The Digital Media industry has undergone staggering growth in the last few years, accompanied by an increasingly complex measurement challenge. While some are still trying to understand comparability between the Web and some forms of traditional print and broadcast media, emerging media and devices have already changed how people use online sites to search, read news or participate in social networking. With the ability to access services from televisions, mobile devices or even game consoles, to timeshift when downloading music and podcasts to listen to later and to install widgets and RSS feeds, it is becoming more and more complex to measure and monetise online activity. Advertising Executives are searching for and debating new ways to measure media and advertising value.

Despite various efforts, in many domains and particularly amongst the emerging media, unified measurement standards are not yet in place that would allow media owners to present themselves to advertisers in a directly comparable, solidly measurable fashion across all of these disparate platforms, technologies and systems.

Everyone needs to understand what is currently being measured and examine how we tackle online measurement in the future. How should we measure online activity in this era of widgets, feeds, ajax and mobile interactions? How can we know what users’ intentions and engagement are? What are the right measurements to evaluate this? Users, time spent, interactions, clicks, retention, market share, activity reports, brand perceptions, brand recall?

These are the questions that Advertisers and media owners are asking themselves, as they seek to fulfil their vision of Holistic Measurement. And these are the questions that will be addressed by an international gathering of recognised experts on online media measurement at the 2nd I-COM conference in Barcelona, Feb 6-8th 2008. To participate in the discussion, and request your delegate badge, please click here.

As the media consumption behavior of consumers grows increasingly complex and marketing strategy more global, advertisers are faced with important challenges to ensure their future ability to build brands. The WFA (World Federation of Advertisers) has addressed these challenges by naming ‘Holistic Measurement’ one of their highest priorities. Bernhard Glock, P&G’s Global Media Leader and WFA Deputy President, explains that one of its main objectives is to “upgrade and standardize basic metrics so that media options can be compared and selected with confidence in the results. We would like to see the JICs (Joint Industry Committees) managing Online Media Measurement think more outside their national context to deliver internationally comparable data based on transparent common metrics.”

The I-COM Patronage Organisations:

• CAA  (Chinese Advertising Association)

• EACA (European Association of Communication Agencies)

• EGTA (Association of Television and Radio Sales Houses)

• EIAA (European Interactive Advertising Association)

• FEDMA (Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing)

• IAB Europe (Interactive Advertising Bureau)

• IAB US (Interactive Advertising Bureau)

• IFABC (International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulations)

• MMA (Mobile Marketing Association)             

• OPA Europe (Online Publishers Association)
  

and their members play a key part in making I-COM a reality. Especially, those people who served in the IPC (I-COM Program Committee) deserve much credit. Assisting them were some of their members as National Represenatives, working in their home countries to champion the conference and its ideals.

Invitation to join I-COM Network on LinkedIn

One of I-COM's major goals is creating an international network amongst professionals in Online Media Measurement. The I-COM Program Committee has decided to use LinkedIn groups as tool to achieve this. This exclusive platform should help I-COM participants to keep in touch and reference each other in future. To join, click here.

I-COM Objectives

• Provide an Overview of International Online Media measurement standards & systems
• Explore measurement systems, methodologies & technologies
• Expand our informal international network of Online Media Measurement professionals
• Host forums on key issues



Participants

I-COM delegates are professionals and senior executives who:

• Work for Advertisers, Agencies, Online Publishers, JIC (Joint Industry Committee) staff
• Are politically active in the Online Media Industry
• Represent an influential organisation
• Have International or National remits

Sponsors:

Research & ad technology suppliers are welcome to participate as sponsors.