A common measurement currency for online video would be ideal, but for now two competing platforms seem to be evolving, says Rob Norman, Chief Digital Officer at GroupM Global, during an interview taped at the recent Beet.TV executive retreat.

On the one hand, there’s Facebook’s support of Nielsen’s Online Campaign Ratings, and on the other there’s Google with its active GRP ratings. “We have two different systems competing and the quicker they converge, the better. I’m not sure either the agencies or the advertisers want to divert their attention from the real goal of right place, right time, right customer by looking at modeling scenarios that try to harmonize two data sets,” he tells us in this video interview.

Sorting out a common currency is vital because measurement is a “key component” in the adoption of any new channel. Advertisers want to contextualize their buys in comparison to past buys via ratings, or they want to connect them to outcomes, like sales, he says. As a result, the online video business faces both an opportunity and a challenge as it sorts out a measurement system.

“Not everyone is in full support of Online Campaign Ratings, but advertisers generally favor consistency and are willing to trade off a few points of accuracy in order to achieve consistency,” he explains.

Daisy Whitney