TAB EYES ON is a reality… now what?
by blogadmin on Feb.26, 2010, under Joe's Notes
Welcome to the new EYES ON Blog!
As of January 1, 2010, EYES ON became the official measurement currency of out of home (OOH) media, the first of its kind to be based on people who actually see the advertising. OOH media companies are currently developing EYES ON rate cards and many agencies are already asking that proposals be submitted using EYES ON audience data.
For many of you, the migration from DECs to EYES ON ratings may feel like a daunting task. Yet over my career, I have been involved in the television industry’s various transitions from diaries to set top meters to people meters, which required that buyers and sellers incorporate new, improved ratings into their business practices. It wasn’t always easy but in the long run, well worth the effort!
What is so different about our transition is that we are moving into the world and language of other media. Finally we will be using numbers and talking about Out of Home (OOH) in the same way the advertising industry discusses and evaluates other media. But that language is new to many of us, and questions and issues are bound to arise.
EYESONBloggers is a place where the Out of Home media industry and advertising community can come to share thoughts and ask questions. It’s a place where dialogue can not only foster understanding of EYES ON aspects most useful to you, but also help the OOH industry establish best practices and standards that will instill confidence and drive growth.
Bottom line: we need to hear from YOU so start blogging now by subscribing to the RSS feed at the top of the main page or subscribe via email and be alerted whenever a new post is uploaded.
I encourage you to let us know which topics and issues are of greatest interest by leaving a comment here today. Through collaboration and cooperation, let’s demonstrate that OOH can transition to EYES ON faster and with greater rewards than those who have gone before us.
Thanks for your time & interest… I’m looking forward to an exciting dialog!
Joe Philport
Joe Philport is President and CEO of the Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement and can be reached at 212-972-8075 or via email at joephilport@tabonline.com.
March 1st, 2010 on 12:07 pm
great stuff Joe, I’m interested in knowing if buyers will use the new metrics more for selection of billboard sites (against their demo) thus changing placement that would have been different against DEC’s or using the metrics for other purposes? If so, we should all share the various usage of the new data.
March 3rd, 2010 on 10:28 am
Hey Jack – thanks for your comments! To some degree, it will depend on the specific marketing objectives of the brand. Different objectives, different ways to use the numbers. We’d like to know some of the new ways buyers and sellers will communicate. So if you are an agency, what are some of the new things you will be asking media reps? How do you see demographic targets being utilized? It’s a learning process and we’ve only just begun…
March 3rd, 2010 on 5:55 pm
Is there an adjustment of the DEC and EOI made for a digital unit verses a static unit? If so, what if the LED is sold as a perm to an advertiser, but they utilize multiple designs that switch every 8 seconds? What if the LED is part of a network sold to eight different advertisers that get eight seconds each per flip
March 4th, 2010 on 11:38 am
Alice, EOI’s are not adjusted for the number of messages on a digital display. Audiences for digital and static units are both based on people who notice the ad(s) as they pass. Both buyers and sellers helped establish this initial guideline.
We have an opportunity to refine the reporting of EYES ON audiences for digital formats in the second generation of EYES ON research. What type of guidelines would be most useful to you?
March 19th, 2010 on 4:12 pm
When buyers request a proposal for TV, what do they ask for? How is that different from a typical OOH RFP today? This transition could be easier if we took our lead from other media who already buy and sell with weekly ratings.
March 22nd, 2010 on 10:23 am
Cheryl,
When a local TV buyer asks for proposals usually a target demographic (e.g. Men 25-54) and GRP goal (e.g. 100 GRPs/week) have been provided by the planning team. Given the marketing objectives of the brand, the buyer may ask that the spots be placed in specific day-part or program. These buyers have historical trend data to help them establish these goals.
One of the challenges during the EYES ON transition is that new EYES ON GRP levels are different than historical GRP levels using DECs.
I’d like to hear from agency buyers. What are you initially asking for? How are you setting EYES ON GRP goals?
I’d also like to hear how OOH account execs are helping buyers make the transition from DECs to EYES ON goals.
Thanks all for your interest in and involvement with EYES ON!
Joe Philport
March 26th, 2010 on 7:11 am
Hypothetical situation…2 bulletins on the same freeway 1000′ apart. They are identical in every way (size, side of the freeway, distance from the road, etc.) except one bulletin is blocked by trees and the other one is a wide open approach. How would the Eyes On rating differ for these two bulletins?
Tom
March 26th, 2010 on 9:44 am
Tom,
From what I understand (and Joe, feel free to correct me if I am wrong), Eyes On does not account for trees. It is still the responsibility of the seller to factor in value between a blocked board and a wide open board. Trees can be removed or will grow in front of a board over time. Eyes On still gives a much better measure of impressions than the DEC, but it doesn’t change the value of the outdoor medium. It just now places our value on a level playing field with other media so advertisers are able to compare apples to apples.
Matt
March 26th, 2010 on 12:22 pm
Matt: You are correct in your response to Tom. Eyes On does not measure blockage. While the EYES ON system provides stronger audience measures, it does not replace the need for local market knowledge when either buying or selling OOH.
Jeff Casper, TAB
March 26th, 2010 on 4:13 pm
Joe,
F/U to your response to Cheryl. Depending upon the daypart or program a buyer looks at, the Weekly #100 GRP level could be provided using a few or several spots at varying price points dependent upon the ratings for that particular time slot? Same thing will exist for OOH-we can provide a few panels with higher weekly EOI numbers at a higher price OR several panels with lower weekly EOI numbers that still deliver the #100 Weekly GRP, right? Thus the level playing field that has been referenced?
March 29th, 2010 on 9:58 am
Brent,
Your comment really demonstrates the limitation of our industry’s legacy concept of showing levels. A small number of panels with larger EOIs can deliver the same or larger audience (GRPs) than more panels with lower EOIS. This is just one example of how EYES ON provides more value to both buyers and sellers. But it is a great starting point.
I think the next things that clients will want to know is the demographic composition of the audience and the schedule’s ability to deliver higher reach or frequency (depending on the brand’s marketing objectives).
What other benefits are you seeing in the new numbers?