In response to trade reports earlier this week about its plans to issue a request for proposals for a new consumer research panel, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) stated it was incorrectly reported that it is intended to test alternatives to Nielsen’s TV ratings panels.

The coverage, which included a story published by MediaPost in response to another trade publication’s report, was initially confirmed by the ANA but is now being updated to include the following statement clarifying that the goal of the RFP is to create a consumer panel that can be used as a component of a new cross-media measurement “technical solution” the ANA has been developing, not as an explicit alternative to conventional TV ratings.

The ANA is expected to update the industry on the progress of its Cross-Media Initiative soon, including the role of the new panel, but in a follow-up conversation with MediaPost, Group Executive Vice President Bill Tucker said the panel would be used as a means for advertisers to calibrate their own first-party data to understand the reach-and-delivery of their audience-targeting goals.

He said it likely would initially be used for cross-platform measurement of TV, connected TV (CTV), streaming and other video-related advertising, but ultimately would cover all forms of media.

The ANA statement reads:

“The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has issued a clarification to recent trade publication reports that said the trade group was planning to send a request for proposals (RFP) to test alternatives to Nielsen’s TV audience measurement services.  The ANA said the RFP is for a panel designed to calibrate first-party data, adjust census data, and account for media where census data is unavailable. A panel is a required component in the cross-media measurement technical solution the ANA is developing. ANA said it is not pursuing a panel for TV ratings services and it is not aiming to replicate or compete with existing measurement offerings.

“The RFP is a further step in ANA’s cross-media measurement initiative (CMM), a marketer-led industry project that will use first-party data as its primary source for unduplicated reach and frequency measurement.  CMM brings together advertisers, VAB with its TV network members, digital platforms, the 4As, and the Media Rating Council as an advisor to collaboratively restore essential metrics of campaign measurement and provide complete measures of all ad exposures, the ANA said.”

In response to trade reports earlier this week about its plans to issue a request for proposals for a new consumer research panel, the Association of National Advertisers stated it was incorrectly reported that it is intended to test alternatives to Nielsen’s TV ratings panels.