Outdoor measurement system MOVE updated as industry signals it is close to automation
Moldrich
The Outdoor Media Association has updated its audience measurement metric and signalled it could be used to help implement automated buying platforms for the industry.
Changes to the Measurement of Visibility and Exposure (MOVE) metric come as it celebrates its fifth anniversary, include better functions for geo-targeting campaigns by tracking more closely where the people who see ad facings come from, and improved mapping of campaign reach.
In response to a question from Mumbrella on whether the new system would help usher in automation for buying around outdoor sites OMA’s CEO Charmaine Moldrich said the Media Federation of Australia (MFA) had been pushing for that from the industry.
“It’s how you then take this very clever piece here (MOVE) and make sure it’s not the new fangled thing that is the evidence base,” she added. “MOVE has proven to us that an evidence base is really important and verifying that evidence base is really important. We aren’t going to do something that’s new fangled that can’t be proven.”
Steve O’Connor the CEO of outdoor company JC Decaux was more guarded saying: “Watch this space, we’ve got some plans and developments which we’ll be announcing soon.”
The MOVE metric provides statistics for more than 73,000 advertising facings across the country, melding data from sources like the Census, government travel surveys which have granular details of how people travel to work and public transport movements.
Asked whether data was being adapted for seasonal variations as first mooted when it launched five years ago director of Gap Research John Grono, who helped develop the metric, said that was now not being done as it takes around nine months to process the 1.4 terrabytes of data which goes into calculating the viewability of each ad facing. He added they would need to do that analysis for each week of the year to take into account things like school holidays as well.
Grono also ruled out the idea of real-time measurement on outdoor ads, saying while it was technically possible to track eye movements and use facial features to gauge age on smaller formats where people were closer to them it was not “financially wise” whilst on larger sites which are viewed from further away it was not possible.
The new system is set to go live on Monday.
Alex Hayes
Charmaine Moldrich joined Mumbrella for a hangout talking about the future of the outdoor market and her plans for its growth last month, which you can see below.
Related:
