YouTube to allow Nielsen to measure ads

Nielsen Holdings Company celebrated a two-year fought victory last week when Google announced it will permit the media organisation to place measurement tags on ads running on YouTube.

Nielsen, a company that provides data on media consumption and purchasing, revealed last week that Google was allowing advertisers to test the company’s online measurement tags when they buy ads on Google’s YouTube.

“Following a brief testing period,” Nielsen said, it expects the “measurement tags to be accepted across all Google properties, including YouTube… by early 2014.”

The Nielsen tags allow buyers to monitor the their online ads by tracking both the number of people who see the ads and how often. They also offer demographic data about the ad’s viewers, information provided partially through a partnership with Facebook, where the megalith social media site shares user information.

Previously, Google provided ad buyers its own system of measuring advertising metrics called Analytics. But the success Nielsen has garnered, particularly in the realm of television advertising, is expected to stimulate the shift of TV ad dollars to online video.

“We know our clients want meaningful measurement, which is why we’re investing in brand-friendly metrics,” Google said on Monday.

“While we continue to build measurement options powered by Google, we’re also partnering with industry leaders, such as Nielsen and Comscore, to offer objective, credentialed, third-party measurement options.”

While the bulk of video advertising spending is still contributed to television, US online video advertising this year has hit $4.1 billion, according to eMarketer. This represents a 43% increase from 2012 and is predicted to reach $5.75 billion in 2014.

The reversal of Google’s position, analysts suggest, could open the door for more marketers into the online video marketplace.

David Bank, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets explains to The Wall Street Journal, “If online premium video wants to steal TV dollar they need to be able to transact in a currency that is similar to TV.”