Toluna, Nurago partner for online ad tracking

GERMANY-- TNS claimed to have leapfrogged the competition when it launched an online ad campaign measurement service in the US last year. But now the competition has caught up and two European companies are making a concerted push for global dominance with their rival offering.

Online research agency Toluna and survey technology firm Nurago have been testing their PanelTracking service for the past 18 months. Like TNS's Digital Suite, it uses a mix of cookie-tracking and ad-tagging technology to measure exposure to online advertising.

The process starts with members of Toluna's panel downloading a cookie, which keeps a record of the tagged ads they come into contact with while browsing the web. The stored profile information Toluna has on these panellists allows advertisers to check their campaign is reaching the right demographic targets, but exposures can also be followed up with a survey to find out what impact the ad has had on brand awareness and purchase intent, matched against surveys of a control group of panellists who have not come into contact with the campaign.

Yesterday marked the official launch of PanelTracking in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Caroline Henne, who heads up Nurago's UK office, said the partners would next look at the US and Russia. Toluna has 2.4m panel members in 30 countries.

Author: Brian Tarran