Nielsen and Experian said they expanded their collaboration to enhance Nielsen’s identity system for digital measurement of the open web.
Experian’s marketing asset will provide persistent IDs for the Nielsen Identity System, giving it more coverage and interoperability, the companies said.
Nielsen said that the move will help its measurement be consistent and comparable across screens and devices, a goal as it builds Nielsen One, its new cross-platform audience system.
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With consumers getting more choice about how and the view content, and the new devices they can do that with, Nielsen, long the dominant measurement company, is under pressure from the media and advertising business to update its systems and methodologies. Nielsen current television measurement system has lost its accreditation from the Media Rating Council and more media companies are testing alternatives to Nielsen they can use when buying and selling advertising.
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At the same time, Google and other digital companies are getting rid of cookies, which have been used for tracking individuals online, so new systems for identifying consumers are being developed.
“This expanded agreement with Experian immediately enriches Nielsen’s Identity System in the US, and showcases our commitment to independent measurement and marketplace interoperability,” said Mainak Mazumdar, chief data and research officer, Nielsen. "This is an important milestone as we continue to evolve our technologies and methodologies as we move toward Nielsen One, underpinning a strong digital measurement capability which helps with the vision of a true cross-platform that measures across all screens.”
Nielsen said integrating Experian marketing data assets into the Nielsen ID System will strengthen Nielsen’s ability to match person-level data to devices. That is supposed to give advertisers and publishers more confidence in Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings.
“Experian’s goal is to enable privacy-forward identity in the marketing ecosystem, helping brands build smarter audience strategies and powering more robust cross-platform measurement,” said Aimee Irwin, senior VP of strategy and partnerships, Experian Marketing Services. “We are excited to expand our longstanding strategic partnership with Nielsen, bringing addressability at scale through connectivity and interoperability across the ever evolving identity landscape.” ■
