MRCDigitalAudience-BasedMeasurementStandards

December2017FinalVersion1.0

Sponsoringassociations:MediaRatingCouncil(MRC)InteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)

Preface TheconceptofDurationWeightingforvideoadsisintroducedforthefirsttimeintheseDigitalAudience-BasedMeasurementStandards.TheStandardsstipulatethatwhendigitalvideoaudiencemetricsareintendedforuseincross-mediacomparisonsandaggregations,theseshouldbecalculatedonadurationweightedbasis,whichmeansthattheviewableimpressiononwhichtheestimateisbasedshouldbediscountedbythedurationoftheexposureinrelationtothetotallengthofthevideoadvertisement.ThisdurationweightedGRPthencanbereportedalongwiththecorrespondingnon-durationweighted(traditional)GRPmeasure.Whilethisisnotamandatedpracticefordigitalaudience-basedmetrics,MRCfeltitwasimportanttointroducetheconceptofdurationweightingatthistime,inadvanceofananticipatedfuturereleaseofaCross-MediaAudienceMeasurementStandardsdocumentthatwecurrentlyexpectwillrequiretheapplicationofdurationweighting.MRC’sworkondevelopingtheCross-MediaAudienceMeasurementStandardswillunfoldoverthenextyear.Withtheaboveinmind,thefollowingpointsarerelevantatthistimetothediscussionofdurationweightingandwhatthepresenceofthisconceptintheDigitalAudience-BasedMeasurementStandardsmeans:

1. Asnotedabove,durationweightingwillberelevanttocross-mediaaudienceestimates.Assuch,weanticipatetheforthcomingCross-MediaAudienceMeasurementStandardswillrequireanequitableapplicationofdurationweightingacrossallmediainvolved.Inotherwords,durationweighteddigitalvideoGRPestimatesareexpectedtobecompared/combinedwithdurationweightedvideoGRPestimatesforallothermediatypesincluded.

2. Werecognizethechallengesthatwillbeinherentinrequiringdurationweightingformediathathavedifferingmeasurementsystemsthatcurrentlymaybelesscapableofthehighlygranulartimemeasuresavailabletodayindigital.Balancingthisknowledgeofcurrentstatemeasurementpracticesacrossdifferentmediatypeswithanunderstandingoftheirpotentialcapabilities,alongwithourdesiretoachievefairnessinmeasurementofallmedia,willbecentraltoMRC’sconsiderationsasitdevelopstheCross-MediaAudienceStandards.Theoverallobjectiveistofosterconsistencyasmuchaspossible,includingconsistencyinthelevelsoftimegranularityapplied.AsisnotedinSection4.2oftheDigitalAudience-BasedMeasurementStandards,“Durationmeasurementfordigitaladsshouldbebasedonatleastsecond-leveltimegranularity(althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis).”

3. Furtherindustryresearchconcerningdurationweightingisneededandisanticipatedtobecompletedoverthenextyear.Forone,theconceptofdurationweightingasspelledoutintheDigitalAudience-BasedMeasurementStandardsimpliesadirectlinearrelationshipassociatedwiththetimeadigitalvideoadisinviewandhowwellthataddeliversonitsgoals.Furtherresearchisnecessarytobetterunderstandthisrelationshipand,ifitisshowntobenecessary,howtobetteroperationalizetherelationshipindurationweightedmeasurementcalculations.

Tosummarize,webelievedurationweightinghasthepotentialtobeofgreatvaluetopractitionerstofacilitatecross-mediaanalysisandhaveintroducedtheconceptinthisdocumentwiththispotentialinmind.WeanticipatewewillrefineourviewsonthisoverthenextyearinourworkrelatedtothedevelopmentofMRC’sforthcomingCross-MediaAudienceMeasurementStandards,whichwillserveastheauthoritativestandardforcross-mediaaudiencemeasurement..

TableofContents1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 51.1 Overview and Scope ............................................................................................................................. 71.2 Standards Development Method .......................................................................................................... 82 Top-Line Measurement Definitions ......................................................................... 92.1 Audience-Based Calculation Explanation and Components ................................................................ 9

2.1.1 Segregation of Content/Advertising Vehicles and Genres .......................................................... 142.2 Impression Counting .......................................................................................................................... 15

2.2.1 Viewable Definition..................................................................................................................... 152.2.2 Audio Considerations .................................................................................................................. 16

2.3 Duration .............................................................................................................................................. 172.4 Audience Assignment ......................................................................................................................... 183 Audience-Based Universe Estimates – Basis for Projection ............................. 183.1 Universe Estimates ............................................................................................................................. 183.2 Coverage ............................................................................................................................................. 19

3.2.1 Device Identification ................................................................................................................... 203.2.2 IP-Enabled Television or OTT Device ........................................................................................ 213.2.3 Accounting for Duplication ......................................................................................................... 21

4 Audience-Based Currency Measurement Standards – Technical Details ........ 214.1 Tracking of Advertising Access – Technical Details ......................................................................... 21

4.1.1 Client-Initiated (and viewable) ................................................................................................... 214.1.2 Audience vs. Ad Measurement .................................................................................................... 224.1.3 Script-based Tracking Method/Assets ......................................................................................... 234.1.4 Encoding, Fingerprinting and Meter-based Tracking Method/Assets ........................................ 244.1.5 Rich Media Usage ....................................................................................................................... 264.1.6 Video Usage ................................................................................................................................ 264.1.7 Advertising Measurement in Applications .................................................................................. 26

4.2 Duration .............................................................................................................................................. 274.2.1 Inactivity ...................................................................................................................................... 284.2.2 Duration Editing ......................................................................................................................... 294.2.3 Duration Value ............................................................................................................................ 29

4.3 Tracking of Users (Sources and Attribution) Technical Details ........................................................ 314.3.1 Adjustment of Uniques ................................................................................................................ 314.3.2 Identifying Users Across Devices ............................................................................................... 334.3.3 Accounting for Duplication ......................................................................................................... 344.3.4 Tracking Method – Panel Methods, etc. ..................................................................................... 354.3.5 Data Enrichment Sources and Process ....................................................................................... 37

4.3.5.1 Data Enrichment Methods (including behavioral analysis) ................................................................ 384.3.5.2 Data Enrichment Quality Checking and Monitoring .......................................................................... 38

4.3.6 Registration ................................................................................................................................. 394.3.7 Data Passed in an Ad Request: ................................................................................................... 39

5 Data Preparation and Quality Checking ............................................................... 405.1 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................... 40

5.1.1 Validation Procedures ................................................................................................................ 405.1.2 Identification and Monitoring of Data Gaps in Transactional Data .......................................... 41

5.2 Data Editing ........................................................................................................................................ 415.2.1 Empirical Support ....................................................................................................................... 41

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5.2.2 Documentation and Consistent Application ............................................................................... 425.3 Quality Control Over Other Data Sources ......................................................................................... 425.4 Data Aggregation Controls ................................................................................................................. 42

5.4.1 Completeness Checks .................................................................................................................. 425.4.2 Tests of Significance for Missing Data ....................................................................................... 42

5.4.2.1 Systematic Data Issues ........................................................................................................................ 435.4.2.2 One-time Data Outages or Natural Disasters ...................................................................................... 43

6 Enhancing Audience Based Tracking Accuracy ................................................. 436.1 General ............................................................................................................................................... 436.2 Filtration for Invalid Activity ............................................................................................................. 446.3 Privacy ................................................................................................................................................ 447 Reporting Parameters ............................................................................................ 457.1 General Parameters ............................................................................................................................. 457.2 Time .................................................................................................................................................... 457.3 Location .............................................................................................................................................. 467.4 Segregation of Ad Activity by Creative ............................................................................................. 467.5 Qualification of Data Adjustment Procedures .................................................................................... 477.6 Minimum Reportability Standards ..................................................................................................... 477.7 Data Retention Requirements ............................................................................................................. 478 Disclosure Guidance .............................................................................................. 489 Auditing Guidelines ................................................................................................ 509.1 General ............................................................................................................................................... 509.2 U.S. Certification Recommendation .................................................................................................. 509.3 International Certification Recommendation ..................................................................................... 5110 Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................ 5111 Supporting Associations and Participating Organizations .............................. 5712 Contact Us ............................................................................................................. 58A. Appendix: Calculation/Reporting ........................................................................ 59B. Appendix: Digital Audience Vendor Implementation Checklist ....................... 69

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1 ExecutiveSummaryTheDigitalAudienceBasedMeasurementStandardsareintendedtoapplyprimarilytothemeasurementofdigitaladvertisingaudiences,althoughtheconceptsitincludescanbeusedtoguidethemeasurementofdigitalcontentaudiences,untilsuchtimethatcontent-specificaudiencemeasurementguidelineshavebeenestablished.Thisdocumentservesastheframeworkformeasuringandreportingaudiencesfordigitaladsthatareviewable,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).

• Fordigitalaudiencemeasurement(displayandvideo),averageviewableduration(basedonunduplicatedviewableduration)reportingisrequired.Further,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredfordigitalvideoaudiencemeasurementwhenusedforinputintocross-mediavideoFrequencyandGRP(Sections2.1and4.2.3).

a. Audiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarerequiredtobereportedinadditiontorequiredduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediavideocomparisonsorcombinations.

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b. Digital-onlyaudiencemeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting,butmustincludereportingofaverageviewableduration.

c. Durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouraged.d. Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurement

duetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageviewabledurationisrequired.

e. Specialconsiderationforre-purposedTVcontentindigitalmediaandwhetherdifferentialtreatmentrelatedtootherdurationvalueconceptswillbeincludedinfurtherresearchperformedaspartoffutureeffortstocreateCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandards.

f. ThisStandardrequiresDigitalAudiencemeasuresthatarebasedonViewableImpressions,withfiltrationinclusiveofGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficaswellasCross-Mediavideomeasuresthatincorporatedurationweighting.However,DigitalAudienceandCross-Mediameasuresthatdonotincorporateoneormoreoftheserequiredcomponentsmaybereportedwithproperlabeling,segregatedreportingandcleardisclaimer.

• Forreportingpurposes,measurementsshouldbesegregatedbythevariousadvertisementtypesoreventsincludedinthecampaign(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(basedonrecordsofsufficientqualityobtaineddirectlyfrom

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peopleoractuallyobserveddata-relationships)aspartofitsperiodicvalidationprocedures(Sections4.3.5and4.3.5.1).

• Robustdataenrichmentqualitycheckingandmonitoringisrequired;thisincludesvalidationprocedures,identificationandmonitoringofdatagapsintransactionaldata,empiricalsupportandqualitycontroloverdataediting,dataaggregationcontrolsandcompletenesschecks(Sections4.3.5.2and5).

• DigitalaudiencemeasurementandreportingrequiresfiltrationinclusiveofbothGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTraffic(Section6.2).

• Vendorsandpublishersmustdisclosetotheenduserthroughtheprovisionofconcise,clearprivacypolicynoticesdescribinghowtheirappproductsand/orwebservicesuseandsharedataandwhattheconsumer’schoicesare.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryandregulatoryguidelinesinthisarea;privacyregulationsmustalsobeconsidered(Section6.3).

GuidanceandrequirementsofotherIAB,MRC,and,whereapplicable,MMAmeasurementguidelinesareapplicablewhererelevant.TheseincludetheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelines(forbothdesktopandmobileviewableimpressionmeasurement),theIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines,theIAB/MMA/MRCMobileWebandMobileIn-ApplicationMeasurementGuidelines,amongothers.SeeAppendicesAandBofthisdocumentforspecificcalculationexamplesalongwithvendorimplementationguidance,respectively.

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:

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• Provideforaconsistentsetofdefinitionsforkeyelementsofdigitalaudience-basedmeasurement;

• Recommendminimumdisclosureswhichshouldbeprovidedtomeasurementdatausers;• Provideaclearstatementofrecommendedresearchoperatingpractices,qualityand

describeminimumrequirementsaswellasbestpractices;• Encourageexperimentationandadvancestoimproveaudienceresearchquality;and• Encouragecross-mediacomparabilityaswellascomparabilityacrosscountries.Withregardtocross-mediacomparabilityconsiderations(e.g.,digitalvideoandtelevision),asstatedabove,thisdocumentrepresentsthedigitalinputintoaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard,whichwillsoonfollow.However,thefocusofthesecross-mediacomparabilityconsiderationswithinthescopeofthisdocumentwillbevideoads.Futureandseparateinitiativeswilladdresscross-mediacomparabilityfordisplayadvertisingcontentwithotherofflinemediasuchasprintaswellasanyapplicableconsiderationsofaudio-basedmedia.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.TheseStandardswerealsoreviewedandapprovedbymajorbuyer-sidetradeorganizations(4As,ANA)andtheirconstituentsandthereafterprovidedtothepublicthroughaformalperiodofpubliccommentpriortoadoption.ThefinalStandardispublishedandavailableontheMRCwebsiteandwillbere-assessedperiodicallytoensureitremainsapplicableovertime.TheStandardintroducesconceptsandmetricsthatarenewtodigitalmeasurement1andareimportantincross-mediaaudiencemeasurementespeciallythenotionofdurationweightingof 1UponfinalizationoftheseStandards,inadditiontotimelyevaluationofcurrentlyaccreditedDigitalAudienceproducts(subjecttoagraceperiodofoneyearfromissuance),areconciliationprocesswilllikelyneedtotakeplacethataccountsforthedifferentialtechniquesemployedbytherespectivevendorsandthepotentialimpactsonreportedestimates,theformatofwhichistobedetermined.

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audienceestimatesforvideo.Asaresult,workflowinthetransactionalprocesswillneedtoaccommodatetherequisitemeasurement.TheMRCrecommendsthatbuyersofadsincludeexplicitlanguagearoundthelengthofvideoadvertisementsbeingpurchased.Further,itisrecognizedthatduringthecourseofapurchasedadflight,videoadlengthsmaychange.Durationandcreativelengthshouldbeconsideredintheplanningprocessandmonitoredthroughout.Inaddition,shouldthecreativelengthchangeduringthecourseofanadvertisingflight,thenewlengthshouldbeweightedappropriatelyandreportedseparately.ItisexpectedthatindustryorganizationssuchastheANA,4As,IABandMMAwillproducefurtherguidancetoaidtheirrespectiveconstituenciesandthebroadermarketplaceinconsideringthesestandardsandimplementingaspectsofthemintotransactions.Theconceptofexposureeffectivenessandthetranslationofitintothecontributionofdifferinglevelsofexposuretoaudience(throughdurationweighting)willbefurtherconsideredinaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard,currentlyunderdevelopmentbytheMRC.Thisincludestheconsiderationofanyeffectiveexposurethresholds(abovewhichanadexposurefullycontributestoaudiencemeasurementincross-mediaenvironments)tohelpfurtherequalizeaudiencemeasurementincross-mediacomparisonsandcombinations.AnysubsequentguidancedevelopedaspartofthiseffortwillsupersedeCross-MediarequirementscontainedwithinthisDigitalAudienceStandard.

2 Top-LineMeasurementDefinitions

2.1 Audience-BasedCalculationExplanationandComponentsViewableImpressionsandDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsAdImpressionsrepresentameasurementofresponsesfromanaddeliverysystemtoanadrequestfromauser,whichisfilteredforinvalidtrafficandisrecordedatapointaslateaspossibleintheprocessofdeliveryofthecreativematerialtotheuser'sdevice.SeetherelevantIABguidelinesfordisplay,video,mobilewebandmobilein-appadimpressionsmeasurementforfurtherdetails.ViewableImpressionsareAdImpressionsthatmeetcertainpixelandtimeexposurethresholds(minimum50%ofthead’spixelsfor1or2continuoussecondsfordisplayandvideo,respectively).Thesethresholdsaredesignedtoaddgreaterassurancethattherewasan“opportunitytosee”theadbytheuserbeyondassurancethattheadwasproperlyservedandrenderedbythedevice.SeetheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementandMRCMobileViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelinesforguidanceonViewableImpressions.WhileServedAdImpressionsmaybemeasuredinaggregateincross-mediaenvironments,ViewableImpressionsaretheminimumrequiredqualifyingmeasurementunitfordigitalaudience-basedmeasurementincludingdigitalandcross-mediaReach,FrequencyandGRP.AsdiscussedintheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelines,extrapolationsorotherassumptionsusedintheprocessofdeterminingtheviewablestatusofanad(suchaswhenprojectingviewabilityforunmeasurableimpressionsasaninputintodigitalaudience)shouldbe

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fullydisclosedalongwithpre-determinedestimatesofaccuracy(basedonindependentlyconductedvalidationstudies).Ifextrapolatedcountsarepresentedwithspecificallyidentifiedcounts,separatereportingmustbeavailabletousers,alongwithfulldisclosurearoundtheprevalenceofprojection.Fordigitalaudiencemeasurement,averageviewableduration(basedonunduplicatedviewableduration)reportingisrequired.Further,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredwithindigitalvideoaudiencemeasurementforinputintocross-mediaFrequencyandGRP.Creative(placement)levelminimumreportinggranularityisrequiredwithincampaigns.Audiencemeasurementmaybeaggregatedattheplatformlevel(desktop,mobilewebandin-app)andwithinformat(displayandvideo),alongwiththeminimumsegregatedreporting(placement)discussedabove.Further,totaltimespentacrossadsofdifferinglengthwithinthesameformatispermissibleinadditiontoappropriategranularcreative-levelreporting.Finally,totalimpressionsdelivered(Reach)acrossdisplayandvideoformatswithinacampaignmaybereported;however,combineddisplayandvideoformataudience(demographicorotherwiseassignedsegmentedaudience)measurementisallowablebutnotarequirementofthisStandardduetodifferingviewabilityand(incross-media)durationweightingrequirementsbyadformat.Audiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarerequiredtobereportedinadditiontorequiredduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediavideocomparisonsorcombinations.Specialconsiderationforre-purposedTVcontentindigitalmediaandwhetherdifferentialtreatmentrelatedtoanyoftheabovedurationvalueconceptswillbeincludedinfurtherresearchperformedaspartoffutureeffortstocreateCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandards.ThisStandardrequiresDigitalAudiencemeasuresthatarebasedonViewableImpressions,withfiltrationinclusiveofGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficaswellasCross-Mediavideomeasuresthatincorporatedurationweighting.However,DigitalAudienceandCross-Mediameasuresthatdonotincorporateoneormoreoftheserequiredcomponentsmaybereportedwithproperlabeling,segregatedreportingandcleardisclaimer..DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalunduplicatedviewabledurationdividedbyadduration(unitlength).DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsarecalculatedas:

(ΣViewableDuration)÷(AdUnitLength)

Digitalonlyaudiencemeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting,butaverageviewabledurationreportingisrequired.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouraged.Durationweightingis

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notrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurementduetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageviewabledurationisrequired.ReachForpurposesofdigitalaudience-basedandcross-platformmeasurementReachrepresentsuniqueusers,unduplicatedhomesoraudiencewhohavebeenexposedtoads(havegeneratedaViewableImpression)atleastonceduringatimeperiod(daypart,programoranypieceofcontent)expressedasapercentageofthemeasuredpopulation,universeortarget.Uniqueaudiencereportingnecessitatesde-duplicatingindividualswithmultipleexposuresoverthemeasuredtimeperiod.Reachiscalculatedas:

[(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100Reachcanalsobepresentedasawholenumberrepresentingthesumofuniqueusers,unduplicatedhomesoraudiencewhohavebeenexposedtoads.FrequencyandDurationWeightedFrequencyForpurposesofdigitalaudience-basedandcross-platformmeasurementFrequencyrepresentsthenumberoftimesauser,homeoraudiencegeneratedaViewableImpressionandcontributedtoReachwithinaSessionortimeperiodexpressedasanaverageamongthoseuniqueusers,unduplicatedhomesoraudiencewhohavebeenexposedtoads(havegeneratedaViewableImpression).Frequencyiscalculatedas:

(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)FordigitalvideoFrequencymeasurement,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredforinputintocross-mediaDurationWeightedFrequency.Audiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarerequiredtobereportedinadditiontorequiredduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediavideocomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalunduplicatedviewabledurationdividedtotaladduration(adlength).DurationWeightedFrequencyiscalculatedas:(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)Digital-onlyFrequencymeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouraged.Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayad

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Frequencymeasurementduetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageunduplicatedviewabledurationisrequired.RatingDigitalRatingsmaybecalculatedforre-purposedTVcontentorotherepisodiccontentaswellasforplatformspecificmeasurementfordiscretetimeperiods.Forpurposesofdigitalaudience-basedandcross-platformmeasurementaRatingpercentageiscalculatedas:(A)thenumberofViewableImpressionsauser,homeoraudiencegenerateddividedby(B)measuredpopulation,universeortarget.Thepresenceofameasuredperiodoftimeisacriticalcomponentofarating.

Ratingsarecalculatedas:

[(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100

FordigitalvideoRatingmeasurement,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredforinputintocross-mediaDurationWeightedRating.Audiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarerequiredtobereportedinadditiontorequiredduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediavideocomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalunduplicatedviewabledurationdividedtotaladduration(adlength).DurationWeightedRatingsarecalculatedas:(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)x100Digital-onlyRatingmeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouraged.DurationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadRatingmeasurementduetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageunduplicatedviewabledurationisrequired.ThesumofdigitalcampaignRatingspointsacrossvariouspages,propertiesandapplicationsequalsthecampaigntotalGRPs.GrossRatingPoint(GRP)andDurationWeightedGRPThesumofalltheRatingsforaspecifiedadvertisementoradvertisingcampaignreportedasagrossnumber.ReachmultipliedbyFrequencyequalsGrossRatingPoints.Similarly,ViewableImpressionsdividedbyUniversemultipliedby100equalsGrossRatingPoints.TotalGRPiscalculatedas:

ΣGrossRatingPoints

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Or

ReachxFrequencyOr

[(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100FordigitalvideoGRPmeasurement,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredalongwithcampaignorcreativesegregationforinputintocross-mediaDurationWeightedGRP.Audiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarerequiredtobereportedinadditiontorequiredduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediavideocomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalunduplicatedviewabledurationdividedbyadduration(unitlength).TotalDurationWeightedGRP(DWGRP)iscalculatedas:

ΣDurationWeightedGrossRatingPoints

Or

ReachxDurationWeightedFrequencyOr

[(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100Digital-onlyGRPmeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouraged.DurationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadGRPmeasurementduetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageunduplicatedviewabledurationisrequired.SeeSections2.3and4.2forfurtherguidanceondurationmeasurement.CalculationofGRPasReachmultipliedbyFrequencywhereReachispresentedasawholenumberrequiresalsomultiplyingthisproductbythemeasuredpopulation,universeortarget.

NotesforRatingandGRPDefinitions:Themeasuresabovecanbecalculatedforprogramcontentforatime-periodusingthesamemathematicalapproach.Activity(browsers,users,etc.)includedinaudiencemusthaveboththeopportunitytoseetheads/contentandsufficientevidenceoftimespentduringthemeasuredtimeperiod(meetingViewableImpressionrequirements).

Forreportingpurposes,audiencescanbesegregatedbasedondemographicorothercharacteristicsaswellasday-partsand/orweek-parts.Inferences,adjustmentsandassignment

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ofaudienceinformationaswellasprojectionmethodsandimpactsshouldbedisclosedwiththereportedestimates.SeeAppendixAofthisdocumentforspecificcalculationexamplesalongwithimplementationguidance.

2.1.1 SegregationofContent/AdvertisingVehiclesandGenresItiscriticalthatactivitymeasurementisgranularenoughtosegregateadtypesandmediagenresforinputintodigitalaudience-basedreporting.Accordingly,audienceassignmentmethodsshouldbeequallygranular,whichmayinvolvecertainsamplesizeanddata-adjustmentchallengestoaudienceassignmenttechniques.Likewise,measurementofadsshouldbesegregatedanddistinctfrommeasurementofcontent(inclusiveofads).Thebasisformeasurementshouldbedisclosed.Whileimpressionlevelmeasurementisstronglyencouraged,wheredigitalcontentismeasuredasaproxyforaddelivery(suchasinplanning),theaddeliverymechanism(staticordynamicadserving;seeSection4.1.2forfurtherdetails)mustbeconsideredandaccountedforinreportinganddisclosures(whereknownorotherwisedisclosedasalimitation).Situationswhereaudienceassignmentmethodsbreakdown,orbecomeunreliable,inthesegregationofcontent/advertisingvehiclesandgenres,shouldbedisclosedwithcausesandestimatesofachievedaccuracylevels.Measurementofanadvertisingcampaignmustatminimum,besegregatedbythevarioustypesofadsincludedinthecampaignfordigitalaudiencereportingandcross-mediacombinations.Forinstance,countsshouldbereportedseparatelyforads(byplacementtype)withinthecampaignofdifferentlengths(specificallywithregardtodurationweightingofvideocreative),sizesorfunctionalities(whereknown).Audiencemeasurementmaybeaggregatedattheplatformlevel(desktop,mobilewebandin-app)andwithinformat(displayandvideo),alongwiththeminimumsegregatedreporting(placement)discussedabove.Further,totaltimespentacrossadsofdifferinglengthwithinthesameformatispermissibleinadditiontoappropriategranularcreative-levelreporting.Finally,totalimpressionsdelivered(Reach)acrossdisplayandvideoformatswithinacampaignmaybereported;however,combineddisplayandvideoformataudience(demographicorotherwiseassignedsegmentedaudience)measurementisallowablebutnotarequirementofthisStandardduetodifferingviewabilityand(incross-media)durationweightingrequirementsbyadformat.MeasurementvendorsshouldusecommonindustrysourcesforgenreclassificationandsegmentationsuchastheIABContenttaxonomy(http://www.iab.com/guidelines/iab-quality-assurance-guidelines-qag-taxonomy/)fordigitalmedia,butmayalsouseinternallydevelopedorproprietarysourcesifempiricallysupportedwithauditableevidence.Thesourceandtaxonomyusedingenreclassification(includingproprietarysources)shouldbedisclosedandperiodicallyupdated.

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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• Mobilemeasurementfordownloaded,opened,andinitializedapplications• Inclusionofoff-lineapplicationactivityduringacampaignreportingperiod• FiltrationofInvalidActivitycommensuratewithMRC’sInvalidTrafficDetectionand

FiltrationGuidelines• CacheBustingTechniques• DifferentiateSignificantAuto-RefreshversusUser-InitiatedActivity• DifferentiatePre-FetchandPre-RenderActivity(fromtraditionalrenderedactivityand

eachotherwherepossibleandcountsadsonlyaftertheyappearonauser’sbrowser)

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• DifferentiateImpressionsOut-Of-FocusorwithObstructiono Measurersarerequiredtoaccountforsituationsofobstructiontotheextent

technicallyfeasibletodeterminethein-focusstatusofmeasuredcontent.Limitationsintheabilitytodetectcertainobstructionsorocclusionsofmeasuredcontentshouldbefullydisclosedwithimpactonreportedresultsquantifiedwherematerial.

• DisclosingandFilteringMaterialInternalTraffic• FullDisclosureofmeasurementmethodsandkeymetricsbyPublishers,Portals,Ad-

Servers,AdNetworksandExchanges(includingProgrammaticPlatformsandTradingDesks)

o Inthecontextofviewableadimpressions,thisprincipleoftransparencyofmeasurementprocessestodatausersshouldapplytoallmeasurersofviewableimpressions,including3rdpartymeasurers.

WhileAdImpressionsmaybemeasuredinaggregateincross-mediaenvironments,ViewableImpressionsaretheminimumrequiredqualifyingmeasurementunitfordigitalaudience-basedmeasurementincludingdigitalandcross-mediaReach,FrequencyandGRP.ThisStandardrequiresDigitalAudiencemeasuresthatarebasedonViewableImpressions,withfiltrationinclusiveofGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficaswellasCross-Mediavideomeasuresthatincorporatedurationweighting.However,DigitalAudienceandCross-Mediameasuresthatdonotincorporateoneormoreoftheserequiredcomponentsmaybereportedwithproperlabeling,segregatedreportingandcleardisclaimer.GuidanceConcerningMateriality–Mattersinthisdocumentwhichreference“significant”or“material”aregenerallyconsideredtomeetthisthresholdwhentheymeetorexceed5%ofreportedactivity,bygranularreportingbreak.[Note:Forextremelyhighvolumecampaignsthresholdscanbeloweredasindividualentityimpactmaybesignificantatlowerpercentagesthan5%--auditorsandmeasuremententitiesshoulddiscussexceptionstothe5%thresholdduringtheauditprocessandbasethesejudgmentsonobjectivecriteria.]Thegeneral5%thresholdspecifiedabovemaybemodifiedbyameasurementorganizationinselectunusualcircumstances(whensupportedbyempiricalevidenceandjudgment),butdocumentationmustberetainedbythemeasurementorganizationandavailabletoauditors.Thistypeofmodificationisnotpermittedasapervasivegeneralrule.Additionally,measurementorganizationsmayutilizerelativematerialitythresholds(5%)inconjunctionwithabsolutedollarvalues(empiricallysupported)tofurtherreduceinstancesofclassifyingstatisticallyinsignificantmattersasmaterial.

2.2.2 AudioConsiderationsAscurrenttechnologicallimitationsmakeitdifficultorimpossibleforameasurertodetectthepresenceofunmutedaudioinallsituations(whileplayeraudiomaybemorereadilydetectable,

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deviceorhardwaremutingdetectionmaypresentchallenges),detectionofaudioisnotcurrentlyarequirementforaViewableVideoAdImpression.However,weencouragethedevelopmentofatechnologicalorothersolutiontodeviceorhardwarelimitationssothataudiomaybeconsideredinthefuture.Also,westronglyencourage,butdonotcurrentlyrequire,thatthepresenceofaudioduringthedurationofthetimebeaconsiderationindeterminingaViewableVideoImpression(andinputintoGRP)inthosesituationswhereitisfeasibletodosotoday.Somevideoadsmaynothaveaudio,whichmayrepresentalimitationoffutureconsiderationsofaudiomeasurementrequirements.MeasurementorganizationsareencouragedtoseparatelyreportViewablevideodurationthatisalsoaudible(non-muteornon-zero)fordevice/hardwarevolumeandtoconsiderthisindurationweightingofaudienceestimates.Measurementorganizationsshouldseparatelyreportandconsiderdurationthatisaudibleforplayervolumewhereknown.Furthermore,cross-mediaaudiencecombinationsrequirethesameaudiblecriteria(inadditiontotheviewablecriteriadiscussedabove).Forexample,televisionmeasurementmayincludeconsiderationoforevenrequirenon-zerovolume/non-mutingconditionsforinclusioninreportedresults.Cross-mediaaudiencemeasurementcombinationoflineartelevisionanddigitalvideomeasurementwouldrequirethesameaudibleconditionsforthedigitalcomponentmeasuringthesameads.Theuseandconsiderationofaudibleconditions(orlackthereof)mustbefullydisclosedalongwiththemethodologyusedtomeasureaudibilityandanyrelatedlimitations.Audibleexposurewithoutviewabilityisnotqualifiedfordigitalaudiencemeasurementexceptinaudio-onlyapplications.Aspartoftheconsiderationofaudioindigitalvideoaudiencemeasurement,vendorsareencouragedtostudythefurtherdevelopmentoftechnologyormethodologytobetterdeterminedeviceaudiostateandincorporatethisintomeasurement.

2.3 DurationDurationistheamountofelapsedtimefromtheinitiationofanadexposuretothelastaudienceactivityassociatedwiththatadexposure.Asdiscussedthroughoutthisdocument,fordigitalaudiencemeasurement(displayandvideo),averageunduplicatedviewabledurationreportingisrequired.Further,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredfordigitalvideoaudiencemeasurementforinputintocross-mediaFrequencyandGRP.Creative(placement)levelminimumreportinggranularityisrequiredwithincampaigns.Audiencemeasurementmaybeaggregatedattheplatformlevel(desktop,mobilewebandin-app)andwithinformat(displayandvideo),alongwiththeminimumsegregatedreporting(placement)discussedabove.Further,totaltimespentacrossadsofdifferinglengthwithinthesameformatispermissibleinadditiontoappropriategranularcreative-levelreporting.Finally,totalimpressionsdelivered(Reach)acrossdisplayandvideoformatswithinacampaignmaybereported;however,combineddisplayandvideoformataudience(demographicorotherwise

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assignedsegmentedaudience)measurementisallowablebutnotarequirementofthisStandardduetodifferingviewabilityand(incross-media)durationweightingrequirementsbyadformat.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.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.

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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).Whereaspecificpopulationsubsetisutilized,itisstronglyencouragedtoprojectmeasurementtothetotalUSpopulationwithadjustmenttoaccountforaccessorabilitytoaccesswithinthesubset(suchasTVordigitalaccess)measuredwhenprojecting.TheUniverseusedinGRPcalculationsandestimateprojectionsmustbeappropriateforthemeasurementandbefullydisclosedtousers.Forcross-mediaaudiencemeasurement,theminimumacceptableuniverseshouldbethede-duplicatedtotalofallpersonsinthemediauniverseforeachmediumormoregenerally,totalpersons.

3.2 CoverageDigitaladsandcontentcanbeconsumedfromabrowserorfromwithinadigitalapplication.Bothconsumptionmethodscanbemeasuredthroughcensus-likecountingtechniques,essentiallytrackinginstancesofconsumptionthroughtrackingassetssuchasaJavaScripttag,beaconorapplicationcode(suchasanSDKorAPI)forallmeasurableaccesses.Despitetheinferenceof“census”therearelikelytobecertainlimitationsofcoverage(incompatibletypesofplayersorbrowsers,functionalitylimitationsincertainmobiledevices,etc.);therefore,itisimportantforthemeasurementuserstofullyunderstandthetruecoverageofthereportedestimatesandwhatmaybeexcludedfromthemeasurementorganization’sabilitytomeasure.Thecoverageof,andmateriallimitsorexclusionsto,coverageofdigitalaudiencemeasurementarerequiredtobedescribedbythereportingentity.Anylimitations(includinganythatresultinsystematicbiases)inmeasurementoftheintendedUniverse(eitherinsamplingsuchasgeographicareasandcertainrespondenttypesnotsampled/measuredorduetotechnicallimitationsofmeasurement)shouldbefullydisclosedandquantified(whereknownandquantifiable).Measurementorganizationsmustperiodicallyassessanymeasurementlimitationsandresultingbiases.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryguidelinesinthisarea.Additionally,measurement

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organizationsseekingMRCaccreditationarerequiredtoadheretorelevantMRCMinimumStandardsinthisarea.Measurementorganizationsshoulddisclosetheoperatingsystemsandmajorbrowsertypesthatarenotmeasurable(or,conversely,allthataremeasurable)usingmetersand/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’sAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesasanexistingsourceofacceptablepracticesforthistypeofmeasurement.Additionally,theMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearch,publishedbytheMediaRatingCouncil,arealsoapplicabletothistypeofmeasurement.Forsample-basedmeasurementofanykind,themeasurementorganizationshouldbediligentaboutensuringvalidprojectionsaremadeandthatthesampleisrepresentativeofthepopulationtargetedformeasurement.Methodsforweightingoradjustingdatatoensureprojectabilityshouldbesupportedbyempiricalstudy,andtheseempiricalstudiesshouldbeupdatedperiodically.Standarderrorsaroundsample-basedprojectionsshouldbedisclosed.

3.2.1 DeviceIdentificationMeasurementvendorsarerequiredtoidentifydevicesusedtoaccessdigitaladsandcontentincludingdeterminingdevicetype,platformandoperatingsystem.Enumeratingaudiencesbydeviceshouldbeusedasaninputintodeterminingcoverageoftheuniversemeasured.Further,deviceaudiencemeasurementandcoveragedeterminationsshouldbeconsideredintechniquestoaccountforduplication,asdiscussedbelow.Thesourceusedfordeviceclassificationmustbedisclosed,supportedandsubjecttoperiodicreviewandupdate.Suchclassificationshouldbegranularenoughtodistinguishdifferentdevicetypeswithinmanufacturerorplatform.Insituationswhereameasurementvendorassignsa

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defaultdeviceforsessionsorimpressionsforwhichdevicecannotbedetermined,suchassignmentsshouldbedisclosed,quantified(ifmaterial)andempiricallysupported.

3.2.2 IP-EnabledTelevisionorOTTDeviceAudiencemeasurementofIP-enabledTVsandotherOver-The-Top(OTT)devicestoconsumenon-lineardigitaladsisincludedwithintheseStandards.TheMRCandIABplantocontinuallyupdatetheIABDigitalVideoMeasurementGuidelinestoincorporateIP-enabledTVandOTTdigitaladsorcontentandanymeasurementofdigitalvideoaudiencemustadheretothisguidance.Further,universeandcoverageaspectsdiscussedaboveshouldconsiderwhethersuchdevicesareincludedintheaudiencemeasuredandreflectthemaccordingly.SeetheIABDigitalVideoMeasurementGuidelinesforguidanceonspecificaspectsofOTTmeasurementsuchaslatencyconsiderations,continuousplayandTVOffsituations.

3.2.3 AccountingforDuplicationAusershouldonlybecountedonce(de-duplicatedthroughdirectmeasurementoranalysisofoverlap)foruniquemeasurement,despitethefactthatausercanhavemultiplevisitsduringareportingperiod.Furthermore,inallinstancesrelatedtothereportingofaudiencemeasurement,theuseofthequalifierword“Unique,”shouldbelimitedonlytoreferencestorecordsthathavebeende-duplicatedwithintheentirereportingperiod.SeeSection4.3forfurtherguidanceontechnicalaspectsoftrackingusers/uniquesandaccountingforduplication.

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.AsdiscussedintheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelines,extrapolationsorotherassumptionsusedinthe

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processofdeterminingtheviewablestatusofanad(suchaswhenprojectingviewabilityforunmeasurableimpressionsasaninputintodigitalaudience)shouldbefullydisclosedalongwithpre-determinedestimatesofaccuracy(basedonindependentlyconductedvalidationstudies).Ifextrapolatedcountsarepresentedwithspecificallyidentifiedcounts,separatereportingmustbeavailabletousers,alongwithfulldisclosurearoundtheprevalenceofprojection.ContentviewabilityguidelineshavenotyetbeencreatedanditislikelythatMRCandIABwillneedtoconsiderfurtherworkinthisareaaspartofCross-MediaAudience-BasedStandardefforts.However,atminimumitisrequiredthatbothdisplayandvideocontentmeetthedesktopandmobileviewabilitypixelandtimethresholdstobeconsideredviewableandforinclusionindigitalaudience-basedandcross-mediameasurement.MeasurementorganizationsareencouragedtoseparatelyreportViewabletimethatisalsoaudible.Furthermore,cross-mediaaudiencecombinationsofadsrequirethesameaudiblecriteria(inadditiontotheviewablecriteriadiscussedabove).Forexample,televisionmeasurementmayincludeconsiderationoforevenrequirenon-zerovolume/non-mutingconditionsforinclusioninreportedresultsandassuch,cross-mediaaudiencemeasurementcombinationoflineartelevisionanddigitalvideomeasurementwouldrequirethesesameaudibleconditionsforthedigitalcomponentmeasuringthesameadsorcontent.ThisStandardrequiresDigitalAudiencemeasuresthatarebasedonViewableImpressions,withfiltrationinclusiveofGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficaswellasCross-Mediavideomeasuresthatincorporatedurationweighting.However,DigitalAudienceandCross-Mediameasuresthatdonotincorporateoneormoreoftheserequiredcomponentsmaybereportedwithproperlabeling,segregatedreportingandcleardisclaimer.

4.1.2 Audiencevs.AdMeasurementOverall,forsimplificationpurposes,itisdesirable(butnotrequired)forthesametechnicalimplementationstomeasurebothaudiencesandadswhereverpossible.Technicalimplementationsthatfacilitatemeasurement(trackingassets,etc.)mayvarybetweenaudienceandadsbecauseofdifferencesinthetypeofdecisionsbeingmadebymeasurementdatausers.Forexample,contentaudiencemeasurementsmaybeorientedtoprovide“planning”typesofinferencestobuyersastothesize,location,demography,ReachandFrequency,typesofusersattractedtothecontent,howthecontentisaccessed,timespent,device/userbehaviortracking,andlongitudinaldevice/usermovementsacrosscontent.Planningmetricsaregenerallystatedonthebasisofaspecifictimeperiodorcontent(suchasepisodeorprogram).Measurementfordigitaladvertisementdelivery(meaninganAdImpressionorViewableImpression)representsacountingorientationwithaudienceassignedReachandFrequencyofdiscreteexposuretotheadvertisement.Bothunassigneddeliveredadmetrics(total),audienceassignedadmetrics(in-target)andmetricsrelatedtocontentcouldbesubjectedtodiscreteGrossRatingPointmeasurement,assumingpropergranularityoftrackingassetsandaudienceassignmentmethods.Incaseswherethemeasurementdoesnotrelyonafullcensus

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orientation,measurementatalocallevelmaybechallengingbecauseofsamplesizeand/ordataqualityconsiderations(qualityconsiderationsmayincludecoverage,representationofthepopulationbeingmeasured,dataloss,bias,etc.).Measurementofdigitaladvertisementdeliveryandad/contentaudiencesaregenerallyperformedseparately,versusthegeneralizedmeasurementorientationthatcurrentlyexistsfornon-digitalmedia(inferringthesameaudiencetothecontentandadvertisinginsomecases).Itiscriticallyimportantthatmeasurementorganizationsconsidervaryingtypesofcontentandadvertisingdeliverymodelswhentheyareestablishingmeasurementproducts,measurementandreporting.Specifically,differenttypesofcontentandadvertisingdeliverymodels(staticvs.dynamic)shouldbeseparatelytrackedandsegregatedforreportingpurposesandclearlydescribedtousersofmeasurementandaudiencedata.Foraudienceplanningpurposes(pre-buy),usersmayevaluatepotentialaudiencesreachablebyadigitaldeliverymodel;theseorientationscouldbeonthebasisofthetotaldeliverymodelaudience,marketaudienceorwithinprojecteddemographicbreaks.Inallcases,themeasurementserviceshouldbeabletodemonstratethatplanningbasesrepresentrealisticscenarioswherebyactualadcampaignscanbeexecuted,notmerelya“theoreticalreach.”Considerationshouldbegiventothesufficiencyofsamplesizesand/ordatacoverageadequacyindevelopmentofaddeliveryandplanningmetrics.Thesemetricsshouldbefilteredtoexcludeinvaliddigitaltraffic.Thesemetricsshouldbecountedusingclient-initiatedcountingtoensurethattheadand/orcontenthaveactuallybeenloadedandpresentedtotheuser.TheseStandardsrecommendthatmeasurementoccurinawaythatallowsforthemostdiscretemeasurementoftheaudienceasispossible,inconsiderationoftheadvertisingmodelemployedandthecharacteristicsofthetechnologyusedtodelivercontent.Inshort,underdynamicadvertisingmodels,audiencesforspecificadswithincontentshouldnotbeinferredbasedongeneralmeasurementsotherthanthosethatmeasureeachdiscreteadoccurrence.Userandlocationattribution,audiencedatamodelingandothertypesofaudiencemeasurementinferencesshouldalsoconsidertheaddeliverymodelandlikelyneedtobeappliedseparatelybasedondeliverymodel.

4.1.3 Script-basedTrackingMethod/AssetsFordigitalmeasurementofadvertising,measurementmethodsmayincludeatrackingassetsuchasatag.ThefollowingdetailsarekeycomponentsofexistingIABMeasurementGuidelines:

1. Permissibleimplementationtechniquesinclude(butarenotlimitedto)HTTPrequestsgeneratedby<IMG>,<IFRAME>,or<SCRIPTSRC>.Forclient-sideadserving,thead

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contentitselfcouldbetreatedasthetrackingassetandtheadserveritselfcoulddotheadcountingaslongascountingdoesnotoccuruntiladcontenthasbeenloaded.

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.Further,certainscript-basedtechniquessuchastrackingviaplayerintegration,mayinvolvesomelevelofencodinginadditiontoscripting.Forexample,theIAB’sVideoAdServingTemplate(VAST)hashistoricallyprovidedaplaceholderforacreativeIDandinversion4.0thisplaceholderisaUniversalAdIDelement,whichisrequiredforlinearadsinlong-formvideoandenablesalldataassociatedwiththecreativetofollowacrosssystems.Hardwareandsoftwaremeters(specificguidanceformeasurementviaapplicationsisdiscussedinSection4.1.7)mayalsobeusedtotrackdigitaladsandcontentandmayincludemetersspecificallydesignedtodecodeandcaptureexposuretoencodedcontent,capturefingerprints

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forsignaturematchingortotrackandmeasuretrafficregardlessofwhethersuchtrafficisencoded.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(secondlevelgranularitypreferredforduration,althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis);activitymeasurementmustbegranularenoughtosegregateadtypesandmediagenreswithincampaignsaswellasadsfromcontentforinputintodigitalaudience-basedreporting.Periodiccollectionortransmissionofmeasurementdatadoesnotneedtobeasgranularasactualmeasurement(datamaybebatchedforefficiency).

• Considerationofintendedmeasurementenvironmentsandrelativecoverage,aswellasanylimitations(includinganythatresultinsystematicbiases)inmeasurementoftheintendedUniverse(suchasduetotechnicallimitationsofmeasurement)shouldbefullydisclosedandquantified(asdiscussedinSection3.2).Measurementorganizationsmustperiodicallyassessanymeasurementlimitationsandresultingbiases.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryguidelinesinthisarea.Additionally,measurementorganizationsseekingMRCaccreditationarerequiredtoadheretorelevantMRCMinimumStandardsinthisarea.

• Continualmonitoringandanalysisofcollectedmeterdataforpotentialconsiderationofdowntime,bugs,compatibilityissues,emerginglimitations,errorsanddefectsforsupportofmeterupdatesandmaintenance.

• Polling(whereapplicable)andtransmissionofdatathatisappropriatelygranularandfrequentfortheintendedmeasurementandincongruencewithanyapplicablerequirements(suchasinviewabilitypollingrequirements).

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• Sufficient(timeandsize)memoryandcachingtoensurecollecteddataiscompleteandabletobestoredlocallytoallowtransmissionofcollecteddata.

• Managementofversioningtoensureencodingandequipmentisthemostuptodateaswellaseffortstoreducetheimpactsofmultipleversionsinproduction.

4.1.5 RichMediaUsageRichMediaAdvertisingisdefinedasadvertisementswithwhichuserscaninteract(asopposedtosolelyanimation)inawebpageformatandincludecreativetypesthatrequirefunctionalitynotnativetothebrowseritselftorender.IntheRichMediaarea,whereadvertisingcreativeismoreprocess-resourceandbandwidthintensive,thenumberofredirectsinthetransactionstreamcanimpacttheaccuracyofadcountingduetolatency.MeasurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsiderthislatencywhenconsideringthestructureofRichMediaservingandtoperiodicallystudyimpactsonmeasurementaccuracy.SeetheIABDisplayMeasurementGuidelinesforfurtherguidance.

4.1.6 VideoUsageAvaliddigitalvideoadimpressionmayonlybecountedwhenanadcounter(loggingserver)receivesandrespondstoanHTTPrequestforatrackingassetfromaclient.Thecountmusthappenaftertheinitiationofthestream,post-buffering,asopposedtothelinkeddigitalvideocontentitself.Specifically,measurementshouldnotoccurwhenthebufferisinitiated,rathermeasurementshouldoccurwhentheaditselfbeginstoappearontheuser’sbrowser(beginstoplay).VideodeliveredtoaplayerusingaprogressivedownloadtechniquedeliversthedigitalvideoinaseriesofdownloadsthatarestoredlocallyontheClientUserdevice.Inaprogressivedownloadenvironment,apersistentconnectionmaynotbemaintainedandinstead,groupsofcontent/adsmaybesenttotheuser’sbrowser/playerthroughaperiodic(notpersistent)onlineconnection.Thesegroupsofcontent/adscanbevariableinlength(dependingonthesensedconnectionspeedandothercommunicationenvironmentattributessuchasqualityofconnection)soastoenableauserexperiencethatappearstobeacontinuousconnection,butmaynotcontainadsinfull.Assuch,AdVideoImpressionsarecountedwhentheadbeginstoappearanddonotrequiretheadtobefullyloadedincacheinprogressivedownloadenvironments.SeetheIABVideoMeasurementGuidelinesforfurtherguidance.

4.1.7 AdvertisingMeasurementinApplicationsPhysicalattributesoftheadvertisementshouldbedisclosedbymeasurementvendorstousersbycampaignalongwiththeplacementwithintheapplicationaspartofreportingrequirementsdiscussedthroughoutthisdocument.Thisdisclosurecanbemadeaspartofinitiatingthecampaignwiththeadvertisingagencyorbuyer.Additionally,anyvariableattributessuchassizeoftheadvertisingduringtheapplicationSessionshouldbedescribed.EventBasedAdsshouldbedescribedintermsofattributesandtriggercriteria.Theapplicationmeasurementorganizationshouldhavesufficientcontrolstodeterminethat:

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• Theapplicationwasdownloaded,openedandinitializedasdesignedonthatClientUser

priortothemeasuredSession.• Theapplicationitself(ormeasurementassetswithinit)wasfunctioningasintended

duringthesessionbyexaminingdatareceivedforcompletenessorsignsofcorruption.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)afterexecutionofthelastpartoftheapplicationcodethatchecksforapre-loadedadandthenifpresent,choosestodisplayit,ifknown.Alternatively,pre-loadedinterstitialsshouldonlybecountedwhendisplayed/visible.SeetheIABMobileApplicationMeasurementGuidelinesforfurtherguidance.

4.2 DurationDurationmeasurementfordigitaladsshouldbebasedonatleastsecond-leveltimegranularity(althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis).Periodiccollectionortransmissionofmeasurementdatadoesnotneedtobeasgranularasactualmeasurement(datamaybebatchedforefficiency).Forvideo,eachexposurecontributingtodurationmustmeetviewabilityguidelines(minimumsof50%ofpixelsinviewandatleast2continuousseconds)tocontributetodigitalaudienceandcross-mediameasurement.Whileeachexposurecontributingtoaudienceanddurationmustmeetviewabilityguidelines,videodurationofviewableimpressionsincludesalltimetheadwasinview,includingthetimeitwasinviewpriortohavingmetthethresholdtobeconsideredaviewableimpression.TheMRCandIABplantocontinuallyupdatetheDigitalVideoMeasurementGuidelinestoincorporateadandcontentdurationmeasurementandanymeasurementofdigitalvideoaudiencemustadheretothisguidance.

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AsrequiredbytheIABAudienceReachGuidelines,alltimespent(duration)thatisincludedinmeasurementshouldoccurwithinthedefinedreportingperiod.Duration,whichoccursinwholeorinpartoutsidethereportingperiod,shouldbeexcludedfromthecalculation;however,ifaSessionoverlapsareportableandanon-reportableperiod,onlytheportionoftimeassociatedwiththatSessionthatoccurswithinthereportableperiodmaybeincluded.Onlyunduplicatedviewabledurationshouldcontributetosessiondurationanduniqueviewableduration(separatelyreportedandusedindurationweighting)shouldnotexceedtotalvideoadlengthforanyonesession.Recordsevidencinglongitudinalconsumptionofcontent(duration)duringthemeasuredtimeperiodshouldbebasedonactiveuseraffirmation,oratminimumperiodicconfirmationwiththedevicethatcontentandadscontinuetobedeliveredwithanopportunitytosee(thatis,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.

4.2.1 InactivityMeasurementorganizationsshouldinstitutespecific“inactivityrules,”bywhichauservisitisterminatedandthusexcludedfromadditionalcontributionstoTimeSpentafterapre-determinedlevelofconsecutiveinactivity.Theseinactivitycriteriashouldbefullydisclosed,anditisexpectedtheymaybemodifiedinthefuturebasedonevidencefromempiricalstudyoftheevolutionofusers’browsinghabits.

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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,fordigitalaudiencemeasurement,averageviewabledurationreportingisrequired.Further,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredfordigitalvideoaudiencemeasurementforinputintocross-mediaFrequencyandGRP.Audiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarerequiredtobereportedinadditiontorequiredduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediavideocomparisonsorcombinations.DurationWeightedViewableImpressionsrepresentViewableImpressionswithtotalviewabledurationdividedbyadduration(unitlength).

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Digital-onlyaudiencemeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting,butviewabledurationreportingisrequired.However,durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouraged.Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurementduetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageviewabledurationisrequired.Durationweightingaccountsfordifferingadlength,makesseparateGRPsforcreativesofdifferentlengthmorecomparableandnormalizesexposureacrossplatformsandmedia.Creative(placement)levelminimumreportinggranularityisrequiredwithincampaigns.Audiencemeasurementmaybeaggregatedattheplatformlevel(desktop,mobilewebandin-app)andwithinformat(displayandvideo),alongwiththeminimumsegregatedreporting(placement)discussedabove.Further,totaltimespentacrossadsofdifferinglengthwithinthesameformatispermissibleinadditiontoappropriategranularcreative-levelreporting.Finally,totalimpressionsdelivered(Reach)acrossdisplayandvideoformatswithinacampaignmaybereported;however,combineddisplayandvideoformataudience(demographicorotherwiseassignedsegmentedaudience)measurementisallowablebutnotarequirementofthisStandardduetodifferingviewabilityand(incross-media)durationweightingrequirementsbyadformat.Simpledurationweightingassumesadirectandlinearrelationshipwithviewabletimeandeffectiveexposure.However,theactualsegmentofanadviewedmayhavedifferentialvalue.Forexample,segmentsofanadwithstrongbrandingpresencemayrepresentmoreeffectiveexposure.Further,viewabledurationduringconcurrentusageofothermediaorrepeat(orsingle)exposuremayhavedifferentialeffectiveness.Finally,exposuretodifferingmediamaylikewisecarrydifferentialeffectiveness.Furtherresearchinthisareaisstronglyencouraged.TheconceptofexposureeffectivenessandthetranslationofitintothecontributionofdifferinglevelsofexposuretoaudiencewillbefurtherconsideredinaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard.Thisincludestheconsiderationofanyeffectiveexposurethresholds(abovewhichanadexposurefullycontributestoaudiencemeasurementincross-mediaenvironments)tohelpfurtherequalizeaudiencemeasurementincross-mediacomparisonsandcombinations.AnysubsequentguidancedevelopedaspartofthiseffortwillsupersedeCross-MediarequirementscontainedwithinthisDigitalAudienceStandard.Specialconsiderationforre-purposedTVcontentindigitalmediaandwhetherdifferentialtreatmentrelatedtoanyoftheabovedurationvalueconceptswillbeincludedinfurtherresearchperformedaspartoffutureeffortstocreateCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandards.ThisStandardrequiresDigitalAudiencemeasuresthatarebasedonViewableImpressions,withfiltrationinclusiveofGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficaswellasCross-Mediavideomeasuresthatincorporatedurationweighting.However,DigitalAudienceandCross-Mediameasuresthatdonotincorporateoneormoreoftheserequiredcomponentsmaybereportedwithproperlabeling,segregatedreportingandcleardisclaimer.

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4.3 TrackingofUsers(SourcesandAttribution)TechnicalDetailsTheclassificationdetailsofuniquemeasurementsmustbeproperlyexplainedforreportingpurposesbymeasurersofaudience,becauseunderstandingthenatureoftheunderlyingdatausedasthebasisforthereporteduniquemeasurementisafundamentalpartofproperlyusingthemeasurement.Therefore,eachreportingentityisrequiredtoaccuratelyandprominentlylabelonthefaceofanyreportthatincludesuniquemeasurements,thebasisforthecalculationoftheuniquemeasurementinvolved(e.g.devices,users,etc.).Discretedetailsofthebasisofthecalculationshouldbeincludedinmethodologicalsupplements.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.Derivingunduplicatedaudiencepeople-basedmeasuresfromdigitalactivityandotherresearchisthemostdifficultandmostvaluableaspectofaudiencemetrics.Innoinstanceshoulda“unique”metricberepresentedinreportingandelsewhereas“UniqueUsers”(orrepresentedaspersonsCume)withoutappropriatefoundationinameasurementofpeople.

4.3.1 AdjustmentofUniquesWhileitispossibleforcensus-basedmeasurerstoproducecountsofUniqueUsersundertheIABAudienceReachGuidelines,thethresholdofmeasurementdifficultyforachievingthismeasureinacensus-basedenvironmentisquitehigh(generallybecauseofthedifficultyofbeingabletoidentifyacookieasauniquepersonpersistentlyduringthemeasurementperiod).

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Themeasurementorganizationmayutilizealgorithmsandotherdataadjustmentprocedures,utilizingmeanssuchascookies(ormobileadvertisingIDsanduniquedeviceidentifiers),aswellasotherpossibleidentificationmethodssuchasonlineorofflinestudies,tocalculateUniqueBrowsersandUniqueDevices.Likewise,census-basedmeasurersmaysimilarlyhaveproceduresthatultimatelycanresultinaUniqueUsermetric.However,inordertoreportaUniqueUser,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.

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4.3.2 IdentifyingUsersAcrossDevicesVendorsandpublishersmustdisclosetotheenduserthroughtheprovisionofconcise,clearprivacypolicynoticesdescribinghowtheirappproductsand/orwebservicesuseandsharedataandwhattheconsumer’schoicesare.Inconnectionwithenduserswhovoluntarilydisclosedata,theuseofclearopt-inpracticesisrequired.Thisisparticularlyimportantwithregardtotrackingusersacrossdevicesorsites.SeeSection6.3ofthisdocumentforfurtherdetailsrelatedtoprivacyconsiderations.Withregardtocross-mediacomparabilityconsiderations,asstatedabove,thisdocumentrepresentsthedigitalinputintoaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard,whichwillsoonfollow.Inthisregard,theIAB’sDigitalAttributionPrimer(v2.0August2016)providesguidanceforidentifyingusersacrossdigitalmediascreens.Specifically,thePrimerstates:Devicegraphsaregenerallybuiltandmaintainedbythirdpartyanalyticsorganizationsandareassembledbyassociatingfiveprimarydeviceparameters:DeviceIDs(includingMACaddress),AdvertisingIDs,StatisticalIDs(suchasfingerprints),CookieIDs(includingHTMLformats),and/orIPaddresses.Usingpubliclyavailablesignals,mappingprovidersneedfirsttobeabletoconsistentlyidentifythesamedeviceagainstthesecurrenciestodevelopaconfidencethreshold.Thesecondstepistomakeanassociationwithotherknowndevices,aprocessthatisoftenproprietaryandusedasaprimarydifferentiatorbydevicegraphingproviders.Inadditiontodevicemapping,thesemeasurementscanalsobeusedfortargeting,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,deterministicdataproviderscanassociatethosedeviceIDsinadevicegraphandusethatinformationtoidentifyortargetthesameuseracrossmultiplescreens.Thisapproachgenerallycannotdeterminewhenotherindividuals—friends,family,etc.—areusingaprimaryuser’sdeviceandassuchmeasurementvendorsusingdeterministic

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approachestoidentifyusersacrossdevicesshouldaccountforsuchsituations.SeeSection4.3.6forfurtherdetailsonuseofRegistrationdata.ProbabilisticApproaches–Bydrawingonaggregationtechniques,probabilisticapproachesmayincorporatethousandsofanonymousdatapoints—thingslikedevicetype,operatingsystem,locationdataassociatedwithbidrequests(seeSection4.3.7forfurtherguidanceonusinginformationpassedinadrequests),timeofday,andahostofothers—toidentifystatisticallysignificantcorrelationsbetweendevices.Signalsmayalsobedrawnfromknownmulti-useridentifierslikeIPaddresses,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,vendorsmaymeasuredeviceorplatformaudiences

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independentlyandestimate/removeduplicationacrossthem.Suchtechniquesmustbeempiricallysupportedanddisclosed.Itiscriticalthatthoroughdescriptionsofhow“users”areactuallydeterminedandhowde-duplicationduringmeasurementperiodsisaccomplishedareprovidedtousersofuniqueusermeasurements.Trackingmethodsshouldbesubjecttointernaltestingandvalidationuponoriginalimplementationaswellasperiodicinternalverificationtesting.Trackingmethodsanddisclosureswillbethesubjectofintenseproceduralverificationifexternalcertificationissoughtbythemeasurementorganization.Itislikelythatmethodsforlinking“identity”(individualsandhouseholds)acrossdigitaldevicesandplatformstoaccountforduplicationrequirerobustassetsandtechniques.Further,accountingforduplicationacrossmediawillneedtoaccountforspecialsituationssuchasconcurrentusageand“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.Onestrengthoftheseorganizationsistheabilitytoattributeaudienceactivitytousersbasedontheknowndemographyofusersinapanelorsomeotheruser-attributeddatasource.Thisinformationisgatheredthroughacombinationofmanualandautomatedtechniques,someofwhichcaninvolvedirectcontactwithpanelistsandsomeinvolvetheuseofsoftwaremeteringtechniquesorotherdata-collectionmethodssuchasSDKswithinapplicationsordataenrichmentprocesses.Panelsmaybeprobabilisticandutilizerandom,representativesamplingtechniques,maybenon-probabilisticsuchasinconvenienceoropt-inpanelsormayutilizeahybridapproachinvolvingsomelevelofbothtechniques.Ineithercase,panelsourcesshouldbecongruentwiththeMRCMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearchandarestronglyencouragedtobepartofanauditedandaccreditedservice.InadditiontotheMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearch(andsupplementalguidanceforthosepractitionersusingnon-probability

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techniquesand/orusinglargetransactionaldatasetsaspartoftheirmeasurementprocesses),otherindustrymeasurementguidanceaswellastheMRC’sguidelinesfordataintegrationarelikelyapplicabletouseofpaneldatafordigitalaudience-basedmeasurement.Ifnon-probabilitysamplesareutilizedeitheronastand-alonebasisasthesolemeasurementsourceorinhybridtechniques,theymustbeadjustedorcalibratedtoaccountformediausagebiasandpotentialpopulationexclusions,andtheratingservicemustmakeperiodicassessmentsoflongitudinalvalidityofthedataresults(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

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• Testingandqualitycontrolofdatatransferbetweenthemeasurementserviceanddataintegrationsource

• Privacyconsiderations• Assessmentofanyadjustments,ifany,thatneedtobemadeofthedataintegration

sourcedata• Processesforon-boardingandterminatingdataintegrationsourcesaswellasdisclosing

thesechangestocustomers.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

§ IncludingSampleorTestType• UltimatelyReportedDataElements,bySourceDataSet

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o DescriptionsofMethodsofCollectionofSignificantDataFields(e.g.,registrationordirectlygathered,collectedfromotherthird-parties)

• ApproximateAgeofDataBeingUsed• KeyLinkingDataElementsorIntegrationDependencies

o CommonDefinitionsofLinkingDataElements–DefinitionsshouldbeSufficientlyComparableandPreferableIdentical

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.

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• Monitoringofthelevelsofpre-integrationascription,dataadjustmentoreditingappliedbythemeasurementservice(orthird-partysource;maybeincludedaspartofpartneronboardingandvettingprocedureswithappropriateperiodicmonitoringforchanges)levels.Thevolumeofthisascriptionordataadjustmentshouldbeminimizedwherepossible.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.

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Further,thetypeofattribute(methodofcollection)andrelativeaccuracyandprecisioncanbeincludedandshouldbefactoredintoaudiencecharacteristicdeterminationwhereavailable.Adrequestdatashouldalsobesubjecttorobustvalidationeditrules/qualifyingcriteria.Theuseofmultipledatasourcestocorroborateandinspectadrequestdataandaccuracy/precisionparameterrequirementsisencouraged.

5 DataPreparationandQualityChecking

5.1 DataCollectionAppropriatetransactionrecordsshouldbemaintainedforaudiencemeasurements.Insofarascommerciallyreasonable,thesetransactionrecordsshouldincludeactivityfacilitatedbytransactionpartnersorfacilitatorsdownstreamfromthecontentprovider(suchasthird-partyorfourth-partyservers).TheserecordsareanimportantpartofenablingthemeasurementandfiltrationproceduresdescribedintheseStandardsandshouldberetainedinamannerthatcanbeaccessedbythemeasurementorganizationtovalidate/filteraudienceactivity.Ifchangesaremadetothisinformationthroughtheinformationprocessingofthemeasurementorganization,thesechangesshouldbedocumentedandcareshouldbeexercisedtonotbiasordistorttheaudiencemeasurementprocess.Processinginformationrelatedtovisits(sessions)includesidentificationofinitialuseractivityandtrackingthisinformationduringaudienceactivitiesforthatbrowseroruserattributabletothewebsiteorproperty.Appropriatelycontrolleddataaccumulationmethodsarecriticaltoaudiencemeasurementsbecausethesemeasurementsarederivedusingaudienceactivityoverthereportingperiod.Additionally,thefoundationforaudiencemeasurementistheidentificationandassignmentofactivitytoanunduplicateduser,whichrequiresappropriateidentificationandflaggingofuniqueinstances,anddifferentiationofthesefromreturnvisitsorotheraudienceactivity.Insomecases,thesedataaccumulationmethodsareapplicableacrossmultiplewebsitesorproperties,sothisinformationshouldbesharedacrosstheseproperties(withinthesamedomain)inacontrolledmannerwithappropriaterecord-detailsandtime/dateinformation.

5.1.1 ValidationProceduresMeasurementvendorsshouldapplyrobustvalidationandqualitycontroltechniquescontinuouslytocollectedandreporteddataincludingcleaningandeditingfunctionality.Suchtechniquesshouldbeperiodicallymonitoredandassessed.Measurementvendorsshouldconsiderwhetherotherdatavalidationprocessesshouldbeincludedaspartofroutineandongoingdatainspection,validationandediting.AlldigitalaudiencemeasurementdatamustbesubjecttoinvalidtrafficfiltrationasrequiredbytheMRCInvalidTrafficDetectionGuidelines(seeSection6.2forfurtherdetailsregardingfiltration).

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5.1.2 IdentificationandMonitoringofDataGapsinTransactionalDataThemeasurementorganizationsshouldmaintainprocessestoidentify,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.Inthesecases,dataeditingprocessesaregenerallyusedtoeliminate,cleanorpossiblymodifytheseproblematicconditionswithinthedatarecords.Dataeditingitselfisconsideredaqualitycontrol.Additionally,dataeditingrulesincluderoutineprocessingrulesthatareappliedtorawcollecteddataintheprocessofconvertingthatdatatouseablerecordsforratingsaudienceestimates.Forexample,closinggapsincollecteddata,bridgingbetweendatarecordsorcreditingbroaderlevelsofestimatesfrommorediscretedata.Themeasurementorganizationshouldmonitortheextentofdataeditingappliedwithinreportedresults.Significanttypesofdataeditingshouldbedisclosedwithaccompanyingvolumesinreportstocustomers.

5.2.1 EmpiricalSupportAmeasurementserviceshouldhaveappropriateempiricalsupportofdataeditingrulesanddecisionprocessesandthissupportshouldbeperiodicallychallengedandupdatedtoreflectchangingconditions.Themeasurementorganizationsshouldhaveadedicateddataqualityfunction,akeyresponsibilityofwhichistodetermineandmonitortheapplicationofdata

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editingwithingeneralmeasurement,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.Intheseareas,proceduralconsistencyovertimeiscriticalandconsideredanaspectofqualitycontrol.

5.4 DataAggregationControlsAmeasurementserviceshouldmaintainappropriatedataaggregationcontrolstoensurethatmaterialinformationisnotlostinthecollectionprocessandthatnochangestothecollecteddataaremade,unlessthroughorganizationallyauthorizededitingordataadjustmentprocedures.Theseaggregationcontrolscanbereal-timerun-streamorbatchoriented–buttheyshouldbeperiodicallytestedandmonitoredbythemeasurementservices.Underlyingdataaggregationcontrolsandcompletenesscheckingstatisticsshouldberetainedforauditorreviewforaperiodofatleast12months.

5.4.1 CompletenessChecksIndividualdatacollectionfunctionsshouldincludedatacompletenesschecksthatareappropriatelystructuredtominimizedataloss,andflagsituationswheredatagapsexist.Thesecontrolsshouldbeperiodicallytestedandmonitoredbythemeasurementservice.

5.4.2 TestsofSignificanceforMissingDataThemeasurementserviceshouldapplyappropriate,preferablystatisticallybased,testingtomissingdataconditionsordatagapstodeterminetheimpactofthesesituationsonreportedmeasurementresults.

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Missingdataordatagapscanbecausedbysystematicproblems(generallyrecurringissueswithinthedatathatpersistovertimeorbetweensimilardatarecords)ortheycanbeone-timedataoutagesornaturaldisasters.Measurementserviceprocessesmayvarybasedonthetypeofissueencountered.

5.4.2.1 SystematicDataIssuesBytheirnature,systematicdataissuesarerecurringandtheyaregenerallycausedbyspecificconditionswithindatacapturemechanismsorthetechnicalenvironmentatthetimeofdatacollection/creation.Ingeneral,theseareerrorconditionsorfailuresandmostareattributabletomistakeswithinthesoftwareortechnicalstructureofdatacapture.Systematicdataissuesshouldbeassessedformaterialitybasedonthenatureandextentoftheiroccurrencesandtheimpactofeachoccurrence.

5.4.2.2 One-timeDataOutagesorNaturalDisastersBytheirnature,one-timedataoutagesornaturaldisastersarenotrecurringandtheyarecausedbysituationslargelyoutofthecontrolofthemeasurementservice(althoughtheextentofdataoutagescanbemitigatedbystrongcollectionprocessesandinternalcontrols).Thesesituationsshouldbeassessedindividuallyacrosstheoccurrenceformaterialityanddisclosureconsiderations.Inbothcasesabove(systematicoron-timedataoutages),wheremissingdataisdeterminedtobeimmaterialtoreportedresultstheevidenceofthemeasurementserviceassessmentsofthesituationshouldberetainedforlaterreviewbyauditorsforaperiodofatleastoneyear.Incaseswheremissingdataisdeterminedtobematerial,themeasurementserviceshouldtakeactionstoappropriatelydisclosethesituationandtheimpactonreportedresults.Inextremecasesofmissingdataorgaps,themeasurementservicemayconsiderwithholdingtheentiremeasurementreport–thesesituationsrequirethoroughandtimelydisclosuretocustomers.MeasurementorganizationsshouldmaintainrobustandcomprehensiveBusinessContinuityandDisasterRecoveryplansandproceduresbasedonorganizationalriskassessments,andperiodicallyteststheseplansandprocedures.

6 EnhancingAudienceBasedTrackingAccuracy

6.1 GeneralGuidanceandrequirementsofotherIAB,MRC,and,whereapplicable,MMAmeasurementguidelinesareapplicablewhererelevant.Theseinclude(butarenotlimitedto)thefollowingimpressioncountingguidanceareas:

• SegregationofPre-fetch/Pre-renderActivity• Auto-RefreshAds• Auto-playAdsandVideo,OtherNon-userIntendedContent• ForcedDuration

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• ApplicationsOn-linevs.Off-lineActivityandOtherMobileApplicationGuidance• InactivityConsiderationsandLimits

6.2 FiltrationforInvalidActivityFiltrationofsiteorad-servingtransactionstoremoveinvalidactivityishighlycriticalforaccurate,consistentcounting.AllmetricssubjecttoauditbyMRCwillbeexpectedtocomplywiththeMRC’sInvalidTrafficandFiltrationGuidelinesAddendum.Thisincludesadimpressionmetrics,whichshouldbefilteredforknownGeneralInvalidTrafficasrequiredbythoseguidelines.Furthermore,whileapplicationofSophisticatedInvalidTrafficdetectionprocessesisstronglyencouragedformonetizedtraffic,digitalaudienceandpersonslevelmeasurementrequiresahigherdegreeofprecisionandaccuracy.Assuch,digitalaudiencemeasurementandreportingrequiresfiltrationinclusiveofbothGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTraffic.ThisStandardrequiresDigitalAudiencemeasuresthatarebasedonViewableImpressions,withfiltrationinclusiveofGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficaswellasCross-Mediavideomeasuresthatincorporatedurationweighting.However,DigitalAudienceandCross-Mediameasuresthatdonotincorporateoneormoreoftheserequiredcomponentsmaybereportedwithproperlabeling,segregatedreportingandclear.

6.3 PrivacyVendorsandpublishersmustdisclosetotheenduserthroughtheprovisionofconcise,clearprivacypolicynoticesdescribinghowtheirappproductsand/orwebservicesuseandsharedataandwhattheconsumer’schoicesare.Inconnectionwithenduserswhovoluntarilydisclosedata,theuseofclearopt-inpracticesisrequiredandvendorsareencouragedtoestablishfirst-partyrelationshipsforcollectionofaudiencedatawherefeasible.Entitiesemployingmobilewebvoluntaryaudiencecollectionmustincludethefunctionalitytoprovidepromptswhenvisitingawebsiterequestingcurrentaudiencedata,withaclearopt-inaswellasthewebsitehostname,andtheoptionfortheconsumertoacceptordenypermission.Entitiesusingmobileapplicationservicesforvoluntaryaudiencecollectionmustgettheuser’spermissionatapplicationinitializationorduringuseandrequestthisaccessagaineachtimeauserchangesthepermissionintheservicessettingwithinthedevicesettings.Apublisherorvendormustclearlystateintheirprivacypolicywhytheyarecollectingthisinformationandhowitmaybeshared.Ifrespondentshavebeenledtobelieve,directlyorindirectly,thattheiranonymitywillbeprotected,theirnames,addressesandothersuchidentifyinginformationshallnotbemadeknowntoanyoneoutsidethemeasurementserviceorganization.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryandregulatoryguidelinesinthisarea.Specifically:

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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(suchasworkinghoursandnon-workinghoursnormalizedacrosstimezones).Weencouragesuchanalysistodeterminetheneedforstandardizationofthismeasurementparameterbasedonmarketplaceneedsandbehaviors.

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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.

7.4 SegregationofAdActivitybyCreativeForreportingpurposes,measurementsshouldbesegregatedbythevariousadvertisementtypesoreventsincludedinthecampaign(placement).Countsshouldbereportedseparatelyforadswithinthecampaignofdifferentsizesorfunctionalities(whereknown),differentlengths,etc.

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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.Suchrestrictionsmaystillallowforalternativelevelsofretentionthatarestillsufficienttosupportreprocessingofdata.Inthesecasesdeviationsshouldbesupportedbythemeasurementorganization’sprivacypolicyandshouldbeavailableforreviewbyauditors.

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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(unlessconfidential)•Sampling/ProjectionsUsed

o SamplingMethodsUsedo ExplanationofProjectionMethods

DataCollectionMethodsEmployed

•MethodofDataCollectiono CacheBustingTechniquesEmployedo ExposureLevelDatao AudienceDataSourceso ViewableCriteriaEmployed,i.e.,MRCViewableImpressionGuidelineso AudienceQualifiers,InclusionSpecifics,etc.

•TypesofDataCollectedo CensusTagging,Surveys,Diary,Observations,ElectronicMeasurements,etc.o FrequencyofCollection

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o 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-basedmeasurementproductsusedinthebuyingandsellingprocessarerecommendedtobecertifiedascompliantwiththeseStandards,atminimumannually.Thisrecommendationisstronglysupportedbythe4Asandothermembersofthebuyingcommunity,forconsiderationofmeasurementsas“currency.”InadditiontoMRC,thereareanumberofothercertifiersandtypesandlevelsofcertificationavailabletoorganizationsinvolvedinmediameasurement.Anumberofdigitalaudience-basedproductsexistintheUSandsomeoftheseproductshavehadcertainaspectsaccreditedbytheMRC.UponfinalizationoftheseStandards,inadditiontotimelyevaluationofeachoftheseproductsforcompliance(subjecttoagraceperiodofoneyearfromissuance),areconciliationprocesswilllikelyneedtotakeplacethataccountsforthedifferentialdatacollection,editingandprojectiontechniquesemployedbytherespectivevendorsandthepotentialimpactsonreportedestimates.Itremainstobedeterminedwhetherthisreconciliationoccursaspartofrecurringauditfunctionalityoronaseparateformalbasis.

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SpecialAuditingGuidanceforAdvertisingAgenciesorOtherBuyingOrganizations:Ifbuyingorganizationsmodifyorotherwisemanipulatemeasurementsfromcertifieddigitalaudience-basedaudiencemeasurementorganizationsuponreceipt,auditingoftheseactivitiesshouldbeconsidered.

9.3 InternationalCertificationRecommendationTheMRCencouragesnon-U.S.measurersofactivitytoadoptthepracticesspelledoutintheseStandards.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.DurationWeightedViewableImpressions(DWVI)–ViewableImpressionsthatincludedurationweighting(totalunduplicatedviewabledurationdividedbyaddurationorunitlength)andareintendedforinputintocross-mediaGRP(campaignorcreativesegregationisrequired).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(totalunduplicatedviewabletimedividedbytotaladdurationorunitlength)andisintendedforinputintocross-mediaGRP(campaignorcreativesegregationisrequired).GrossRatingPoint(GRP)–Thesumofalltheratingpointsforaspecifiedadvertisementoradvertisingcampaignreportedasagrossnumber.Foragivenpopulation,ReachmultipliedbyaverageFrequencyequalsGrossRatingPoints.DurationWeightedGRP(DWGRP)includesdurationweighting(totalunduplicatedviewabletimedividedbytotaladdurationorunitlength)andareintendedforinputintocross-mediaGRP(campaignorcreativesegregationisrequired).Impressions–AnAdImpressionisgenerallyameasurementofdeliveryofanadthatmeetsestablishedminimumthresholdsforqualityandthetermsandconditionsestablishedbetweenasellerandabuyer(Source:IAB).ValidAdImpressionsmustmeettheminimumrequirementsoftheIABMeasurementGuidelinesfortheapplicablecreativetype(Display,RichMediaorVideo)anduserenvironment(desktopbrowser,mobilewebandapplicationenvironments).Inactivity–Indigitalmediamayrefertospecificinactivityrules,bywhichauservisitisterminatedandthusexcludedfromadditionalcontributionstoTimeSpentafterapre-

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determinedlevelofconsecutiveminutesofinactivity(Source:IABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines).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.

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Rating–Apercentagecalculatedas:(A)thenumberofrespondents(orprojectedrespondentsinasampleorotherwisemeasuredgroup),filteredforinvalidactivitythatconsumed(i.e.,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.ReturnPathDatacanapplytootherdevicesanddigitaldatapathsaswell.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.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 FOX NielsenA+ENetworks FOXNews NielsenAudioA+EOleCommunications FOXTVStations NYTimesAbbott FreeReach P&GABC FreeWheel PandoraABCDisney GeneralMotors PGATourDigitalABCGroup GfKMRI PixalateABCOwnedStations Google PointRollAllianceforAuditedMedia(AAM) GrahamMediaGroup PublicisAMCNetworks GroupM PwCAnnalect HBO Quantcast

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AreYouAHuman HearstDigitalMedia RadioResearchConsortiumASIConferences HearstTelevision RaycomMediaAuditBureauofCirculations(ABCUK) HorizonMedia RealVuBPAWorldwide Hulu ReutersBrightRoll IAB SonyTVPicturesCampbell-Ewald IABCanada StandardMediaIndexCBS iHeartMedia StarcomMediaVestGroupCIM IndexExchange SymphonyAdvancedMediaCIMM Initiative TelevisaCommunityNewspaperHoldings InsightExpress tenthavenuecomScore InteractiveOne TremorVideoCondeNast ITNNetworks TribuneConversantMedia L'OREALParis TritonDigitalCoxMediaGroup Lake5Media TurnerBroadcastingCoxMediaGroupDigital ManagementScienceAssoc. TWCableCWNetwork MansuetoVentures UndertoneDataXu Mbooth UnivisionDeloitte&Touche MEC UnivisionRadioDigitalContentNext MeredithCorp. ViacomMediaNetworksDiscovery Microsoft VisibleMeasuresDiscoveryCommunications MMA WallStreetJournalESPN MSNBC WBEBEWScripps NAA WeigelBroadcastingExtremeReach NAB WhiteOpsEY NBCOwnedStations WPLG(BerkshireHathaway)Facebook NBCUniversal xAdFleishmanHillard NCCMedia Yahoo!Flipboard NewsInc. ForbesMedia NGS

12 ContactUsMRC:RonPinelli,VPDigitalResearchandStandards212-972-0300rpinelli@mediaratingcouncil.orgIAB:DennisBuchheim,SVP&GM,TechLabdennis@iab.com

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A. Appendix:Calculation/ReportingSection2ofthisdocumentprovidesdescriptionsandformulaeforvariousdigitalaudiencemetricsandprovidesrequirementsforcross-mediaanddurationweightedvideoreporting.Thissectionservestoprovideanillustrativeexampleofthesecalculationsandrespectivereportingofthemusingmockdatatofacilitateadeeperunderstandingoftheserequirements.Thefollowingdataexampleincludesmockdataofasinglecampaignthatincludesplacementsofdifferentsizesondifferentplatforms,displayandvideoelementsandcross-media(OTT)placements.Forthepurposeoftheexamplecalculationsonthefollowingpages(andforsimplicity),themeasuredpopulation(Universe/Target)isassumedtobe500.DataExample:

CampaignID PlacementID PlatformType Date Browser/Platform AdType PlacementSize Video

Length(s) Imp. ViewableImp.

UniqueVI

ViewableDuration(s)

Campaign1 PlacementA Desktop 9/1/17 IE Display 300x250 50 25 20 100

Campaign1 PlacementA Desktop 9/1/17 Safari Display 300x250 50 25 20 100

Campaign1 PlacementB Desktop 9/2/17 Chrome Display 728x90 50 25 20 250

Campaign1 PlacementB Desktop 9/2/17 Firefox Display 728x90 50 25 20 250

Campaign1 PlacementC MobilePhone 9/3/17 Unknown Display 160x600 50 25 20 750

Campaign1 PlacementC MobilePhone 9/3/17 Unknown Display 160x600 50 25 20 750

Campaign1 PlacementD OTT 9/4/17 Unknown Display 300x250 50 25 20 125

Campaign1 PlacementD OTT 9/4/17 Unknown Display 300x250 50 25 20 125

Campaign1 PlacementE Desktop 9/1/17 IE Video In-StreamVideo 5 50 25 20 100

Campaign1 PlacementE Desktop 9/1/17 Safari Video In-StreamVideo 5 50 25 20 100

Campaign1 PlacementF Desktop 9/2/17 Chrome Video In-PageVideo 15 50 25 20 250

Campaign1 PlacementF Desktop 9/2/17 Firefox Video In-PageVideo 15 50 25 20 250

Campaign1 PlacementG MobilePhone 9/3/17 Unknown Video In-StreamVideo 30 50 25 20 750

Campaign1 PlacementG MobilePhone 9/3/17 Unknown Video In-StreamVideo 30 50 25 20 750

Campaign1 PlacementH OTT 9/4/17 Unknown Video In-StreamVideo 30 50 25 20 125

Campaign1 PlacementH OTT 9/4/17 Unknown Video In-StreamVideo 30 50 25 20 125

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Thefollowingtablerepresentstheresultsofthecalculationexamplespresentedinthefollowingsections,withcolumnreferencestoeachcalculationsectionincludedinthisAppendix.

CampaignID PlacementID AdType DWVI(A)

Reach(B)

Frequency(C)

DWFrequency(C)

GRP(E)

DWGRP(E)

Campaign1 PlacementA Display N/A -- -- N/A -- N/A

Campaign1 PlacementB Display N/A -- -- N/A -- N/A

Campaign1 PlacementC Display N/A -- -- N/A -- N/A

Campaign1 PlacementD Display N/A -- -- N/A -- N/A

Campaign1 PlacementE Video 40 -- -- -- -- --

Campaign1 PlacementF Video 33.33 -- -- -- -- --

Campaign1 PlacementG Video 50 -- -- -- -- --

Campaign1 PlacementH Video 8.33 -- -- -- -- --

Campaign1 DisplayTotal Display N/A 32 1.25 N/A 40 N/A

Campaign1 VideoTotal Video 131.67 32 1.25 0.82 40 26.33*

Campaign1 Total N/A N/A 64 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Note:Population/universe/targetassumedtobe500.--:IndividualPlacementcalculationsnotpresent(beyondDWVI);totalspresentedonlyforillustrativepurposes.N/A:TheuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredonlyforinputintocross-mediavideomeasurement.Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurementduetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageunduplicatedviewabledurationisrequired.

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Calculations:A. DurationWeightedViewableImpressions(DWVI;requiredforcross-mediavideo)

Arecalculatedas:

(Σ ViewableDuration)÷(AdUnitLength)TheuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredonlyforinputintocross-mediavideomeasurement.Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurementduetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageunduplicatedviewabledurationisrequired.Examples:(databelowdrawnfromtheplacementsnotedinthechartonfirstpageofAppendix):Forvideoplacements:PlacementE(50ViewableImpressions) =(100s+100s)÷(5s)

=200s÷5s=40DWVI

PlacementF(50ViewableImpressions) =(250s+250s)÷(15s)

=500s÷15s=33.33DWVI

PlacementG(50ViewableImpressions) =(750s+750s)÷(30s)

=1,500s÷5s=50DWVI

PlacementH(50ViewableImpressions) =(125s+125s)÷(30s)

=200s÷5s=8.33DWVI

VideoCampaignTotal(200ViewableImpressions)=(40+33.33+50+8.33)

=131.67DWVI

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B. Reach

Iscalculatedas:[(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100Examples:(databelowdrawnfromtheplacementsnotedinthechartonfirstpageofAppendix):Fordisplayplacements*:PlacementsA,B,C,D(200ViewableImpressions) =[(40UniqueVI*4)÷(500)]

=(160÷500)x100=Reachof32

*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.Forvideoplacements*:PlacementsE,F,G,H(200ViewableImpressions) =[(40UniqueVI*4)÷(500)]

=(160÷500)x100=Reachof32

*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.

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C. Frequency

Iscalculatedas:

(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)Examples:(databelowdrawnfromtheplacementsnotedinthechartonfirstpageofAppendix):Fordisplayplacements*:PlacementsA,B,C,D(200ViewableImpressions) =(200VI÷160UniqueVI)

=Frequencyof1.25*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.Forvideoplacements*:PlacementsE,F,G,H(200ViewableImpressions) =(200VI÷160UniqueVI)

=Frequencyof1.25*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.

DurationWeightedFrequency(requiredforcross-mediavideo)

Iscalculatedas:

(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(ΣUniqueAudiencewithaViewableImpression)Forvideoplacements*:PlacementsE,F,G,H(200ViewableImpressions) =(131.67DWVI÷160UniqueVI)

=DWFrequencyof0.82*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.

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D. Rating

Iscalculatedas:

[(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100Examples:(databelowdrawnfromtheplacementsnotedinthechartonfirstpageofAppendix):Fordisplayplacements*:PlacementsA,B,C,D(200ViewableImpressions) =(200VI÷500)x100

=Ratingof40*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.Forvideoplacements*:PlacementsE,F,G,H(200ViewableImpressions) =(200VI÷500)x100

=Ratingof40

*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.DurationWeightedRating(requiredforcross-mediavideo)

Iscalculatedas:

(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)x100Forvideoplacements*:PlacementsE,F,G,H(200ViewableImpressions) =(131.67DWVI÷500)x100

=DWRatingof26.33*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.

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E. TotalGRP(GrossRatingPoints)

Iscalculatedas:

ΣGrossRatingPointsOr

ReachxFrequencyOr

[(ΣViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100Examples:(databelowdrawnfromtheplacementsnotedinthechartonfirstpageofAppendix):Fordisplayplacements*:PlacementsA,B,C,D(200ViewableImpressions) =Ratingof40

=(Reachof32xFrequencyof1.25)=(200VI÷500)x100=GRPof40

*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.Forvideoplacements*:PlacementsE,F,G,H(200ViewableImpressions) =Ratingof40

=(Reachof32xFrequencyof1.25)=(200VI÷500)x100=GRPof40

*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.

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TotalDurationWeightedGRP(DWGRP;requiredforcross-mediavideo)iscalculatedas:

ΣDurationWeightedGrossRatingPointsOr

ReachxDurationWeightedFrequencyOr

[(ΣDurationWeightedViewableImpressions)÷(MeasuredPopulation,UniverseorTarget)]×100

Forvideoplacements*:PlacementsE,F,G,H(200ViewableImpressions) =DWRatingof26.33

=(Reachof32xDWFrequencyof0.82)=(131.67DWVI÷500)x100=DWGRPof26.33**

*CalculationsforIndividualPlacementsnotshown;placementgrouptotalsarepresentedforillustrativepurposes.

**Calculationsmaydifferslightlyduetorounding.

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Reporting:Asdiscussedthroughoutthisdocument,fordigitalaudiencemeasurement,averageunduplicatedviewabledurationreportingisrequired.Further,forinputintocross-mediavideoFrequencyandGRP,theuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequired,alongwithcampaignorcreativesegregation.Digitalonlyaudiencemeasurementsnotintendedforcross-mediacombinationsdonotrequiredurationweighting,butaverageunduplicatedviewabledurationreportingisrequired.Audiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarerequiredtobereportedinadditiontorequiredduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediavideocomparisonsorcombinations.Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurement,althoughaverageunduplicatedviewabledurationisrequired.ThisStandardrequiresDigitalAudiencemeasuresthatarebasedonViewableImpressions,withfiltrationinclusiveofGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficaswellasCross-Mediavideomeasuresthatincorporatedurationweighting.However,DigitalAudienceandCross-Mediameasuresthatdonotincorporateoneormoreoftheserequiredcomponentsmaybereportedwithproperlabeling,segregatedreportingandcleardisclaimer.Measurementofanadvertisingcampaignmust,atminimum,besegregatedbythevarioustypesofadsincludedinthecampaignfordigitalaudiencereportingandcross-mediacombinations.Forinstance,countsshouldbereportedseparatelyforads(byplacement)withinthecampaignofdifferentlengths(specificallywithregardtodurationweightingofvideocreative),sizesorfunctionalities(whereknown).Audiencemeasurementmaybeaggregatedattheplatformlevel(desktop,mobilewebandin-app)andwithinformat(displayandvideo),alongwiththeminimumsegregatedreporting(placement)discussedabove.Further,totaltimespentacrossadsofdifferinglengthwithinthesameformatispermissibleinadditiontoappropriategranularcreative-levelreporting.Finally,totalimpressionsdelivered(Reach)acrossdisplayandvideoformatswithinacampaignmaybereported;however,combineddisplayandvideoformataudience(demographicorotherwiseassignedsegmentedaudience)measurementisallowablebutnotarequirementofthisStandardduetodifferingviewabilityand(incross-media)durationweightingrequirementsbyadformat.

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ThefollowingisanexampleofreportingfollowingtherequirementsstatedaboveusingthemockexampledatausedthroughoutthisAppendix(shadedcolumnsrepresentdatapresentedinthechartonthefirstpageoftheAppendix,andun-shadedcolumnsrepresentmetricsthatwerecalculatedinexamplesthatfollowed).Pleasenotethatthisspecificreportinglayoutisonlypresentedforillustrativepurposes;alternateformattingandpresentationarepermissible.

CampaignID PlacementID AdTypeVideoLength(s)

ViewableDuration

(s)Imp. Viewable

Imp.Unique

VIDWVI Reach Frequency DW

FrequencyGRP DWGRP

Campaign1 PlacementA Display N/A 200 100 50 40 N/A 8 1.25 N/A 10 N/A

Campaign1 PlacementB Display N/A 500 100 50 40 N/A 8 1.25 N/A 10 N/A

Campaign1 PlacementC Display N/A 1,500 100 50 40 N/A 8 1.25 N/A 10 N/A

Campaign1 PlacementD Display N/A 250 100 50 40 N/A 8 1.25 N/A 10 N/A

Campaign1 PlacementE Video 5 200 100 50 40 40 8 1.25 1 10 8

Campaign1 PlacementF Video 15 500 100 50 40 33.33 8 1.25 0.83 10 6.64

Campaign1 PlacementG Video 30 1,500 100 50 40 50 8 1.25 1.25 10 10

Campaign1 PlacementH Video 30 250 100 50 40 8.33 8 1.25 0.21 10 1.68

Campaign1 DisplayTotal Display N/A 2,450 400 200 160 N/A 32 1.25 N/A 40 N/A

Campaign1 VideoTotal Video N/A 2,450 400 200 160 131.67 32 1.25 0.82 40 26.33*

Campaign1 Total N/A N/A N/A 800 N/A N/A N/A 64 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Note:Population/universe/targetassumedtobe500.*Calculationsmaydifferslightlyduetorounding.N/A:TheuseofDurationWeightedViewableImpressionsisrequiredonlyforinputintocross-mediavideomeasurement.Durationweightingisnotrequiredfordigitaldisplayadaudiencemeasurementduetotheabsenceofmaximumcreativelength,althoughaverageunduplicatedviewabledurationisrequired.

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B. Appendix:DigitalAudienceVendorImplementationChecklist

� UseViewableImpressionsasDigitalAudienceQualifier:MRCstandardViewableImpressionsaretheminimumrequiredqualifyingmeasurementunitfordigitalaudiencemeasurementincludingdigitalandcross-mediaReach,FrequencyandGRP.ThisStandardrequiresDigitalAudiencemeasuresthatarebasedonViewableImpressions,withfiltrationinclusiveofGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficaswellasCross-Mediavideomeasuresthatincorporatedurationweighting.However,DigitalAudienceandCross-Mediameasuresthatdonotincorporateoneormoreoftheserequiredcomponentsmaybereportedwithproperlabeling,segregatedreportingandcleardisclaimer.

� ReportAverageUnduplicatedViewableDuration:Fordigitalaudiencemeasurement,averageunduplicatedviewabledurationreportingisrequired.

� UseDurationWeightingforCross-MediaVideo:TheuseofDurationWeighted

ViewableImpressionsisrequiredfordigitalvideoaudiencemeasurementwhenusedforinputintocross-mediavideoFrequencyandGRP.Audiencemeasurementsthatdonotincludedurationweightingarerequiredtobereportedinadditiontorequiredduration-weightedestimatesincross-mediavideocomparisonsorcombinations.Durationweightingfordigital-onlyvideoaudiencemeasurementsisencouraged.

� ReportPlacementLevelGranularity:Creative(placement)levelminimumreportinggranularityisrequiredwithincampaigns.Audiencemeasurementmaybeaggregatedattheplatformlevel(desktop,mobilewebandin-app)andwithinformat(displayandvideo),alongwiththeminimumsegregatedreporting(placement).Finally,totalimpressionsdelivered(Reach)acrossdisplayandvideoformatswithinacampaignmaybereported;however,combineddisplayandvideoformataudience(demographicorotherwiseassignedsegmentedaudience)measurementisallowablebutnotarequirementofthisStandardduetodifferingviewabilityand(incross-media)durationweightingrequirementsbyadformat.

� ConsiderPresenceofAudio:Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoseparately

reportViewablevideodurationthatisalsoaudible(non-muteornon-zero)fordevice/hardwarevolume.Measurementorganizationsshouldseparatelyreportandconsiderdurationthatisaudibleforplayervolumewhereknown.Cross-mediaaudiencecombinationsrequirethesameaudiblecriteria.

� UtilizeProperUniverseandConsiderCoverage:TheUniverseusedforcalculatingaGRP

mustbebasedonthetotalaudience(orselecteddemographic/target)measured,mustbeappropriateforthemeasurementandbefullydisclosedtousers.Thecoverageof,andmateriallimitsorexclusionsto,coverageofdigitalaudiencemeasurementare

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requiredtobedescribedbythereportingentityandtheimpactoftheseonreportedmeasurementshouldalsobeestimatedanddisclosed.

� MeasureDurationwithSecondLevelGranularity:Durationmeasurementfordigitaladsshouldbebasedonatleastsecond-leveltimegranularity(althoughcreditingcanbeonlessgranularlevelssuchasminutelevelaslongascross-mediacombinationsincludethesamecreditingbasis).Periodiccollectionortransmissionofmeasurementdatadoesnotneedtobeasgranularasactualmeasurement(datamaybebatchedforefficiency).

� AssignAudienceattheUniqueDeviceorUserLevel:Digitalaudienceassignment

shouldonlybedoneattheuniquedeviceor,morepreferably,uniqueuserlevel.Adigitalaudiencemeasurementvendormusthavearobustmethodologytoidentifyanddeduplicateuniquedevicesand/orusersforsuchassignment.InnoinstancemayacensusmeasurementorganizationreportUniqueUserspurelythroughalgorithmsormodelingthatisnotatleastpartiallytraceabletoinformationobtaineddirectlyfrompeople,asopposedtobrowsers,computers,oranyothernon-humanelement

� MaintainStrongPanelControls:PanelsourcesshouldbecongruentwiththeMRC

MinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearchandarestronglyencouragedtobepartofanauditedandaccreditedservice.InadditiontotheMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearch(andsupplementalguidanceforthosepractitionersusingnon-probabilitytechniquesorlargetransactionaldatasets),otherindustrymeasurementguidanceaswellastheMRC’sguidelinesfordataintegrationarelikelyapplicabletouseofpaneldatafordigitalaudience-basedmeasurement.

� MaintainStrongDataEnrichmentandIntegrationDisclosuresandControl:Thesources

ofassignmentdataaswellasdatasetsinvolvedindataintegrationprocessesshouldbedisclosedtomeasurementservicecustomersalongwithadescriptionofmethodology.Empiricalanalysesshouldsupportdataintegrationprioritiesincludingweightsordistancedecisions.Ameasurementserviceusingassignment/integrationmethodsmustuseatleastsome“truth”informationaspartofitsperiodicvalidationprocedures,asopposedtosolelyrelyingoninferreddataorinferreddata-relationships.

� Monitor,DiscloseandPeriodicallyStudyEditRules:Themeasurementorganization

shouldmonitortheextentofdataeditingappliedwithinreportedresults.Significanttypesofdataeditingshouldbedisclosedwithaccompanyingvolumesinreportstocustomers. Ameasurementserviceshouldhaveappropriateempiricalsupportofdataeditingrulesanddecisionprocessesandthissupportshouldbeperiodicallychallengedandupdatedtoreflectchangingconditions.

� ApplySIVTtoDigitalAudienceMeasurement:WhileapplicationofSophisticatedInvalid

Trafficdetectionprocessesisstronglyencouragedformonetizedtraffic,digitalaudienceandpersonslevelmeasurementrequiresahigherdegreeofprecisionandaccuracy.

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DigitalaudiencemeasurementandreportingrequiresfiltrationinclusiveofbothGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTraffic.

� ProvideUserswithDetailedDisclosures:Anorganization’smethodologyfor

accumulatingdigitaladvertisingaudiencemeasurementsshouldbedescribedtousersofthedata,includingmethodsforcalculatingunitaudienceswhereapplicable.Specifically,thenatureofcountsand/ormeasurements,methodsofsamplingused(ifapplicable),datacollectionmethodsemployed,dataeditingproceduresorothertypesofdataadjustmentorprojection,calculationexplanations,reportingstandards(ifapplicable),reliabilityofresults(ifapplicable)andlimitationsofthedatashouldbeincludedinthedisclosure.