IMR Worldwide has announced it will soon be releasing a Net rating service to the Australian Internet industry that
will provide what it claims is more genuine demographic user data.
The ‘Web Ratings’ service is expected to provide true in-site
measurement and is acknowledgement of the fact that media buyers and
planners are seeking true audience data, which reveals more about the
people viewing sites than is currently available.
Speaking at a Looksmart breakfast in Sydney earlier this week, an IMR representative said the company would be releasing a revised version of
its Web ratings service, which has been in the market for some 12 months.
The company has since declined to talk further about the product, which
is expected to be released within the next two weeks.
Despite the fact that Web sites are turning out to be a popular source
for advertising, the Australian market is still lacking specific
demographic data which is common to other mediums such as magazines,
television and radio. Such data is now available to media buyers and
analysts in the US however, from both Media Metrix and Nielsen.
According to Ian Webster, a senior media consultant with Australian
Internet research company www.consult, Australia is at least two years
away from having advertising revenue volumes to fund a comprehensive
service for in-machine monitoring of Web usage habits.
Mark Henning from AC Nielsen said at the breakfast that AC Nielsen was
planning to introduce a comprehensive survey service “in the near
future”. The size of the sample, which may need to be as large as
10,000, will produce a more accurate and representative cross-section of
Web users.
Internet World has been told that such a service can cost anywhere from
$2 million to $10 million to set up. On top of this, there is also the
problem of getting business users involved and providing an incentive to
individuals to use such a device.
