TAM for Television, RAM for Radio, Now IMRB launches WAM for the Web

In this day and age, if you are not able to measure your productivity, everything that is done to procure it is at a loss. Whether it is on account of number of sales if you are a salesman or number of students passing if you are a teacher, without measurement there cannot be further action. So we have metrics for each and everything. Today when the basic things are being done on internet, how does one measure its scale and success, it being an infinite medium? Advertisers, web publishers and media planners have wondered about this dilemma for the last few years with the reach and use of internet increasing at an immense rate. IMRB international tapped into this and launched the brand new internet metric called WAM (Web Audience Measurement) yesterday in a seminar held at the ITC, Parel.

Headed by Balendu Shrivastava Group Business Director, IMRB International- eTech WAM could also stand for Web publishers, Advertisers and Media planners. WAM enables the measurement of not just on how many people access the net but also their profile by age, sex and demographics, which regions, and whether they do this on weekdays or weekends, at office, home or elsewhere. Just like TRPs for television, now there will be a new currency - WRPs or Web Rating points. Over the last decade, the Internet has seen exponential growth, from 25,000 users in 1998 when IMRB International released the first-ever data on Internet access, to 50 million active Internet users in 2009-10, as per the recent IMRB Survey, I-Cube 2009-10.

The launch of WAM was followed by an extremely gripping panel discussion. The panel comprised of Nitin Mathur, Sr. Director, Marketing, Yahoo! India, R Gowthaman, Leader, South Asia, Mindshare, Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World and Thomas Puliyel, President, IMRB International and was moderated by L.V. Krishnan, CEO, TAM. The panel discussed the transition of the internet and dwelled upon brand metrics along with media metrics and the need for a body to confirm the usage of one measurement.

Sam Balsara said, "The medium has to be recognized seriously. You must be able to establish its brand built in power. Measurement is one of the elements that build sin confidence in the medium. Advertisers must be able to buy the medium with confidence."

Mathur made an interesting viewpoint when he said, "We should move away from media metrics and focus on brand metrics

Gowthaman said "We must look at what role the medium is playing in marketing. It is not simply about social media or search, there is more to it. Right now only 1/3rd of the internet has been explored, though it is a good beginning, we have to also channelize our efforts to the remaining 2/3rd segment that is yet to be surveyed"

Thomas further added that it was a problem trying to measure the internet separately and that one must look at the efficiency in terms of response.

Balsara further commented on his utopian viewpoint of how there should be a centralized body, or maybe even AAI, IAMAI or the likes, which will confirm the usage of one metric. With the launch of WAM, it is only natural to expect other forms of metric within the internet to come up.

Mathur agreed with his viewpoint and further added, "There is a lot of work that still needs to be in terms of monetization of the web as a advertising vehicle"

Puliyel was of the opinion that if one waited for consensus, it would be another decade and hence, "It would be smarter if we allow the users to us whatever metric they like."

There is much to be dealt with in the relatively nascent world of internet in India. WAM could be one of the first steps to organize it and get maximum productivity from it.

The discussion was followed by a detailed presentation by J.Rajaretnam, Sr.Vice President, IMRB International on WAM and how it works. | By Janees Antoo [janees(at)adgully.com]