May 27, 2021: Last fall, the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) announced the formation of a Cross Media Measurement Committee (CMM Committee), appointed to address the needs of advertisers through the implementation of a standardized approach to unified cross-media measurement in Canada.
Accurate media measurement across multiple platforms will deliver unduplicated reach and frequency, allowing for more effective media spend and improvement of the consumer ad experience.
The ACA initiative is part of a global plan, spearheaded by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), who developed an advertiser-centric Framework and Technical Proposal last year.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in the U.S. and the UK’s national advertiser association, ISBA, are currently implementing the WFA’s global common components with individualized local adoption. All code developed, as well as subsequent market roll outs, will be open source and available to the industry, including Canada.
Canada – A Fast Follower
Building on and applying the global learnings of the WFA, ISBA and ANA, the ACA’s CMM Committee is now starting the process of identifying what the development and implementation of a solution could look like in Canada.
Consistent with the WFA’s North Star Principles below, the solution will seek to fulfill advertisers’ needs of full life-cycle measurement that is continuous, comprehensive and full-funnel. This will improve optimization across channels, reduce media spend waste and improve outcome measurement, leading to greater ROI and accountability. Consumers will benefit from improved ad experience with reduced frequency. It will also provide advertisers with valuable data while ensuring there is no risk of re-identification of the consumer, thereby maintaining consumer privacy.
WFA’s “North Star” principles:
ACA’s Cross Media Measurement Committee currently includes members representing 10 national Canadian advertisers:
- Judi Hoffman, Media Director, P&G Canada, Committee Chair
- Judy Davey, Vice President, Media Policy and Marketing Capabilities, Association of Canadian Advertisers, ACA Representative
- Joy Ghosh, Sr. Brand Director, Global Brands, Molson Coors, Committee Member
- Robin Hassan, Head, Integrated Marketing & Digital Transformation, Unilever Canada, Committee Member
- Stacey Najman, Brand Manager, Toyota Canada Inc., Committee Member
- Nicolas Poitras, Vice-President, Marketing Communications, Bell, Committee Member
- Mike Sherman, Director, Media and Data Optimization, L’Oréal Canada, Committee Member
- Alain Tadros, Vice President, Marketing Québec, Metro Inc., Committee Member
- Jenny Thorne, Director, Integrated Consumer Experience, Smucker Foods of Canada, Committee Member
- Marie Tsang, Digital Media Lead, PepsiCo Foods Canada, Committee Member
- Melissa Williams, Senior Director, Media, CIBC, Committee Member
ACA sees this as a collaborative industry solution, so moving forward the Cross Media Measurement Committee will engage with other industry stakeholders including other advertisers, broadcasters, digital publishers, agencies, measurement companies and other interested parties.
This summer the committee will commence the creation of a Canadian blueprint based on the learnings from the WFA, ISBA and ANA initiatives, adapting it for the Canadian media ecosystem. A pilot project is expected to be announced in late 2022.
To underscore the importance of this initiative the ACA is presently recruiting a dedicated full-time employee to provide day-to-day leadership of the initiative. Details of the position can be found on the ACA website.
For advertisers interested in learning more about the initiative or in participating in a working group, please contact Judy Davey, VP, Media Policy & Marketing Capabilities, ACA.