Google’s ComScore Deal Bakes Brand Ad Measurement Into DoubleClick

Google’s latest deal with comScore will give the current leader in display advertising a bigger hook for luring the brand advertising budgets it’s been going after. The comScore partnership will give brands the ability to measure their desktop display and video campaigns in real time using the reach and frequency metrics they’re accustomed to using in TV buys. The technology will be integrated into DoubleClick, Google’s ad server for advertisers and publishers.

Google has been working on its own measurement technology, Active View, but the industry has been calling on the company to integrate neutral measurement tools. Google says it will continue to work on its own technology, but the move to integrate comScore’s validated Campaign Essentials (vCE) into DoubleClick is significant. Buyers and publishers will be able to analyze performance using digital Gross Rating Point (GRP) system of measuring reach and frequency of TV campaigns and adjust accordingly in the moment.

“By working closely with comScore and the industry, we believe we can make a GRP metric that will be completely actionable: both advertisers and publishers will be able to see if a campaign is reaching the right audience in real time and make adjustments if it isn’t. No more waiting days or weeks for reports, no more wasted media, no more missed opportunities,” said Google VP Display Advertising Neal Mohan in a blog post.

Google and comScore have been testing the integration for about a year. The technology will be available in the U.S. initially later this year, with plans to add mobile and cross-platform measurement. ComScore and Google plan to seek MRC accreditation for the service.

Jon Suarez-Davis, Vice President, Global Digital Strategy & North American Media, Kellogg Company, said in a statement, “What’s exciting about the comScore-Google integration is the ability to leverage real-time cross-media comparable metrics and rich demographics within a single platform. For us, this means a level of simplicity and actionability that we haven’t experienced before, and it’s something that can help move multi-channel media planning, measurement and optimization forward in a major way.”

Mohan added Google is “developing a suite of Brand Lift products” to help companies measure metrics like awareness, favorability, purchase consideration and sales. He cites the small test of Brand Lift Surveys powered by Google Consumer Surveys, saying they’re seeing 20 to 30 percent response rates in real time.

Google has much to gain if it can bring more brands into the fold. Nielsen, another Google partner (though seemingly a less significant one with this announcement), showed internet display advertising accounted for just 4.5 percent of the $243 billion advertising market in 2013. Television dominates ad spend share at 57.6 percent.