All About: Web Audience Measurement

IMRB International, in a joint effort with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), recently launched the Web Audience Measurement (WAM). On the lines of their other measurement products – TAM for television and RAM for radio, IMRB has embarked on a panel based measurement tool for the internet audience in India. Based mostly on TAM, the new tool tracks usage behaviour along with other data for a sample size of around 5,000 people. Panellists are tracked using a unique metering device that is custom built for the Indian internet market, and can even track a user’s internet data accessed from multiple machines.

At the launch of the new tool, Thomas Puliyel, president, IMRB International, said, “With WAM we can fully realise the potential of the internet as an advertising and marketing medium. We will be able to measure the effectiveness of the medium in terms of reach and frequency, just like any other medium.” 

1. The panel based system has adopted a unique built metering system for its panellists that will allow them to capture internet usage data from multiple machines for the same user. WAM will not just measure how many people access the web, but also their demographics – age, sex, the regions they come from and also their usage habits. The platform design is based on the TAM software, thus providing ease of use for traditional media planners and buyers who are comfortable with the TAM software.  

Balendu Shrivastava, group business director, IMRB International, notes that they saw a distinct need for a robust measurement tool which gives a similar kind of ratings that are already there for other mediums like radio and television. Elaborating on the development, he said, “That was the basis on which we started working on. We created a software meter which captured data which is very similar to what is captured by the television meter; and, created a similar panel similar to use the software from where we are gathering the data.”

In terms of the data points that are available, WAM gives users similar data points as TAM, which includes Reach, which measures unique users; Duration, which is time spent surfing; Exposures, which is the number of times a person is minimising or maximising a particular channel; Page views, which are the routine page views that are captured by the servers as well; and, Web Rating Points (WRP), which are similar to the TRPs. Moreover, the tool can be installed by the panellist on multiple computers, thus enabling to track his or her usage behaviour across locations. 

Noting that some advanced analytics is also possible using WAM, he added, “It includes post-planning which allows users to see what was the reach, frequency, etc., as well as pre-planning which allows users to plan websites based on things like what kind of reach or frequency is expected.”

2. Several other internet measurement tools like comScore and Komli Media’s Vizisense are already in use even in the Indian market. Highlighting the measurement tool’s key differentiator, Shrivastava, explained, “The biggest thing for WAM is that it can give data at a day part level. At present, all tools in the market are giving data at a month-level. So suppose I run a campaign only from 12 pm to 2 pm on November 15. Till now you could only look at the data for the entire month, and not look at data only from this particular date and time band. WAM will allow you to do that.”

3. According to Shrivastava, “WAM will capture all information where a user will be going to. The idea is to make the internet all-inclusive, in the sense, get even the traditional media buyers and advertisers like FMCG to come and start advertising on the internet. So, the tool is definitely going to increase the market for internet advertising and make it more accessible to all advertisers. In turn, this is definitely going to benefit the Internet industry.” 

4. The tool is reportedly already covering all areas around the country, while it will report data from the top eight markets at the market level, and the remaining areas are covered as part of Rest of India. “As and when the interest increases and people start looking at more granular data, we would be willing to expand our r ports to provide market level analysis for smaller cities as well,” Shrivastava informed.

What it means for...

Media Agencies

• Know metrices for measurement from other media platforms
• Measure day-parts and city-wise data as opposed to monthly or daily reports

Other Measurement Tools

• comScore
• Alexa
• Google Analytics