen and ABC today announced the network's participation in Nielsen's first-ever trial to expand its Nielsen Online Campaign RatingsTM solution to mobile. Quickly emerging as the standard for online campaign measurement, Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings measures the audience of digital advertising. Incorporating mobile apps will significantly extend the solution's coverage footprint, which currently includes computer and tablet browsers.

The proliferation of mobile devices coupled with the ease-of-use of the in-app environment has contributed to significant growth in video viewing on both smartphones and tablets in recent years, according to Nielsen research. Through the Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings pilot program, ABC will be able to measure audience demographics and understand the reach and frequency of online campaigns across ABC content on the web and in mobile apps.

ABC's Geri Wang, President of Sales, announced their participation in the pilot during today's ABC Upfront presentation. "An increasing amount of our digital video viewing comes from apps on mobile devices, so the ability to understand who sees ads is crucial for our business," said Wang. "Viewers have demonstrated that they want to watch ABC content everywhere they can, and that increasingly means on their smartphones and tablets. This trial with Nielsen is a significant next step in allowing us to help advertisers see the whole picture, and make our ABC Unified offering even more compelling."

ABC and Nielsen have a history of collaboration and innovation around multiplatform advertising. Earlier this year ABC began comprehensive use of Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings to provide advertisers with metrics for their ABC Unified offering -- one buy across all screens. In 2012 ABC and Nielsen announced work to develop a custom tablet measurement panel and consumer insights connecting media exposure with purchase behavior using Nielsen Buyer Insights.

"When we first launched Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings 18 months ago, we knew that it was the beginning of a market-moving shift in digital advertising. For the first time it enabled all parties to understand the audience of an ad campaign using metrics comparable to TV," said Cheryl Idell, Executive Vice President, Client Solutions for Nielsen. "In that period, mobile usage has skyrocketed and the need to extend our measurement has become clear. We are excited to be announcing this pilot and to collaborate with ABC once again to deliver high-powered, multiplatform insights into the market."

The mobile expansion of Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings will use a similar approach to the solution's Media Rating Council-accredited methodology, which combines the industry-leading Nielsen Cross-Platform Homes panel with data from providers to measure all ads, including video and display, within iOS and Android apps. The pilot runs through summer 2013.