Nielsen OCR launches in UK with Unilever and Reckitt in tow

The solution, which was launched in the US in August 2011, allows advertisers to measure whether their online ad campaigns reached their intended audiences. It combines Nielsen’s panels with aggregated, anonymous demographic data from participating online data providers.

Initial beta tests of Nielsen OCR in the UK were run by Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser, finding that on average less than half of all online ad impressions are reaching the advertiser’s intended audience, based on age and gender.

Reckitt Benckiser global digital advertising manager, Siobhan Crowe, said: “This is a great opportunity to understand who has seen our advertising online. These metrics will allow us to better understand the efficiency of our digital advertising campaigns.”

Bhavin Balvantrai, head of research for Omnicom Media Group, said the media agencies would be able to use the data to inform future buying decisions, while digital media publisher Unanimis has also signed up to Nielsen OCR. It will use the data to independently prove the value of its inventory and its ability to reach specific consumer demographics.

Nielsen’s managing director for digital in Europe, David Gosen said: “Today marks a significant step in the development and maturity of online advertising in the UK, with the launch of Nielsen OCR. In today’s challenging business world where ROI is vital, this new system delivers both a well-established metric in the form of GRPs and in-flight campaign optimisation. These attributes will drive effectiveness in online advertising to new levels and we fully expect OCR to help establish a currency for online campaign effectiveness.”

Nielsen is known to be working with WPP media agency GroupM on the launch of a ‘cross-platform campaign ratings’ service that will provide integrated TV and online viewing metrics and recently acquired Vizu, a provider of online ad effectiveness measurement, to bolster the OCR offering.

In a recent earnings call, Nielsen said it is seeing a positive uptake of its OCR service, but it was unlikely to become a revenue generator until next year at the earliest.