Google And Kantar Sign Multimillion-Pound Multiplatform Research Deal To Better Understand UK Consumption Habits

Posted by Richard Kastelein in Breaking News on July 10, 2011  |  0 Comments More from this author  |    |  Follow Richard Kastelein on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

Fueled by millions of pounds from Google, Kantar, a WPP research company, has plans to recruit a 3,000-strong panel, representative of the UK population, by the end of this year, with data and measurement analysis offered to the industry by 2012, according to NMA in the UK.

The aim is to provide brands with a planning tool where they can benchmark the reach and footprint of a campaign that would run across TV and online. It aims to help them understand how leveraging spend between TV and the web can impact consumer interaction through a single source, rather than by fusing together two sets of data.

“For some of the things we want to be able to investigate, it’s necessary to have single source,” said Jonny Protheroe, research manager at Google UK. “A fusion between BARB and UKOM gives interesting data on people across those panels, but if you want to look at the footprint of a campaign across TV and online, it’s limited. With single-source data, however, you know an individual who’s been exposed to a campaign across both TV and online, and it produces more credible results.”

Bob Wootton, director of media and advertising at ISBA, told Brand Republic:

"As digital media channels proliferate and grow in importance, advertisers seek better understanding of their audiences. Yet the current resources are inconsistent and often incompatible, and their number confusing. We therefore welcome any initiative which promises to shed more light in this important area, as well as perhaps bringing things together."

Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the IAB, added:

"Between them, TV and online command 50% of total media spend in the UK. The Internet Advertising Bureau always welcomes new efforts to understand how consumers are using the internet and how online channels work in conjunction with other media."

In May, Nielsen and the UK Online Measurement company (UKOM), launched an industry-backed metric for video-on-demand (VoD), to measure how people consume and engage with internet video content. Google already has a similar study going on in Germany with research firm GfK. The 5,000-strong panel, which has been in operation for around 18 months, was... “the world’s first passive single-source panel which registers not only TV and online behavior but also purchases”.