Quote, unquote: many vendors, many metrics, no standards

"If there is no agreed-upon methodology for how consumer engagement with media is counted, then there certainly aren’t any shared definitions for the metrics buyers use to evaluate a publisher’s mobile app or site or a successful mobile ad campaign. Without clear metrics and an established currency, the ability for an efficient marketplace for mobile media to grow will continue to be stymied."

-- Eric John, vice-president, digital services for Alliance for Audited Media, writing on his blog about the bewildering variety of vendors, measurement methods and lack of standards.

BPA loosens its rules to allow for multiple web analytics tags

One of the most familiar circulation auditing authorities in Canada, BPA Worldwide, has changed its rules to allow its members to use web analytic tags other than its proprietary tag powered by Nielsen. According to a story in Audience Development

“The change was prompted by the member feedback,” says Glenn Hansen, president and CEO of BPA Worldwide. “We had hit close to 700 sites and we have nearly 2,000 members. The question to the other 1,300 was what’s preventing you from doing this? Some had said they were using other analytics providers. The two that were named more often than not was Google Analytics and Omniture.”

So, beginning July 1, BPA will allow use of other web analytic tags: Omniture SiteCatalyst and/or Google Analytics. The decision came after comparative analysis of test results.