Making the web work for brand marketers

Google introduced a new plan to measure online advertising that it hopes will become the industry standard. The company is not the first to call for new online advertising metrics. Facebook partnered with Nielsen last year to try to adapt  Gross Rating Points as well.

Named “Brand Activate”, the plan is designed to “reimagine online measurement for brand marketers,” according to a blog post from the company. The concept is that with better metrics, marketers will feel more comfortable allocating more of their money to online advertising. “We believe that the industry’s significant investment in brand measurement efforts can substantially grow the online advertising pie, for all,” the post states.

Google introduced the first two components of Brand Activate: Active View and Active GRP.

The Active Gross Rating Points  is a bid to become the new standard for online impressions. The proposal, now being submitted to the Media Rating Council, will count a “viewed” impression as one that “is at least 50% viewable on the screen for at least one second.” This makes a lot of sense for advertisers, because when they display baners, readers see the brand name even without clicking.

Active GRP, meanwhile, is the online equivalent of the Gross Rating Point, a metric used by the television industry to estimate how many people saw a given ad. Active GRP is a digital version that will calculate the reach and frequency of a campaign, but — unlike standard GRPs — lets advertisers react in real time.

Here’s a video describing the Brand Activate Initiative: