Online set for single Barb-style panel

by Andrew McCormick, Media Week 12-Feb-08, 09:33

LONDON - The introduction of a single online measurement panel, akin to the Barb TV panel, has moved a step closer with research firms being asked to submit proposals for such a scheme.

Jicims, the joint industry committee for internet measurement systems, will this month commence the search for a research firm that will become the sole supplier of an online measurement currency. It is envisaged that the chosen supplier will play a similar role to that performed by Barb for TV and Postar for outdoor. Jicims hopes the online panel will go live later this year.

Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the IAB, said: “We can increasingly measure click-throughs, but have to offer more than that to put online on the planning table.”

The four Jicims stakeholders, the Internet Advertising Bureau, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, the Association of Online Publishers and Isba, have agreed on terms for the initial document to be made public this month.

Peter Bowman, general manager of Jicims, said: “The four shareholders all believe that, for all the detailed site-centric research out there, there isn’t user-centric research such as Barb, which would take panels of users across sites, to find what types of people use them.”

The panel will feature a single measurement currency that incorporates the number of people visiting websites, as well as data on how long visitors spend on websites.

Lynne Robinson, research director at the IPA, said: “We’ve been working towards this for the past five years and it’s long overdue. The sector should finally have its own currency that will give it the same level of accountability as other media.”