Location-Based Advertising Measurement Guidelines · The Guidelines contained in this document originated from a project led by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and the Interactive

Location-BasedAdvertisingMeasurementGuidelinesNovember17,2016PublicCommentDraft

Sponsoringassociations:MediaRatingCouncil(MRC)InteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)MobileMarketingAssociation(MMA)

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TableofContents1 Overview and Scope ................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Guidelines Development Method ........................................................................................................ 5 2 Glossary of Terms .................................................................................................... 5 3 Top-Line Measurement .......................................................................................... 10 3.1 Unique Device and Users ................................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Location Measurement ....................................................................................................................... 11 3.3 Place Measurement ............................................................................................................................ 11 3.4 Physical Visitation and Dwell Time .................................................................................................. 12 3.5 Ad Impression Attribution ................................................................................................................. 13

3.5.1 Viewable Definition ..................................................................................................................... 13 3.5.2 IVT Filtration .............................................................................................................................. 14

4 Location-Based Universe Estimates – Basis for Projection ............................... 14 4.1 Universe Estimates ............................................................................................................................. 14 4.2 Coverage ............................................................................................................................................ 15

4.2.1 Device Identification ................................................................................................................... 16 4.2.2 Accounting for Duplication ......................................................................................................... 17

5 Data Preparation and Quality Checking ............................................................... 17 5.1 Digital Audience Reach Guidelines ................................................................................................... 17

5.1.1 Adjustment of Uniques ................................................................................................................ 18 5.1.2 Accounting for Duplication ......................................................................................................... 20

5.2 Time Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 21 5.2.1 Validation Procedures ................................................................................................................ 22

6 Location-Based Advertising Measurement Guidelines – Technical Details ..... 26 6.1 Tracking of Advertising Access – Technical Details ......................................................................... 26

6.1.1 Client-Initiated (and Viewable) .................................................................................................. 26 6.1.2 Script-Based Tracking Method/Assets ........................................................................................ 26

6.2 Tracking of Device and User Location (Sources and Attribution) Technical Details ....................... 27 6.2.1 Measurement Techniques ............................................................................................................ 27 6.2.2 Tracking Method – Panel Methods, etc. ..................................................................................... 31

6.3 Tracking of Place (Sources and Attribution) Technical Details ........................................................ 33 6.4 Measurement on Applications ............................................................................................................ 34 7 Enhancing Tracking Accuracy .............................................................................. 36 7.1 Enhancing Advertising Tracking Accuracy ....................................................................................... 36 7.2 Filtration for Invalid Traffic ............................................................................................................... 37 7.3 Internal Traffic ................................................................................................................................... 37 7.4 Inactivity Considerations and Limits ................................................................................................. 37 7.5 Targeting ............................................................................................................................................ 38

7.5.1 Privacy and Consumer Perception ............................................................................................. 38 8 Reporting Parameters ............................................................................................ 39 8.1 General Parameters ............................................................................................................................ 39 8.2 Time ................................................................................................................................................... 39 8.3 Qualification of Data Adjustment Procedures ................................................................................... 40 8.4 Minimum Reportability Standards ..................................................................................................... 40 8.5 Data Retention Requirements ............................................................................................................ 41

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9 Disclosure Guidance .............................................................................................. 41 10 Auditing Guidelines .............................................................................................. 43 10.1 General ............................................................................................................................................. 43 10.2 U.S. Certification Recommendation ................................................................................................ 44 10.3 International Certification Recommendation ................................................................................... 45 11 References ............................................................................................................. 45

12 Supporting Associations and Participating Organizations .............................. 45 13 Contact Us ............................................................................................................. 47

A. Appendix: Digital Audience Checklist ................................................................. 48

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1 OverviewandScopeThisdocumentpresentsguidelinesforthemeasurementofdigitallocation-basedadvertisingincludingmeasurementorattributionofdeviceanduserlocationforphysicalvisitationandadvertisingexposure(includingstaticdevicessuchasdesktopPCs,connectedTVs,OTTdevices,aswellasmobiledevicessuchastablet,smartphones,etc.)aswellasplacemeasurementasareferencepointforphysicalvisitationandlocation-basedtargeting.ThedocumentwaspreparedfortheuseandbenefitofthemediaIndustry,especiallythoseconstituentsthatanalyzeaudiencevolumesbasedonlocationattributesorthoseentitiesthatseektoanalyzephysicalvisitationorfoottraffic.Itshouldbenotedthatthe“best”methodsandapproachestomeasuretheaudienceofanymediaaredrivenbythenatureofthemedium,itsenvironment,itsmode(s)ofdeliveryandhowitsaudienceconsumesandinteractswiththemedium.ThisisespeciallytrueofLocation-Basedmediaduetothediversenatureofthelocations,environmentalfactorsforeachlocationandtheavailablemeasurementtechniquesfortheseuniqueenvironments.Thisdocumentestablishesadetailedsetofmethodsandcommonpracticesforentitiesthatmeasureanduselocation-basedmetrics.TheseGuidelinesareintendedtoestablishanddocumentgoodpracticesofmeasurement;improvepracticesanddisclosuresusedbypractitioners;andalsoprovideeducationtousersoflocation-basedmeasurementdatafromallsegmentsoftheIndustry.Thisdocumentalsoestablishesarecommendationandabenchmarkforauditprocesseswherebythepracticesanddisclosuresoflocation-basedmeasurementorganizationscanbevoluntarilyvalidatedbythirdparties.Insummary,ourgoalsforthisdocumentareasfollows:

• Provideforaconsistentsetofdefinitionsforkeyelementsoflocation-based

measurement• Recommendminimumdisclosureswhichshouldbeprovidedtomeasurementdata

users• Provideaclearstatementofrecommendedresearchoperatingpracticesandqualityand

describeminimumrequirementsaswellasbestpractices• Encourageexperimentationandadvancestoimproveaudienceresearchquality

Specifically,theseGuidelinescoverthemethodsusedformeasurementofdigitallocation-basedadvertisingincluding:(1)establishingtheappropriateuniverseinformationforprojectionofmeasurements,(2)establishinglocationwithappropriatequalityandgranularity,(2)establishingplaceandvisitationwithappropriatequalityandgranularity(3)providingguidanceandreferencesforthepossibleuseofdatasources,(4)attributingormeasuringlocation

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throughmethodssuchaspanels,oracombinationofmethodswithsufficientqualityandgranularity,(5)guidanceoninternalcontrols,qualitycontrolandothermeasurementpracticesconsideredbestpractices(includinginvalidtrafficfiltration),(6)guidanceonappropriateweighting,projection,calculationandreportingprocesses,and(7)considerationsfordisclosureandauditingguidance.ThisdocumentshouldbeconsideredinconjunctionwiththeIAB’sMobileLocationDataGuideforPublishers,publishedFebruary2016,aswellastheMMA’sDemystifyingLocationDataAccuracywhitepaper,publishedOctober2015,whichdescribegeneralprinciples,measurementframeworkanddefinitionsforutilizinglocationdataforMobileandCross-Platformadvertising.TheMRCstudiedthesedocumentswhilecompletingthesemeasurementguidelines.Finally,theseguidelinesaremeanttorepresentspecificsupplementalguidanceforlocationmeasurement,tobeappliedinconjunctionwiththeMRCDigitalAudience-BasedStandards.Measurersoflocationaudiencearerequiredtoalsoapplythesestandards.Withregardtocross-mediacomparabilityconsiderations,theMRCDigitalAudience-BasedStandardsrepresentthedigitalinputintoaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard,whichwillsoonfollow.

1.1 GuidelinesDevelopmentMethodTheGuidelinescontainedinthisdocumentoriginatedfromaprojectledbytheMobileMarketingAssociation(MMA)andtheInteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)facilitatedbytheMediaRatingCouncil(MRC),withtheparticipationofalargegroupofdigitalmediacontentproviders,advertisingagencies,advertisers,vendors/consultants,measurementorganizationsandotherinterestedorganizations.TheseGuidelineswillalsobereviewedandapprovedbymajorbuyer-sidetradeorganizations(4As,ANA)andtheirconstituentsandthereafterprovidedtothepublicthroughaformalperiodofpubliccommentpriortoformaladoption.ThefinalGuidelineisexpectedtobepublishedandavailableontheMRCwebsiteandwillbere-assessedperiodicallytoensureitremainsapplicableovertime.

2 GlossaryofTermsAccuracy(LocationorPlace)–Theabilityordegreetowhichameasurementcanascertaintheactuallocationofadeviceoruserand/orplaceandvisitationcorrectly(thedifferencebetweenmeasuredandtruelocationorplace).Accuracyisanestimateofhowlikelythemeasuredlocationrepresentsthetruelocationofthedevice/user/place/visitationandPrecisionishowspecificandgranularameasurementoflocationisstated(intermsofdecimalpoints,etc.).Accuracyandprecisionareindependentconcepts,butbotharenecessarydisclosuresforlocationmeasurement.

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AdCampaign–Acollectionofmessagesfromanadvertiserorclientthatisdesignedtorunduringaspecificintervaland/orwithinasetofmediaoutlets(Source:CIMMLexicon2.0).Altitude–ZcoordinatesorelevationdatathatmaybeincludedwithGPSlatitudeandlongitude(XandY)coordinates.Multipleplaceswithinthesamelatitudeandlongitudecoordinates,butatvaryinglevelsofelevation(suchasinmulti-levelbuildings).Audience–AudienceactivitygenerallyconsistsofcountsofInternetusersaccessingcontentand/oradvertisingthroughoneormoreInternetapplicationssuchasabrowserorabrowser-equivalent,filteredtoremovesuspectedInvalidTraffic(Source:IAB).AudienceComposition–Theaudiencebreakdownofaggregated,segmentedcharacteristics,oftenreportedasapercentage,basedonsuchelementsasage,gender,income,education,householdcharacteristicsetc.(Source:IAB).Inadditiontodemographiccharacteristics,AudienceCompositionmayalsoincludebehavioralvariablessuchassitevisitation,purchaseactivity,location,etc..Browser(orWebBrowser)–Asoftwareapplicationforretrieving,presenting,andtraversinginformationresourcesontheWorldWideWeb.Caching–Memoryusedtotemporarilystorethemostfrequentlyrequestedcontent,filesorpagesinordertospeeditsdeliverytotheuser.Cachescanbelocal(i.e.onabrowser)oronanetwork(Source:IAB).Asdiscussedinthisdocument,IABmeasurementguidelinesrequirecertaincachebustingtechniquesdesignedtominimizetheimpactonmeasurementaccuracyofcachedmeasurementassets.ClientUser–Amobiledevicethatinteractswithanapplication,essentiallyexecutingorotherwisereviewingtheapplication.ThenumberofUsers(people)orthedemographiccharacteristicsoftheUsersinteractingwiththeapplicationthroughtheClientUserisnotnecessarilyknown.Cookie–Asmallpieceofinformation(i.e.,programcode)thatisstoredonabrowserforthepurposeofidentifyingthatbrowserduringaudienceactivityandbetweenvisitsorsessions.Cookiesaretypicallysettoexpire.Somecookiesareintendedtoremainonthebrowsertemporarily(forexample,duringasession)andsomearepersistentinthattheyareintendedtoberetainedforlongerperiods.(Source:IAB)

Coverage–Theextentorareacoveredbysamplingoradatasourcerelativetothepopulationmeasured.Withinthisdocumentcoverageisusedwhendiscussingprojectingaudienceestimatesbasedonasubsetorsampleofthemeasuredpopulationaswellasthedegreetowhichaparticulardatasetorsourcerepresentsameasuredpopulation.DataFusion–Combiningdatafromtwoormoredifferentsourceswherethedatamergesandbecomesblendedintoanewdatasource(Source:CIMMLexicon2.0).

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DataIntegration–Combiningdatafromtwoormoredifferentsourceswhilehavingthedatamaintainitsindividualdatabaseintegrity(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).DataNormalization(alsoCalibration)–Wheretherearetwoormoredisparatedatapointswithinadataset,combiningtheminsuchaswaythatmaintainsdataintegrityandaccuracywhileimprovingusability(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).Duplication/De-Duplication–TheinstanceswhereaUnique(Cookie,Browser,Device,Household,Respondent,UserorVisitor)isexposedtothesamecontentoradvertisementmorethanoncewithinthesamedatasetormeasurementperiod.De-DuplicationisthedataeditingtechniqueusedtoremoveDuplicationfromreportedprocesseddataorreportedresults.Frequency–ThenumberoftimesanadisdeliveredtothesameBrowser(oruser)inasingleSessionortimeperiod(Source:IAB).Theaveragenumberoftimestheunduplicatedhomesreachedareexposedtoascheduleofcontentwhetheranad,aprogram,avideoorascheduleofspots(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).Geo-fencing–Amethodofassigningreportedlocationfromamobiledevicetoaspecificplace.Geo-fencingmayinvolveeitherPoint-RadiusorBoundarymethodologies.InPoint-Radiusmeasurement,amid-pointandacircleofaspecifiedradiusestablishedaroundthelatitudeandlongitudeofaplace,withthedatalocationpointswithinthatcircleactingasarepresentationoftheplaceitself.InBoundarymeasurement,acomplexpolygonorboundaryisestablishedthatisgenerallyamorepreciseandgranularrepresentationoftheconfinesoftheplace,withthedatalocationpointswithinthepolygonactingasarepresentationoftheplaceitself.Inactivity–Indigitalmediareferstospecificinactivityrules,bywhichauservisitisterminatedandthusexcludedfromadditionalcontributionstoTimeSpentafterapre-determinedlevelofconsecutiveminutesofinactivity(Source:IABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines).Impressions–AnAdImpression(rendered)isgenerallyameasurementofexposuretoanadthatmeetsestablishedminimumthresholdsforqualityandthetermsandconditionsestablishedbetweenasellerandabuyer(Source:IAB).ValidAdImpressionsmustmeettheminimumrequirementsoftheIABMeasurementGuidelinesfortheapplicablecreativetype(Display,RichMediaorVideo)anduserenvironment(desktopbrowser,mobilewebandapplicationenvironments).MobileDevice–Ahandset,tablet,orothercommunicationdevice(generallyrunningamobileoperatingsystem)usedtoaccesstheInternetwirelessly,usuallythroughamobilecarrierorWi-Finetwork.PanelData–Aselectedcrosssectionofopt-inconsumersorviewerswhosebehaviorandusageismeasuredoveraperiodoftimeasagrouporsetofsubgroupswiththeintenttoformopinionsandtrendsabouttheirbehaviors(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).

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PersonallyIdentifiableInformation(PII)–Datathatcanbeusedtoidentifyaspecificindividual.Thisincludesnames,addresses,emailaddresses,phonenumbers,amongothers(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).Anyinformationaboutanindividualmaintainedbyanagency,including(1)anyinformationthatcanbeusedtodistinguishortraceanindividual'sidentity,suchasname,socialsecuritynumber,dateandplaceofbirth,mother'smaidenname,orbiometricrecordsand(2)anyotherinformationthatislinkedorlinkabletoanindividualsuchasmedical,educational,financialandemploymentinformation(Source:NIST,GuidetoProtectingtheConfidentialityofPII).Referstoinformationsuchasanindividual‘sname,mailingaddress,phonenumberore-mailaddress(Source:IAB).Precision–Thelevelofgranularityoflocationmeasurement,typicallyreflectedinthenumberofdigitsfollowingthedecimalpointinlatitudeandlongitude(forGPStechnology).Whilehigherprecisionisrequiredforaccuratelocationmeasurement,thenumberofdigitsfollowingthedecimalshouldneitherbeequatedwithsuperioraccuracy,nordoesitnecessarilyreflectthereproducibilityofthemeasurement.Proximitytechnology,likebeacons,maymeasureprecisionindistancetoaknownsensor/context.Precisionishowspecificandgranularameasurementoflocationisstated(intermsofdecimalpoints,etc.)andAccuracyisanestimateofhowlikelythemeasuredlocationrepresentsthetruelocationofthedevice/user/place/visitation.Precisionandaccuracyareindependentconcepts,butbotharenecessarydisclosuresforlocationmeasurement.ProbabilitySample–ArandomselectionmethodtocreateasamplethatbestreplicatesthegreatercensusorUniversebeingmeasured.Eachselectioninthesamplemusthavethesameprobabilityofbeingchosenwithinrelativesamplingstrataforsampleselection.ProximityTargeting–Deliveringadsbasedonusers’real-timelocation,typicallydefinedasproximitytospecificplace(s)(Source:MMA).Placeandproximityistypicallydefinedaspartofgeo-fencingtechniquesdiscussedaboveandthroughoutthisdocument.Reach–Theamountofunduplicatedhomesoraudience,expressedeitherasapercentageorinthousandswhohaveviewed[consumed]ortunedatleastonceduringatimeperiodorprogramoranypieceofcontent(Source:CIMMLexicon3.0).Uniqueusersthatvisitedthesitemeasuredoverthecourseofthereportingperiodorthetotalnumberofuniqueuserswhowillbeservedagivenad(Source:IABAudienceReachGuidelines).Recency–Inthecontextofthisdocument,referstothetimebetweencollectionofdataandthepassingoruseofthatdata.RegistrationData–Datacollectedviaaprocessforsitevisitorstoenterinformationaboutthemselves.Sitesuseregistrationdatatoenableorenhancetargetingofcontentandads.Registrationcanberequiredorvoluntary(Source:IAB).

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Session–Asingleapplication-useeventthatspansanunspecifiedperiodoftimeofconstantorongoingapplicationactivitybyaUserthroughtheClientUser.SessionsareterminatedbyUseractionsindicatingtheclosingoftheapplication,orbyinactivitylevelsthatmeetorexceeddefinedthresholds.Sessionsaregenerallyapplicabletothecalculationofreachmetrics(Source:IABAudienceReachGuidelines).

Speed–Therateatwhichadeviceoruserismoving.Speedcanbeinferredindirectlyfrommobileaccelerometerandgyroscopicmeasurements,butgenerallyrequireslongitudinalanalysisoflocationovertime.Targeting–Atechniqueusedbyonlinepublishersandadvertiserstoincreasetheeffectivenessoftheircampaignsbasedonbehaviorordemographiccharacteristics(includinglocation).Behavioraltargetingusesinformationcollectedonanindividual‘swebbrowsingbehaviorsuchasthepagestheyhavevisitedorthesearchestheyhavemade(aswellaspatternsofappusageandsocialmediaactivity)toselectwhichadvertisementstobedisplayedtothatindividual(Source:IAB).

TimeSpent/DwellTime–Theamountofelapsedtimefromtheinitiationofavisittothelastaudienceactivityassociatedwiththatvisit.Timespentcanbereportedonthebasisofcookiedbrowsers,registrationorpanelparticipation,butinconceptshouldrepresenttheactivityofasinglecookiedbrowseroruserforasingleaccesssessiontotheweb-siteorproperty(Source:IABAudienceReachGuidelines).

UniqueCookies,Browsers,DevicesandUsers(Various;SourceIABAudienceReachGuidelines):

Machine-BasedMeasures:

UniqueCookies–Acountofuniqueidentifiers(Cookies)thatrepresentsunduplicatedinstancesofInternetactivitytoInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.

UniqueBrowsers–AnidentifiedandunduplicatedCookiedBrowserthataccessesInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.

UniqueDevices–AnunduplicatedcomputingdevicethatisusedtoaccessInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.

People-BasedMeasures:

UniqueUsersorVisitors(bothtermsareacceptableandequivalent)–AnidentifiedandunduplicatedindividualInternetuserwhoaccessesInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.

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Note:Locationmeasurementgenerallyinvolvesattributingorassigninglocationtoauniquedeviceorusereitherforattributionofadexposure,location-basedtargetingofadvertisementsorcorrelationtoplacemeasurementforthepurposeoffoottrafficandvisitationmeasurement.WhiletheIABAudienceReachGuidelinesestablishcertainlevelsofuniquemeasurement,locationattributionshouldonlybedoneatthedeviceor,morepreferably,userlevel(notatthecookieorbrowserlevel).SpecialconsiderationshouldbegiventouseofWi-Filocationmeasurementtechniqueswhendeterminingpeople-basedmeasures(IPswitchingandVPN/Firewall/Proxyconsiderationsmayimpactdataaccuracyandavailabilityandshouldbeconsideredindataqualitycontrolandvalidationprocedures).Seesection5.1ofthisdocumentforfurtherdiscussiononconsiderationofuniquesandpeople-basedmeasurementandsection6.2.1fordiscussionoflimitationsandconsiderationsofWi-Fitechniques.

Universe–Thetotalpopulationincludedinthemeasuredframe.UrbanDensity–Theconcentrationofvenues/placeswithinphysicalareasorcloseproximityaswellasmulti-levelbuildingsmadeupofvaryingdiscreteplacesthatmayimpactlocationandplacemeasurement.Visit–Physicalvisitationorfoottrafficresultsfromtheintersectionofuser-devicelocationandplacemeasurement.Generally,measurementofuser/devicelocationthatfallswithintheboundaryorgeo-fenceestablishedwithplacemeasurementisusedtoderivevisitation,however,considerationshouldbegiventonotonlythedatacollectiontechniquesandfieldsusedtodeterminelocation,butalsoothervalidationandqualitycontrolconsiderationssuchasaltitudeforplaceswithmultiplefloorsaswellasspeedorlongitudinalanalysisoflocationtodifferentiateavisitfroma“drive-by”orothertypesofmomentaryproximitynotmeetingtherequirementsofavisit.ViewableImpression–ARenderedImpressionthatmeetscertainpixelandtimethresholds(minimum50%ofthead’spixelsfor1or2continuoussecondsfordisplayandvideo,respectively)inordertoqualifyasaViewableImpression.Thesethresholdsaredesignedtoaddgreaterassurancethattherewasan“opportunitytosee”theadbytheuserbeyondassurancethattheadwasproperlyservedandrenderedbythedevice.SeetheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementandMRCMobileViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelinesforguidanceonViewableImpressions.

3 Top-LineMeasurement

3.1 UniqueDeviceandUsersSpecificmachinebasedtrackingofusers–suchasuniquebrowsersorcookies–shouldbespecifiedanddistinguishedfromactualuser(person)basedtracking(whichrequiresmoreadvancedadjustments,registration,etc.).

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De-duplicationofusertracking(into“uniques”)forreachmeasurementsisdesirable–butisrecognizedtobeadifficultmetrictocaptureaccurately.Ifameasureislabeled“unique”de-duplicationisrequired.Itiscriticalthatthoroughdescriptionsofhow“users”areactuallydeterminedandhowde-duplicationduringmeasurementperiodsisaccomplishedareprovidedtousersofuniqueusermeasurements.WerefertheuseroftheseguidelinestopriorIABguidanceonAudienceReachMeasurementswithregardtothehierarchyofuniquemetrics(cookies,browsers,etc.).Seesection5.1forfurtherdetailonclassificationofuniquesforthepurposeofassigninglocation.Trackingmethodsshouldbesubjecttointernaltestingandvalidationuponoriginalimplementationaswellasperiodicinternalverificationtesting.Trackingmethodsanddisclosureswillbethesubjectofintenseproceduralverificationifexternalcertificationissoughtbythemeasurementorganization.

3.2 LocationMeasurementLocationmeasurementgenerallyinvolvesattributingorassigninglocationtoauniquedeviceorusereitherforattributionofadexposure,location-basedtargetingofadvertisementsorcorrelationtoplacemeasurementforthepurposeoffoottrafficand/orvisitationmeasurement.WhiletheIABAudienceReachGuidelinesestablishcertainlevelsofuniquemeasurement,locationattributionshouldonlybedoneatthedeviceor,morepreferably,userlevel.Asaresult,alocationmeasurementvendormusthavearobustmethodologytoidentifyanddeduplicateuniquedevicesand/orusersforsuchattribution.Seesection5.1forfurtherdetailonclassificationofuniquesforthepurposeofassigninglocation.Locationmeasurementmayinvolvevarioustechniquesanddatasources,whichincludetheuseofbeacons,GPS,Wi-Fi,CellAntennaeTrilateration,IPAddressesandRegistrationdataaswellasotherfirst-partydatasuchasopt-inpaneldataandsocialmediacheck-ins.Thevariouscapabilitiesandlimitationsofeachmethodologyarediscussedfurtherwithinthisdocument.User/devicelocationmayrepresentpointintimelocationormaybeusedtodeterminehomelocationandsuchdistinctionshouldbedisclosedtousersaspartofmethodologicalanddefinitionaldisclosures.

3.3 PlaceMeasurementPlacemeasurementinvolvesthedeterminationofthephysicallocationofabusinessorotherplaceforthepurposeofcorrelatingthislocationtouser/devicelocationmeasurementtoderivefoottrafficorvisitationdataaswellastotargetusers/devicesbasedonproximitytoaspecificplaceorlocation.Suchplacemeasurementgenerallyinvolvesgeo-fencing(orestablishmentofa“virtualbarrier”),whichmaybedonemanuallyviadirectmeasurementorbeaconplacementbyameasurementvendor,aswellasviaacquisitionorsubscriptiontoalocationdirectory,mapping

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serviceorthird-partydata.Geo-fencingmayinvolveeitherPoint-RadiusorBoundarymethodologies.InPoint-Radiusmeasurement,amid-pointandacircleofaspecifiedradiusestablishedaroundthelatitudeandlongitudeofaplace,withthedatalocationpointswithinthatcircleactingasarepresentationoftheplaceitself.InBoundarymeasurement,acomplexpolygonorboundaryisestablishedthatisgenerallyamorepreciseandgranularrepresentationoftheconfinesoftheplace,withthedatalocationpointswithinthepolygonactingasarepresentationoftheplaceitself.Ineachcase,itisimportanttovalidatethatthegeo-fencerepresentationaccuratelyreflectsnotjustthelocationanddimensionofthephysicalplace,butaccountsforhowamobiledevicewouldreportitslocationwhenatthatplace,toensurecorrectconclusionsaboutvisitation.Ingeneralgeo-fencingcannotrepresentmulti-storystructures.Placemeasurementmayalsoincludeprobabilisticassignmentbasedonuser-behaviormeasurementviatheabilitytosurveyusersabouttheirlocationduringperiodsofbehaviororthroughuseofcheck-ins(suchasthroughsocialmediaactivity).Whileuseofsuchtechniquesmaybeviable,whenproperlysupported,itshouldberecognizedthatauserdevice'sreportedlocationmaynotcorrespondtotheirphysicallocationonamapandassuch,placemeasurementmaynotaligncompletelywiththemaplocationanddimensionsoftheplace.Asaresult,useofprobabilisticassignmenttechniquesforestablishingplaceboundariesrequiresempiricalsupportandappropriateaccuracy/precisiontolerances.

3.4 PhysicalVisitationandDwellTimePhysicalvisitationorfoottrafficresultsfromtheintersectionofuser-devicelocationandplacemeasurement.Generally,measurementofuser/devicelocationthatfallswithintheboundaryorgeo-fenceestablishedwithplacemeasurementisusedtoderivevisitation,however,considerationshouldbegiventonotonlythedatacollectiontechniquesandfieldsusedtodeterminelocation,butalsoothervalidationandqualitycontrolconsiderationssuchasaltitudeforplaceswithmultiplefloorsaswellasspeedorlongitudinalanalysisoflocationtodifferentiateavisitfroma“drive-by”orothertypesofmomentaryproximitynotmeetingtherequirementsofavisit.Theserequirementsarediscussedfurtherthroughoutthisdocument.DwellTimeortimespentinaparticularlocationorplaceisgenerallytheamountofelapsedtimefromtheinitiationofavisittothelastaudienceactivityassociatedwiththatvisit.DwellTimecanbereportedonthebasisofdevicesensordata,registrationorpanelparticipation,butinconceptshouldrepresenttheactivityofasingleuserforasingleaccess.GranularityofmeasurementandfrequencyofdatacollectionshouldbeconsideredwhencollectingDwellTime(seeSection5.2.1forfurtherguidanceoncollectionfrequency)andreportingofsuchdatashouldbenomoregranularthanthelevelmeasured.InactivityRules(seesection5.2)andSpeed(seesection5.2.1)shouldbeconsideredwhenmeasuringDwellTimeandfactoredintoempiricallysupportededitrulesappliedtocollectedtodata.

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3.5 AdImpressionAttributionARenderedImpressionisgenerallyameasurementofexposuretoanadthatmeetsestablishedminimumthresholdsforqualityandthetermsandconditionsestablishedbetweenasellerandabuyer.Renderedimpressionsinvolvethemeasurementofresponsesfromanaddeliverysystemtoanadrequest,whichisfilteredforInvalidTrafficandisrecordedatapointaslateaspossibleintheprocessofdeliveryofthecreativematerialtotheuser’sbrowserordevice.Theadmustbeloadedandatminimumbegintorenderinordertocountitasavalidrenderedimpression.Inanapplicationenvironment,thisincludesthemeasurementofanadvertisingexposureoccurrence,containedwithinreal-timeorstoredandtransmittedapplicationuseactivityrecords,Client-initiated,sourcedfromafullydownloaded,opened,initializedapplicationinanapplicationSessionwithaClientUser.ADigitalVideoRenderedImpressionisthemeasurementofresponsefromadigitalvideoaddeliverysystemtoanadrequestfromthedigitalvideocontenthost.Avaliddigitalvideoimpressionmayonlybecountedwhenanadcounter(loggingserver)receivesandrespondstoanHTTPrequestforatrackingassetfromaclient.Thecountmusthappenaftertheinitiationofthestream,post-buffering,asopposedtothelinkeddigitalvideocontentitself.Specifically,measurementshouldnotoccurwhenthebufferisinitiated,rathermeasurementshouldoccurwhentheaditselfbeginstoappear(beginstoplay).ValidRenderedImpressionsmustmeettheminimumrequirementsoftheIABMeasurementGuidelinesfortheapplicablecreativetype(Display,RichMediaorVideo)anduserenvironment(desktopbrowser,mobilewebandapplicationenvironments).SeetheapplicableIABMeasurementGuidelines(DesktopDisplay,MobileWeb,MobileApplicationandVideo)forfurtherdetailsofRenderedImpressionmeasurementguidance.

3.5.1 ViewableDefinitionARenderedImpressionmustmeetcertainpixelandtimeexposurethresholds(minimum50%ofthead’spixelsfor1or2continuoussecondsfordisplayandvideo,respectively)inordertoqualifyasaViewableImpression.Thesethresholdsaredesignedtoaddgreaterassurancethattherewasan“opportunitytosee”theadbytheuserbeyondassurancethattheadwasproperlyservedandrenderedbythedevice.SeetheMRCViewableImpressionMeasurementandMRCMobileViewableImpressionMeasurementGuidelinesforguidanceonViewableImpressions.WhileRenderedImpressionsmaybemeasuredincross-mediaenvironments,ViewableImpressionsaretheminimumrequiredqualifyingmeasurementunitfordigitalaudience-basedmeasurementincludinglocationattributiontoimpressions.

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3.5.2 IVTFiltrationAllmetricssubjecttoauditbyMRCorcertificationauditorsareexpectedtocomplywiththeMRC’sInvalidTrafficandFiltrationGuidelinesAddendum.Thisincludeslocation-basedmetrics,whichshouldbefilteredforknownGeneralInvalidTraffic(GIVT)asrequiredbythoseguidelines.Furthermore,likeothermetrics,applicationofSophisticatedInvalidTraffic(SIVT)detectionprocessesisstronglyencouragedforlocation-basedmetrics.WhileapplicationofSIVTdetectionprocessesarestronglyencouragedformonetizedtraffic,digitalaudienceandpersonslevelmeasurementrequiresahigherdegreeofprecisionandaccuracy.Assuch,digitalaudiencemeasurementandreportingrequiresfiltrationinclusiveofbothGIVTandSIVT.LocationmeasurementappliedtoaudiencereportingmustincludeSIVTfiltration,however,locationmeasurementasaserviceorfunctionalitywithoutaudiencereportinggenerallycanbelimitedtoGIVTfiltration.However,whilelocation-basedmeasurementvendorsmayhavetheabilitytoutilizegranulardatatoconductGeneralandSophisticatedInvalidTrafficdetection,third-partyaggregatorsorusersofAPIdatamaybelimitedintheirvisibilityintogranulardataandthereforelimitedintheirabilitytofilter.Insituationswheresuchpartiesutilizedatafromupstreamplatformsorlocation-baseddatacollectorswithaccreditedfiltrationtechniques,thisshouldbeconfirmedanddisclosedbytheaggregatorwithnofurtherrequirementforadditionalfiltration.Howeverwheresuchaccreditedupstreamfiltrationtechniquesareeithernotpresentorunknown,suchpartiesshouldmakereasonableeffortstoeitherobtainplatformdatathatallowsthemtocomplywiththeseguidelinesorperformadditionaldownstreamanalyticalprocedurestoserveasaproxyformoregranularanalysis.Itisnotsufficienttosolelyrelyonlocation-baseddataattributesandactivityasanInvalidTrafficfiltrationsource.SeetheIVTAddendumformoredetailsonrespectiveresponsibilitiesconcerningIVTfiltrationbythoseinthead/measurementchain.

4 Location-BasedUniverseEstimates–BasisforProjection

4.1 UniverseEstimatesGenerallyademographic/geographicuniverseorcoveragedefinitionstatedonthebasisofpopulationamountsisrequiredfordigitalaudiencemeasurement.Thesemaybecustomized(orlimited)basedonthespecificattributesofthemeasuredaudience.ThesourceusedforsuchuniversedefinitionsmustbereferencedandshouldbefromgenerallyacceptedandpreferablyauditedindependentIndustryorgovernmentalthird-partysources,butmayalsobederivedbymeasurementvendorsdirectlyaspartofhighqualityobservationorsurveys.Thesefiguresarecriticalfortheprojectionofaudiences.Thisdatashouldbeupdatedatregularperiodicintervalsandpreferablybestatedonabasisthatcorrespondstotheaudiencetargetsandweightingvariablesbeingemployedbythemeasurementorganization.

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Anyadjustmentstouniverseestimates(suchasenumerationsurveystoupdatethemorobtainmoregranularestimatesthanavailablefromgenerallyacceptedsource)shouldbesupportedbyempiricalevidence,subjecttorobustqualitycontrolanddisclosed.TheUniverseusedforcalculatingaGRPmustbebasedonthetotalaudiencemeasured.TheUniversemustbeconsideredwhendeterminingthecoverageofmeasurements(seesection4.2below)aswellaswhenprojectingmeasurementestimates.UseoftotalUSpopulationispreferred(forUSmeasurement)giveneventualinputintocross-mediaaudience-basedmeasurement(totalpopulationisrequiredforcross-mediaGRPs).However,incertaindigitalmeasurement,specificpopulationsubsetsmaybeused(suchasaspecificgeographicsegmentofthepopulationwithlocationmeasurement,theInternetpopulationfordigitalonlymeasurementandthemobilepopulationformobile-onlymeasurement).Wherespecificpopulationssubsetsareutilized,abilitytoaccess(suchasdigitalaccess)shouldbeconsideredandaccountedfor.TheUniverseusedinGRPcalculationsandestimateprojectionsmustbeappropriateforthemeasurementandbefullydisclosedtousers.

4.2 CoverageDigitaladsandcontentcanbeconsumedfromabrowserorfromwithinadigitalapplication.Bothconsumptionmethodscanbemeasuredthroughcensus-likecountingtechniques,essentiallytrackinginstancesofconsumptionthroughtrackingassetssuchasaJavaScripttag,beaconorapplicationcode(suchasanSDKorAPI)forallmeasurableaccesses.Inthesecases,despitetheinferenceofcomplete“census”therearelikelytobecertainlimitationsofcoverage(incompatibletypesofplayersorbrowsers,functionalitylimitationsincertainmobiledevices,etc.)aswellasotherpotentialmeasurementinstrumentlimitationsamongasubsetofthepopulation(suchasnon-EnglishspeakersifacollectioninstrumentisEnglish-only).Itisimportantforthemeasurementuserstofullyunderstandthetruecoverageofthereportedestimatesandwhatmaybeexcludedfromthemeasurementorganization’sabilitytomeasure.Therefore,thecoverageof,andmateriallimitsorexclusionsto,coverageofdigitalaudiencemeasurementsisrequiredtobedescribedbythereportingentity.Anylimitations(includinganythatresultinsystematicbiases)inmeasurementoftheintendedUniverse(eitherinsamplingsuchasgeographicareas,demographicsegments,languagesandcertainrespondenttypesnotsample/measuredorduetotechnicallimitationsofmeasurement)shouldbefullydisclosedandquantified.Measurementorganizationsmustperiodicallyandcontinuouslyassessanymeasurementlimitationsandresultingbiases.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryguidelinesinthisarea.Additionally,measurementorganizationsseekingMRCaccreditationarerequiredtoadheretorelevantMRCMinimumStandardsinthisarea.

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AsdiscussedintheIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines,measurementorganizationsshoulddisclosetheoperatingsystemsandmajorbrowsertypesthatarenotmeasurableusingmetersand/ormeasurementassets.Theimpactoftheseexclusionsonthereportedmeasurementsshouldalsobeestimatedanddisclosedifthemeasurementorganizationisprojectingitsresultstotheentireuniverseofbrowsersand/orusers,regardlessofoperatingsystemorbrowsertype.AsdiscussedintheIABMobileApplicationMeasurementGuidelines,mobileapplicationscanhavevaryingcoverageacrosstheuserpopulationbecauseofpopularity,distributionmethods,hardwareandoperatingsystemcompatibilitylimitsorotherfactors(suchasplatformavailability).Thereforeitisimportantthatin-appmeasurementconsiderthecoverageoftheapplicationitself.Thisisparticularlyimportantifanyformofsamplingisusedinthemeasurementofapplicationimpressionsorothermeasuredmetrics.Limitationsincoverageshouldbeconsideredindecisionsaboutprojectabilityofsampledresultsoriginatinginapplications.Theseguidelinesrequiredisclosure(and,ifprojectionisbeingconsidered,quantification)ofapplicationcoveragetousersofadvertisingmeasurements.Digitalaudiencecanbemeasuredthroughtakingsamplesofconsumersand/ordevicesandprojectingtheactivitiesofthesesamplestothepopulationofusersand/ordevices.Thisistraditionallyknownaspanel-basedorsamplebasedmeasurement.HereinwereferencetheIAB’sAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesasanexistingsourceofacceptablepracticesforthistypeofmeasurement.Additionally,theMinimumStandardsforMediaRatingResearch,publishedbytheMediaRatingCouncil,arealsoapplicabletothistypeofmeasurementmethodology.MeasurementorganizationsseekingMRCaccreditationarerequiredtoadheretorelevantMRCMinimumStandards.Forsamplebasedmeasurementofanykind,themeasurementorganizationshouldbediligentaboutensuringvalidprojectionsaremadeandthatthesampleisrepresentativeofthepopulationtargetedformeasurement.Methodsforweightingoradjustingdatatoensureprojectabilityshouldbesupportedbyempiricalstudy,andtheseempiricalstudiesshouldbeupdatedatleastannually.Standarderrorsaroundsample-basedprojectionsshouldbedisclosed.

4.2.1 DeviceIdentificationMeasurementvendorsarerequiredtoidentifydevicesusedtoaccessdigitaladsandcontentincludingdeterminingdevicetype,platformandoperatingsystem.Enumeratingaudiencesbydeviceshouldbeusedasaninputintodeterminingcoverageoftheuniversemeasured.Further,deviceaudiencemeasurementandcoveragedeterminationsshouldbeconsideredintechniquestoaccountforduplication,asdiscussedbelow.Thesourceusedfordeviceclassificationmustbedisclosed,supportedandsubjecttoperiodicreviewandupdate.Suchclassificationshouldbegranularenoughtodistinguishdifferentdevicetypeswithinmanufacturerorplatform.Insituationswhereameasurementvendorassignsadefaultdeviceforsessionsorimpressionsforwhichdevicecannotbedetermined,such

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assignmentsshouldbedisclosed,quantified(ifmaterial)andempiricallysupported.SeetheMRCDigitalAudience-BasedStandardsforfurtherguidanceinthisarea.

4.2.2 AccountingforDuplicationTheIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesindicatethatausershouldonlybecountedonce(unduplicated)foruniquemeasurement,despitethefactthatausercanhavemultiplevisitsduringareportingperiod.Furthermore,inallinstancesrelatedtothereportingofaudiencemeasurement,theuseofthequalifierword“Unique”shouldbelimitedonlytoreferencestorecordsthathavebeende-duplicatedwithintheentirereportingperiod.Seesection5.1.2forfurtherguidanceonthetechnicalaspectsoftrackingusersanduniquesaswellasaccountingforduplication.SeetheMRCDigitalAudience-BasedStandardsforfurtherguidanceinthisarea.

5 DataPreparationandQualityChecking

5.1 DigitalAudienceReachGuidelinesPertheIABAudienceReachGuidelines,theclassificationdetailsofuniquemeasurementsmustbeproperlyexplainedforreportingpurposesbymeasurersofaudience(includinglocation),becauseunderstandingthenatureoftheunderlyingdatausedasthebasisforthereporteduniquemeasurementisafundamentalpartofproperlyusingthemeasurement.Therefore,eachreportingentityisrequiredtoprominentlydiscloseonthefaceofanyreportthatincludesuniquemeasurements,orthroughaprominentlyavailablelinkingmechanismonthefaceofthereport,thebasisforthecalculationoftheuniquemeasurementinvolved.Whilethebasesusedforthesemeasurementsinmobilein-applicationenvironmentsmaydifferfromthoseusedfortraditionalandmobilewebenvironments,thesameprincipleofprominentdisclosureshouldapply.Atminimumoneofthefollowingtermsshouldbeutilizedwhendescribingthefoundationforthereachmeasures:Machine-BasedMeasures:•UniqueCookies•UniqueBrowsers•UniqueDevicesPeople-BasedMeasures:•UniqueUsersorVisitors(bothtermsareacceptableandequivalent)WhiletheIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesestablishcertainlevelsofuniquemeasurement,digitalaudienceattribution(includinglocationattribution)shouldonlybedoneatthedeviceor,morepreferably,userlevel.Asaresult,alocationmeasurementvendormusthavearobustmethodologytoidentifyanddeduplicateuniquedevicesand/orusersforsuchattribution.

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Itiscritical,andacompliancerequirement,thatthemeasurementorganizationdoesnotmisrepresentmachine-basedmeasurementsaspeople-basedmeasurements.Themeasure’sstatusaseitherapeople-basedoramachine-basedmeasureshouldbeclearlydisclosed.Inherentinthisdisclosurerequirementisarecognitionthatderivingunduplicatedaudiencepeople-basedmeasuresfromdigitalactivityandotherresearchisthemostdifficultofthemetrics;however,itisalsoinherentlythemostvaluabletousersofmeasurementdata.Innoinstanceshoulda“uniques”metricberepresentedinreportingandelsewhereas“UniqueUsers”withoutappropriatefoundationinameasurementofpeople.Thefollowingdefinitionsshouldbeusedwhenconsideringhowtodescribemetricsbeingreported:UniqueDevice–AnunduplicatedcomputingdevicethatisusedtoaccessInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.Acountofunduplicateddevicesnecessarilyaccountsformultiplebrowserusageonanindividualcomputerorothercomputingdevice.ItmayalsocontributetoanunderstandingofthenumberofUniqueUsersifitinformsthenumberofmultipleuserswhoaccessinternetcontentthatareattributabletoasinglecomputerorcomputingdevice.Somemeasurementvendorswillneedtorelyonalgorithms(datamodels)toestimatethenumberofusersattributabletothecountsofUniqueCookiesandUniqueBrowserstheydevelop.ThisalgorithmshouldincludeanadjustmentoftheUniqueBrowsernumberstoUniqueDevices,thereforeaccountingformultiplebrowserusagebyindividualsandmultipleindividualsusingasinglebrowser.UniqueUsersorVisitors–AnidentifiedandunduplicatedindividualInternetuserwhoaccessesInternetcontentoradvertisingduringameasurementperiod.UniqueCookiesdonotgenerallyrepresentunduplicatedbrowsers,usersorpeopleaccessingInternetcontentoradvertisingduetoseveralcomplexitiessurroundingtheuseofcookiesandtheaccuratelinkageofthisidentifierinformationtothebrowsersorusersinvolved.Acountofunduplicateddevicesnecessarilyaccountsformultiplebrowserusageonanindividualcomputerorothercomputingdevice.ItmayalsocontributetoanunderstandingofthenumberofUniqueUsersifitinformsthenumberofmultipleuserswhoaccessinternetcontentthatareattributabletoasinglecomputerorcomputingdevice.

5.1.1 AdjustmentofUniquesWhileitispossibleforcensus-basedmeasurerstoproducecountsofUniqueUsersundertheIABAudienceReachGuidelines,thethresholdofmeasurementdifficultyforachievingthismeasureinacensus-basedenvironmentisquitehigh(generallybecauseofthedifficultyofbeingabletoidentifyacookieasauniquepersonpersistentlyduringthemeasurementperiod).

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Themeasurementorganizationmayutilizealgorithmsandotherdataadjustmentprocedures,utilizingmeanssuchascookies(ormobileadvertisingIDsanduniquedeviceidentifiers),aswellasotherpossibleidentificationmethodssuchasonlineorofflinestudies,tocalculateUniqueBrowsersandUniqueDevices.Likewise,census-basedmeasurersmaysimilarlyhaveproceduresthatultimatelycanresultinaUniqueUsermetric.However,inordertoreportaUniqueUser,themeasurementorganizationmustutilizeinitsidentificationandattributionprocessesunderlyingdatathatis,atleastinareasonableproportion,attributeddirectlytoaperson.Forinstance,datacollectedfromregistrantsisonepossiblesourcethatcanbeutilizedincreatingaUniqueUsersmeasurebyacensus-basedmeasurementorganization,ifregistrantsrepresentareasonableproportionofthetotaluser-baseandwhenappropriatescientificprojectionmethodsareusedfornon-registrants.Activityoftrackedusersshouldoriginatefromactualrecordsofuseractivityorcollectionproceduressourcedfromusers.Ifthisdataisinferred,thenatureandextentofinferenceaswellastheinferencetechniquesshouldbedisclosed.Iflocationinformationisgatheredfromusersdirectlythroughregistration,panels,surveysorothertechniques,thesemethodsshouldbedisclosed.InnoinstancemayacensusmeasurementorganizationreportUniqueUserspurelythroughalgorithmsormodelingthatisnotatleastpartiallytraceabletoinformationobtaineddirectlyfrompeople,asopposedtobrowsers,computers,oranyothernon-humanelement.AmeasurementorganizationmayusepassivetechniquestoassociateUniqueUserstoinferavirtualhouseholdasastand-alonereportingunitorforthepurposeofcross-mediacombinationsorcomparisons.Forexample,IPaddressesmaybeusedtolinkusersandinferahousehold,butaresubjecttomanychallengesthatmustbeaccountedfor.SuchuseofIPaddressesmustaccountforavailability,granularityandreliabilityofcollectedIPaddressdataaswellashouseholdmembersordevicesthatneverconnecttotheseIPaddressesandalsogueststhatmaynotbepartofthehousehold,butdoconnecttotheseIPaddresses.Further,deviceportabilityandthepotentialforadevicetoconnecttomultipleIPaddressesmustalsobeaccountedfor.Inferencesusedtodeterminehouseholdsfromuserrecordsmustbeempiricallysupported,disclosedanddemonstratedtobemateriallycomplete.Further,totheextentthatmodelsareusedtoadjustuniques,itiscriticalthatrobustempiricalsupportisusedtodevelopthesemodelsandthatsuchmodelsaregranularenoughtoaccountfordifferencesinmediausage(indigitalthisincludesbutisnotlimitedtositecategory,differencesbydevice,language,locationandlocalconsiderationssuchasmaintainingthediversityoflocalaudiencebehaviors).Thesemodelsshouldbesubjectedtoongoingvalidationandanylearningdataorsourceoftruthusedshouldberepresentativeofthepopulationbeingmeasured.

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5.1.2 AccountingforDuplicationTheIABAudienceReachMeasurementGuidelinesindicatethatausershouldonlybecountedonce(unduplicated)foruniquemeasurement,despitethefactthatausercanhavemultiplevisitsduringareportingperiod.Furthermore,inallinstancesrelatedtothereportingofaudiencemeasurement,theuseofthequalifierword“Unique”shouldbelimitedonlytoreferencestorecordsthathavebeende-duplicatedwithintheentirereportingperiod.Thefoundationfortheinitiationofuniqueusercountingisameasurableincidenceofaudienceactivity,unduplicatedforthatuser,respectively,andrelatedtotheapplicableweb-site,propertyorapplication,suchasa“widget”,duringthereportingperiod.InadditiontoaccountingforduplicationwhenreportinguniqueaudiencemetricssuchasReach,whendeterminingcoverageofthemeasureduniverse,ameasurementvendormustaccountforduplicationacrossdevicesorplatformswithinthesameuniverse.Measurementvendorsareencouragedtodevelopandutilizerobusttrackingassetsthatcanidentifyusersacrossdevicesandplatformsforpurposesofde-duplication.Alternatively,vendorsmaymeasuredeviceorplatformaudiencesindependentlyandestimate/removeduplicationacrossthem.Suchtechniquesmustbeempiricallysupportedanddisclosed.Itiscriticalthatthoroughdescriptionsofhow“users”areactuallydeterminedandhowde-duplicationduringmeasurementperiodsisaccomplishedareprovidedtousersofuniqueusermeasurements.Trackingmethodsshouldbesubjecttointernaltestingandvalidationuponoriginalimplementationaswellasperiodicinternalverificationtesting.Trackingmethodsanddisclosureswillbethesubjectofintenseproceduralverificationifexternalcertificationissoughtbythemeasurementorganization. Itislikelythatmethodsforlinking“identity”(individualsandhouseholds)acrossdigitaldevicesandplatformstoaccountforduplicationrequirerobustassetsandtechniques.Further,accountingforduplicationacrossmediawillneedtoaccountforuniquesituationssuchasconcurrentusageand“casting”(useofamobiledevicetobroadcastcontenttoTVs).Withregardtocross-mediacomparabilityconsiderations,asstatedabove,thisdocumentrepresentsthedigitalinputintoaCross-MediaAudience-BasedMeasurementStandard,whichwillsoonfollow.Aswasdiscussedabovewithregardtoadjustinguniques,totheextentthatmodelsareusedtoaccountforduplication,itiscriticalthatrobustempiricalsupportisusedtodevelopthesemodelsandthatsuchmodelsaregranularenoughtoaccountfordifferencesinmediausage(indigitalthisincludesbutisnotlimitedtositecategory,differencesbydevice,language,locationandlocalconsiderationssuchasmaintainingthediversityoflocalaudiencebehaviors).Thesemodelsshouldbesubjectedtoongoingvalidationandanylearningdataorsourceoftruthusedshouldberepresentativeofthepopulationbeingmeasured.SeetheMRCDigitalAudience-BasedStandardsforfurtherguidanceinthisarea.

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5.2 TimeDataCollectionLocationmeasurementdataaccuracymayvarydependingonwhetherthedatacollectiontechniqueconsistsofsnapshotorpointintimedatacomparedtobehavioralanalysesovertime.Passivelymeasured(otherthanfirst-partydata)locationdatarepresentinghomeorworklocationmayrequireobservationofseveraldatapointsovertimeinconjunctionwithbehavioralanalysistoassign“home”or“work”location.Measurementorganizationsshouldseektoestablishrobustdatacollectionandeditingrulesincludingaminimumlevelofqualitydataobservationswhenassigninghomeorworklocationbasedonpassivelycollecteddata.Activelycollectedorfirst-partylocationdata(suchasregistrationdata)shouldbeperiodicallyrefreshedoranalyzedfor“freshness”.SeeSection6.2.1forfurtherdiscussionofregistrationdataandrequiredqualitycontrol.Furthermore,measurementorganizationsshouldconsiderestablishingempiricallysupportednumberandlengthofplaceconnection,proximityminimums,orotherqualifyingcriteriaoreditruleswhenmeasuringpointintimelocationandvisitationwhichshouldbedisclosedandperiodicallyassessed.Likewise,ifadvertisinginformation(suchasbidrequests)isusedtoassignlocation,thetimelagbetweenad-exposureandproximityindicationshouldbeconsidered.Measurementorganizationsshouldinstitutespecific“inactivityrules,”bywhichausersessionisterminatedandthusexcludedfromadditionalcontributionstoTimeSpentafterapre-determinedlevelofconsecutiveinactivity.Inactivityrulesthatresultintheterminationofalocationsessionorvisitareencouragedandshouldbefullydisclosedbythemeasurementorganization;thesedisclosuresshouldincludeboththetimethresholdsutilizedtotriggertheinactivityrules,aswellastheamountoftimespenttobecreditedinthosesituationswheretheinactivityruleisactivated.Itisexpectedthatinactivityrulesmaybemodifiedinthefuturebasedonevidencefromempiricalstudyoftheevolutionofusers’browsinghabits.Formobileapplicationmeasurement,inactivityrulesmaybebasedonapplicationidle,whichisgenerallydefinedbytheapplicationdeveloperbasedontimesincelastinteractionandcanresultinanapplicationrunninginthebackgroundorbeinginactive.Deviceidleorpowerstateshouldalsobeconsideredforinactivityrulesandthemechanismsusedtodetectinactivitymaybeuserconfigurable.Theseinactivityrulesmayvarybasedonthetypeofapplicationinvolved.Forinstance,someapplicationsaredesignedforlongperiodsofinactivity(suchaslong-formvideo,orscoreboards,tonametwoexamples),inwhichcasealongerinactivitythresholdmaybemoreappropriatethaninanothersituationwherelongerperiodsofinactivityarenotnormallytobeexpected.Or,asanotherexample,whileanapplicationthatisnotinfocusonthescreenwouldusuallybeconsideredinactive(ifoutoffocusforthepre-definedinactivityduration),incertainlimitedcases,suchaswithapplicationsthatcontainaudioads,theinactivityrulesmayallowforthe

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applicationsessiontobeconsideredasstillactive.Inallcases,inactivityrulesappliedmustbefullydocumentedanddisclosed.Themobileenvironmentgenerallyallowsforagreaterrangeofoptionsfordetermininguseractivitythanareavailableintraditionalonlineenvironments,andtheseshouldbeleveragedinmakinginactivitydeterminations.Forinstance,screendimsanddarks,orscreentouches,canbeusedinhelpingtomakeinactivitydeterminations.ThebasisfordeterminingTimeSpentatalocation(ismeasuredaspartofvisitation)shouldbedisclosedtodatausers.Likewise,disclosuresshouldalsoincludeinformationonthemethodsusedtodeterminetheprecisetimeatwhichasessionisterminated,anditscontributiontothecalculationofTimeSpentforthatsession.

5.2.1 ValidationProceduresGeneralItislikelyindustryorganizationssuchasMMA,IABorotherswillhelpadministertools,resourcesandliststhatwillallowforuniformapplicationofcertainlocationvalidation.Totheextenttheseresourcesariseinthemarketplace,locationmeasurementvendorsareencouragedtoconsidertheiruseandapplicationinthecontextofvalidationandlocationdataquality.Measurementvendorsshouldapplyrobustvalidationandqualitycontroltechniquescontinuouslytocollectedandreporteddataincludingcleaningandeditingfunctionality.Suchtechniquesshouldbeperiodicallymonitoredandassessed.Accordingly,validatedlocationmeasurementprecisionandaccuracyinformationshouldbedisclosedinlocationmeasurementreports.

Accuracygenerallyreferstotheabilityordegreetowhichameasurementcanascertainactuallocation,placeandvisitationcorrectly(thedifferencebetweenmeasuredandtruelocationorplace;relativeaccuracyofspecificdataandtechniquesarediscussedfurtherinthisdocument).Precisionreferstothelevelofgranularityoflocationmeasurement,typicallyreflectedinthenumberofdigitsfollowingthedecimalpointinlatitudeandlongitude(forGPSmeasurement).Proximitytechnology,likebeacons,maymeasureprecisionindistancetoaknownsensor/context.Forexample,alatitudeandlongitudecomprisedoftwodecimalpointsmaypinpointamobileuser’slocationtowithinapproximatelyonekilometer,whilefourdecimalpointsmayenableaccuracytowithinapproximatelytenmeters(5decimalplacesenablesaccuracyofapproximatelyonemeter).Whilehigherlevelsofprecisionmayallowformoreaccuratelocation,placeandvisitationmeasurement,thenumberofdigitsfollowingthedecimalshouldneitherbeequatedwithsuperioraccuracy,nordoesitnecessarilyreflectthereproducibilityofthemeasurement.Measurementvendorsareencouragedtoobtainfirst-party“groundtruth”

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dataunderconditionsascloseaspossibletothoseinreal-worldusetoverifyaccuracyofmeasurementagainstsuchdata.Accuracyisanestimateofhowlikelythemeasuredlocationrepresentsthetruelocationofthedevice/user/place/visitationandPrecisionishowspecificandgranularameasurementoflocationisstated(intermsofdecimalpoints,etc.).Accuracyandprecisionareindependentconcepts,butbotharenecessarydisclosuresforlocationmeasurement.However,collectionofmoreprecisedatamayimpactdevicedatausageandbatterylifeandmayleadtolatency(asmoredeviceresourcesmaybedevotedtomorerobustmeasurementtechnology)inbothmeasurementanduserexperience.Measurementvendorsarerecommendedtousethemostprecisemeasurementthatisfitfortheintendedpurposeofitandtodisclosetherelativeprecisionofcollectedandmeasureddataaswellasanylimitationsorimpactsonaccuracysuchprecisionmayexhibit.Further,measurementvendorsshouldemployvalidationproceduresatasprecisealevelastechnicallyfeasiblecommensuratewithreportedprecision.AndroidandiOSLocationServiceAPIs,includeparametersforaccuracy,timeofreading,speed,altitudeetc.,andvendorsarehighlyencouragedtocollectandutilizeasmanyorallofthesewherepossible.Sensordatathatcanbeobtainedviasmartphonessuchasaccelerometer,compassandgyroscopedatashouldalsobecollectedandconsideredwherefeasible.Pollinggranularityorcollectionfrequencyinfluencestheaccuracyoflocationandvisitation(includingDwellTime)measurement.Whiletheseguidelinesdonotmandateaspecificminimumcollectionfrequencyforlocationandvisitationmeasurement,vendorsarerequiredtoadoptcollectionfrequenciesandmeasurementgranularitythatatleastsupportsthelevelofgranularityofreporting.Second-levelgranularityofDwellTimeshouldbebasedonatleast200millisecondpollinggranularity,consistentwiththerequirementsrelatedtotimethresholdmeasurementwithintheMRCMobileViewabilityGuidelines.Ifthemeasurercanempiricallyvalidatethatpollingatalessfrequentintervalthanevery200milliseconds(includingtheuseofbackoffpolling,ordifferentialandlessfrequentpollingforcertainenvironments,contentandconditions)willresultinnomaterialdifferencesinmeasurement,thislessfrequentintervalisallowablefor.Ifameasurerchoosestopollatalessfrequentintervalthan200millisecondsorutilizebackoff,thesupportforthisapproachmustberevalidatedonatleastanannualbasis,andthispracticemustbeprominentlydisclosed.Urbandensity(concentrationofvenues/placeswithinphysicalareasorcloseproximityaswellasmulti-levelbuildingsmadeupofvaryingdiscreteplaces)canimpactlocationsignalsandaffectaccuracy.Vendorsshouldincludeconsiderationofavailableurbandensitydata(suchasCensusdataaswellaswhetheraplaceisaresidenceorabusiness)andemployvalidationproceduresthatfocusonprecisionofcollecteddatawithregardtotherelativeaccuracyoflocationandvisitationmeasurementindenseareas.

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AltitudeWithregardtomulti-levelbuildingsoraltitude,measurementvendorsshouldcollectandincludealtitudedata(orotherdatatodisambiguateplacesondifferentfloorsofthesamebuilding)wherefeasibleandconsiderthiswhenvalidatingandprocessingreportedresults.Thepresenceorabsenceofsuchdataatapreciselevelcanhaveadirectimpactontheaccuracyoflocationandvisitationmeasurement.ZcoordinatesorelevationdataincludedwithGPScoordinatesmaybelessprecisethanlatitudeandlongitude(XandY)coordinatesduetothenatureoftheGPSsystem(satellitecollectionorientationofthisdata).Limitationsofthisdatashouldbeunderstoodandconsideredwhenfactoredintomeasurementwithanyknownlimitationsdisclosedtousers.Altitudedatamayalsobeusedtodetermineeditrules(empiricallysupported)thatmaybeappliedtovalidateorfilterdatatoavoidvisitationfalsepositivesversusactualvisitors.SpeedMeasurementvendorsshouldalsouseaspeedordurationindicatortoimproveattributionwherefeasible,especiallywhenusingradiusbasedboundaryandproximitymethodologiesforvisitationortargeting.Speedcanbeinferredindirectlyfrommobileaccelerometerandgyroscopicmeasurements,butgenerallyrequiresanalysisoflocationovertime,withreasonablemeasurementfrequency.Speedanddurationdatashouldbeusedtodetermineeditrules(empiricallysupported)thatmaybeappliedtovalidateorfilterdatatoavoidvisitationfalsepositivessuchas“drive-bys”orothertypesofmomentaryproximitynotmeetingtherequirementsofavisit,versusactualvisitors.Speedanddurationeditrulesshouldbesupportedbyempiricalanalysis,correlatedtothepurposeanduseofdataandbefullydisclosed.Useofrawaltitudedatawithoutappropriateeditingisdiscouraged,butmaybenecessaryinsituationsofdatasparsenessorinfeasibilityofmoreprecisemeasurement.Insuchsituations,theconditionsnecessitatingrawaltitudedatausageshouldbefullydisclosedtousers.CoordinategranularityanderrorsDatavalidationshouldalsoconsiderinaccuratecoordinateinterpretationswhenusingalternateorlessprecisedatafields.LocationdatathatistranslatedintolatitudeandlongitudecoordinatescouldcomefromavarietyofsourcesasGPSorWi-Fi,IPandregistrationdata.Measurementvendorsshouldincludeconsiderationofthenumberofcoordinatedigits(minutesandseconds)or“coarseness”insourcedataandalsoemployrobustdataqualityandcleaningprocedurestoaccountfortruncated,transposedormislabeledcoordinates,aswellasincompleteorcorruptdata.Staticorhardcodedcoordinatespassedfromapplicationsshouldnotbeusedfordynamiclocationmeasurement.Likewise,theuseofcentroidorthecenter-pointsofgeographicareassuchaszipcodes,DMAs,orstatesshouldnotbeusedtorepresent

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preciselocationandvisitationunlessintendedtobereportedatthesamegranularity(market-level).First-partyfreshnessTheuseoffirst-partyorregistrationdatashouldbesubjecttoperiodicreviewandupdatealongwithappropriaterecencyor“freshness”rulessuchastimetolivepolicies.MeasurementvendorsutilizingregistrationdataareencouragedtoemployleadingpracticessuggestedbytheCouncilforResearchExcellenceorCRE(http://researchexcellence.com/files/pdf/2015-02/id97_can_publisher_data_play_a_role_4_3_12.pdf)whendesigningregistrationcollectionandmaintenanceprocedures.Suchpracticesinclude,butarenotlimitedto:

• Dataedits/validationsatthetimeofcollectiontodetermineiftheresponseisvalidinthecontext(e.g.,avalidZIPcodebasedonreferencetoaUSPSdatabase).

• Reviewofdeclareddataforillogicalorsuspectresponses.Forexample:– Selectionof12345,90201,orothercommonZIPcodesforlocation.– Selectionofthefirstoptioninanydrop-downselectionfield,etc.

• Datavalidationtechniquesinitiatedbyandfocusedonuserchangestotheirprofiledata.

• Cross-validationtechniquesemployingexternaloralternatedatasources.• Definedprocesstoaddressdataconflictsacrosscollectionmethodologiesandparties.

– Dataqualityproceduresthatpre-identifypotentialconflictsamongmultiplesources,andapolicysuchasadatahierarchy.

• Abilityofuserstoreviewtheircollecteduserdata,sotheycanupdateorcorrectit,ifnecessaryorpossiblyremoveitfromtheirprofile.

• Adata“TimeToLive”(TTL)policythatconsidersthedifferentdatatypes,association(firstorthirdpartysources)andderivation(declaredorinferred)foreachelementandestablishesaTTLforthatdata,atwhichpointthedatamusteitherberefreshedordiscarded.

• Centralizedfunctiontooverseedatacollection,qualityanduseacrosstheorganization,suchasaresearchorCRMfunction.

OtherValidationConsiderationsMeasurementvendorsshouldconsiderwhetherotherdatavalidationprocessesshouldbeincludedaspartofroutineandongoingdatainspection,validationandediting.Suchconsiderationsmayincludeblacklistingknowninvalidoroutofboundscoordinates,knownbaddevicesorapplicationsaswellaspatternandoutlieranalysisrelatedtooverorunder-representedlocationsandusers.AlllocationmeasurementdatashouldbesubjecttoinvalidtrafficfiltrationasrequiredbytheMRCInvalidTrafficDetectionGuidelines.Additionally,measurementorganizationsshouldseektoestablishrobustdatacollectionandeditingrulesincludingaminimumlevelofqualitydataobservationsaswellastimebounds

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withinwhichdataobservationsareconsideredvalid.Measurementorganizationsarealsoencouragedtomakeuseofallavailablesourcesoflocationandplacedataandestablishrulesforeitheraminimumlevelofsourcesinagreementorhowtotreatandweightsourcesthatmaybecompetingorcontradictorywithrespecttotherelativelevelofaccuracyandprecisionofeachsource.Allsuchrulesshouldbeempiricallysupportedandfullydisclosed.

SeetheMRCDigitalAudience-BasedStandardsforfurtherguidanceandrequirementsrelatedtodataeditingandvalidationofaudiencedata,includinglocation.

6 Location-BasedAdvertisingMeasurementGuidelines–TechnicalDetails

6.1 TrackingofAdvertisingAccess–TechnicalDetails

6.1.1 Client-Initiated(andViewable)Theseguidelinesrelyonthecentralconceptthatcountingshouldinitiateontheclientside,nottheserverside(measurementcountingmayhappenattheserversideaslongasitisinitiatedbasedonclient-sideevents.),andthatcountingshouldoccurascloseaspossibletothedeliveryofanadvertisementorcontenttothemeasureduser.Recordsevidencinglongitudinalconsumptionofcontentduringthemeasuredtimeperiodshouldbebasedonactiveuseraffirmation,oratminimumperiodicconfirmationwiththedevicethatcontentandadscontinuetobedeliveredwithanopportunitytosee(forexample,remainviewable).Filtrationandinvalidtrafficdetectionmethodsarenecessarytoensurethatinvalidactivitiesareexcludedfrommeasurementcounts.CachingandPre-Fetch/Pre-Renderactivitymustbeappropriatelyaccountedfortoensurethatcontentnotactuallyaccessedbyauserisexcludedfromcounts.Adsthatareblockedatthedevicelevelthroughtheuseofadblockingtechnologyshouldnotbeincludedinrenderedorviewablecounts.Seesection7forfurtherguidance.Allcountedactivitythatcontributestoaudiencemeasurements(includinglocation)shouldmeetparametersoftheMRC’sviewableimpressionguidelines,toensureopportunitytoseeispresent.AdorcontentimpressionactivitynotmeetingIndustryqualitystandards(filtration,viewableparameters,etc.)shouldhaveassociatedaudienceactivityremovedinsofaraspossiblebythemeasurementorganization.

6.1.2 Script-BasedTrackingMethod/AssetsFordigitalmeasurementofadvertising,measurementmethodsmayincludeatrackingassetsuchasatag.ThefollowingdetailsarekeycomponentsofexistingIABMeasurementGuidelines:

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1. AvalidrenderedimpressionmayonlybecountedwhenanadcounterreceivesandrespondstoanHTTPrequestforatrackingassetfromaclient.Thecountmusthappenaftertheinitiationofretrievalofunderlyingpagecontentandonlywhenadcontenthasbeenloadedandatminimumbeginstorender.Permissibleimplementationtechniquesinclude(butarenotlimitedto)HTTPrequestsgeneratedby<IMG>,<IFRAME>,or<SCRIPTSRC>.Forclient-sideadserving,theadcontentitselfcouldbetreatedasthetrackingassetandtheadserveritselfcoulddotheadcountingaslongascountingdoesnotoccuruntiladcontenthasbeenloadedandatminimumbeginstorender.

2. Theresponsebytheadcounterincludesbutisnotlimitedto:

a. Deliveryofa“beacon,”whichmaybedefinedasanypieceofcontentdesignated

asatrackingasset.Beaconswillcommonlybeintheformofa1x1pixelimage,buttheseguidelinesdonotapplyanyrestrictionstotheactualmedia-typeorcontent-typeemployedbyabeaconresponse.

b. Deliveryofa“302”redirectorHTML/JavaScript(whichdoublesasatracking

asset)toanylocation,and

c. Deliveryofadcontent

6.2 TrackingofDeviceandUserLocation(SourcesandAttribution)TechnicalDetails

6.2.1 MeasurementTechniquesActivityoftrackedusersshouldoriginatefromactualrecordsofuseractivityorcollectionproceduressourcedfromusers.Ifthisdataisinferred,thenatureandextentofinferenceaswellastheinferencetechniquesshouldbedisclosed.Iflocationinformationisgatheredfromusersdirectlythroughregistration,panels,surveysorothertechniques,thesemethodsshouldbedisclosed.Asdiscussedabove,accuracygenerallyreferstotheabilityordegreetowhichameasurementcanascertainactuallocationandvisitationcorrectly(relativeaccuracyofspecificlocationdataandtechniquesarediscussedfurtherinthisdocument).Precisionreferstothelevelofgranularityoflocationmeasurement.Ingeneral,higherlevelsofprecisionallowformoreaccuratelocationandvisitationmeasurement.Organizationsgatheringuserinformationshouldhaveregularinternaltestingofaccuracyandtheseprocessesshouldbesubjecttoaudit.Generallyaverylowtoleranceforerrorexistswithprimaryreportedcharacteristics(forexample,ageneralexpectationoflessthan5%error).Iferrorratesareexpectedtobeinexcessofexpectationsforthesecharacteristicstheseestimatederrorratesshouldbedisclosed.

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MeasurementofdeviceanduserlocationmayuseGPS,Wi-Fi,IPAddress,CellAntennaTrilaterationandRegistrationDatatoproduceLongitude/Latitudecoordinates.Somesourcesaremoreaccuratethanothers,andthemethodaswellasrelativeaccuracyofeachshouldbedisclosed.Thefollowingmeasurementtechniquesaredescribedintermsoftheirrelativeaccuracy.Datapassedinanadrequest:Measurementvendorsmayalsouselocationdatapassedaspartofbidoradrequests(suchasOpenRTB)whenassigninglocationorvisitation.ProtocolssuchasOpenRTBmayincludeinformationaboutanimpression,UserorDevice.TheOpenRTBspecdefinesGeoobjects,whichrepresentphysicallocationsthatcanbeattachedtodataobjects,butUserandDevicelocationinformationmaydifferforthesamerequestandshouldbeinspectedandanalyzed.Locationparameterspassedmayrepresentcurrent,home,workorlast-knownlocationormayrepresentthelocationofafixedpointsuchasacellularnetworkantennaoreventhegeographiccenterofacity.Thesevaluesshouldbeunderstoodandconsideredappropriatelyinmeasurementandreporting.Further,thetypeofattribute(methodofcollection)andrelativeaccuracyandprecisioncanbeincludedandshouldbefactoredintolocationdeterminationwhereavailable.Adrequestdatashouldalsobesubjecttorobustvalidationeditrules/qualifyingcriteria.Theuseofmultipledatasourcestocorroborateandinspectadrequestdataandaccuracy/precisionparameterrequirementsisencouraged.Vendorsusingadrequestdataforlocationdeterminationareencouragedtoalsoemployalternatedatasetsandalgorithmstodetectpatternsofinaccurate/fraudulentlocationdataandfilteritout,withempiricalsupportanddisclosure. Therecencyofthelocationmeasurement(orlastfetchtime),andwhetheritindicatescurrentlocationorthelastwell-knownlocationshouldbeconsideredanddisclosed.Datafromindividualpublishers/appsshouldbeinspectedtoensuretherearenoanomaliesandforaccuracysincedifferentpublishers/appsmayreportlocationfromdifferentsourcesorwithdifferentaccuracyand/orprecision.Theactualnumberofactivedevicesreportingadrequestdataorusersobserveddaily,weekly,ormonthly,thefractionoftimetheyareobservable,andthenumberofmeasuredvisitsshouldbedisclosed.Where,how,when,andwhataccuracyverificationdataiscollectedandhowitisusedshouldbedisclosedtousers.BeaconsBeacons,ordevicesthatbroadcastidentifiers(generallyBluetoothlowenergysignals)thatcantriggercertainactionsinabeacon-enabledapponamobiledevice,maybeusedfortargetingandvisitationmeasurement.Suchmeasurementmaybeveryaccurateandprecisedata,within

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amatterofmeters,butconsiderationofscale(abilitytoinstall,manageandmaintainbeaconequipment)shouldbepartofuseofsuchinformation.Robustonboardingandmonitoringofplacedeterminationshouldbeappliedtosuchdataandvendorsshouldapplysuchproceduresconsistentlytoallmeasuredplaces.Suchproceduresinclude,butarenotlimitedto:

• Formalizedanddocumentedconfiguration,onboardingandinstallationprocedures.• Initializationchecksandverificationprocedures.• Formalizedanddocumentedtechnicalguidesandreferencematerialsforboth

installationtechniciansandclientusers.• Arobustequipmentmanagementsystemthatincludesdeployedbeaconinventoryby

hardwareandfirmwareversion(whereapplicable).• Ongoingmonitoringandtestingprocedures.• Formalanddocumentedhardwareandfirmwareupdateprocedures.• Abilitytotrackandmangeuser-setparameters(recordedandincludedindata

transmissionsbacktothemeasurementorganizationifchanged).• Qualitycontrolprocedurestoensuredatatransmissionsfromapplications(whether

real-timeorbatched)arecomplete,accurateandprotectedfrommodification.• Systemstoensureerrorsanddatarejectedforqualitypurposesarelogged,evidence

supportingtheerrorisretainedanderrorsarefollowedupontocorrectpotentialcasesofsystematicorrecurringissues.

• Formalizedanddocumentedobsolescencepolicies.Further,beaconsmaybesusceptibletomanipulationorhijacking.Assuch,vendorsdeployingbeaconsshouldtakestepstoensureunauthorizedpartiescannotusetheirinfrastructure.ThesestepsincludetheuseofuniqueIDs,preventingthedecodingofbeaconinformation,andutilizingsecureandprivatepasswords.GPSDeviceandapplicationlocationservicesthatfeatureGPSmaybeutilizedforuseranddevicelocation.ConsistentwiththeIABAudienceReachGuidelines,specificmachinebasedtrackingofusers–suchasuniquebrowsersorcookies–shouldbespecifiedanddistinguishedfromactualuserbasedtracking(whichrequiresmoreadvancedadjustments,registration,etc.).De-duplicationofusertracking(into“uniques”)forreachmeasurementsisdesirable–butisrecognizedtobeadifficultmetrictocaptureaccurately.Ifameasureislabeled“unique”de-duplicationisrequired.Itiscriticalthatthoroughdescriptionsofhow“users”areactuallydeterminedandhowde-duplicationduringmeasurementperiodsisaccomplishedareprovidedtousersofuniqueusermeasurements.WerefertheuseroftheseguidelinestopriorIABguidanceonAudienceReachMeasurementswithregardtothehierarchyofuniquemetrics(cookies,browsers,etc.).Seesection5.1forfurtherdetailonclassificationofuniquesforthepurposeofassigninglocation.

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Trackingmethodsshouldbesubjecttointernaltestingandvalidationuponoriginalimplementationaswellasperiodicinternalverificationtesting.Trackingmethodsanddisclosureswillbethesubjectofintenseproceduralverificationifexternalcertificationissoughtbythemeasurementorganization.GPSdatamaybeveryaccurateandprecisedata,capableofidentifyinguserlocationtowithin10-100meters,butisdependentonqualitycontrolandmonitoring.ThequalityofaGPSsignaldegradessignificantlyindoorsorinlocationsthatdonothaveanunobstructedviewofmultipleGPSsatellites.Suchlimitationsshouldbeconsideredanddisclosed.Further,measurementvendorsshouldcollectandincludealtitudedatawherefeasibleandconsiderthiswhenvalidatingandprocessingreportedresults.Thepresenceorabsenceofsuchdataatapreciselevelcanhaveadirectimpactontheaccuracyoflocationandvisitationmeasurement.GPSdatacollectionmaybebatteryanddataintensiveandvendorsareencouragedtooptimizesuchtechniquestominimizeimpactonmeasurementlatencyanduserexperience.Wi-FiUseofWi-Filocationmeasurement(whereavailable)canalsobeveryaccurateandpreciseandmaybecapableofidentifyinguserlocationtowithin30-100meters.Suchdatamaybebettersuitedformicro-locationmeasurementindoorswhencomparedtoGPSandisnotsubjecttoprovider/carrierlimitationscomparedtoothertechniquessuchasCellAntennaTrilateration(discussedbelow).However,IPswitchingandVPN/Firewall/Proxyconsiderationsmayimpactdataaccuracy(theformerduetoinconsistencyindatapointscollectedandthelatterinmisattributinglocationtodevicesorusersthatareobfuscatedorgrouped)andavailabilityandshouldbeconsideredindataqualitycontrolandvalidationprocedures.Likebeaconmeasurement,robustonboardingandmonitoringofplacedeterminationshouldbeappliedtoWi-Fidataandvendorsshouldapplysuchproceduresconsistentlytoallmeasuredplaces.CellAntennaTrilaterationTheuseofcellularnetworklocationandAntennaTrilaterationbetweencelltowersisgenerallylessaccurate(maximumresolutiongenerallyattheziporneighborhoodlevel)thanothertechniqueslistedabove.TheavailabilityandcapabilitiesofsuchdatamaybesubjecttoaspecificwirelesscarrierandlimitationstocertaincarrierswillimpactthecoverageofCellAntennaTrilaterationtechniques.Therelativecoverageofwirelesscarriersandanyapparentlimitationsshouldbedisclosedtousersviapenetrationdataorgeographiccoverageinformation.Further,CellAntennaTrilaterationmeasurementmaybesusceptibletogapsintransmissionorsignalloss,particularlyduringdrivingorcommuting(speedshouldbeconsidered).Measurementvendorsshouldconsiderthesefactorsinvalidatingandcleaningsuchdata.Theuseofcentroidorthecenter-pointsofgeographicareassuchaszipcodes,DMAs,orstates

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shouldnotbeusedtorepresentpreciselocationandvisitationunlessintendedtobereportedatthesamegranularity(market-level)absentothersignalstorefinethisdata.IPAddressesTheuseofmobileIPaddressedisgenerallynotaccurateorpreciseformobilelocation(thisdatamaybemoreaccurateandpreciseforlocationofstaticdevicessuchasdesktopPCs,connectedTVsorOTTdevices)andissubjecttoVPNchallengessuchasVPNspoofingorcorporateIPs.DatacenterIPsshouldbefilteredfrommeasuredtrafficconsistentwithMRCInvalidTrafficDetectionAddendumguidance.IPaddressesmayalsobebasedonanapplicationserver,whichcanvarysignificantlyfromtheactuallocationofadeviceoruser.IPaddressesmaybemappedtocountry,city,state,postalcode,andcarrierinformationthroughanIP-to-geodatabaseorgeo-locationvendor,butitisrecommendedthatsuchdatasetsandvendorsbeauditedandMRCaccrediteddatasources.RegistrationandOtherFirst-PartyDataTheuseofregistrationdatamaybeusedtodeterminelocation,butgenerallysuchdataislimitedtotheestablishmentofhomeorworklocationasopposedtoactualpoint-in-timelocation.Theuseoffirst-partyorregistrationdatashouldbesubjecttoperiodicreviewandupdatealongwithappropriaterecencyor“freshness”rulessuchastimetolivepolicies.MeasurementvendorsutilizingregistrationdataareencouragedtoemployleadingpracticessuggestedbytheCouncilforResearchExcellenceorCRE(discussedaspartofvalidationproceduresinSection5.2.1ofthisdocument)whendesigningregistrationcollectionandmaintenanceprocedures.Firstpartydatasuchasopt-inpaneldata(seeconsiderationsforpanelsbelow)andsocialmediacheck-insmayalsobeusedtodetermineuserlocation,butsuchdatamaysubjecttohumanerrorandfalsificationthatrequiresrobustcontrolsanddataqualitycontrolanalysis.BehavioralanalysisHomeorworklocationmayalsobederivedbasedonanalyzingaspecificuser’slocationhistory.Analysisofgeo-behavioralpatternstoinferlocationshouldbeempiricallysupportedanddisclosed.Theuseofthird-partydata(purchasedata,mediaconsumption,carownershipetc.)maybejoinedtobehavioraldatatoassignlocation.Thesourceofsuchthird-partyordataintegrationdatashouldbeknownandisencouragedtobeauditedandaccredited.Seethefollowingsectionsrelatedtospecificdataintegrationconsiderations.

6.2.2 TrackingMethod–PanelMethods,etc.Syndicatedmeasurementorganizationshavecomplexmethodologiesforselecting,recruiting,andmaintainingpanels(orothermethodsofuser-trackingbasedmethodsofattribution,forexampledataenrichmentmethodsbasedontrackedactivityanduserlinkages);collectingdata;editing;projectingandweightingdataandreportingaudienceactivity.Onestrengthofthese

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organizationsistheabilitytoattributeaudienceactivitytousersandtheknowndemographyofusersinapanelorsomeotheruser-attributeddatasource.Thisinformationisgatheredthroughacombinationofmanualandautomatedtechniques,someofwhichcaninvolvedirectcontactwithpanelistsandsomeinvolvetheuseofsoftwaremeteringtechniquesorotherdata-collectionmethodssuchasSDKswithinapplicationsordataenrichmentprocesses.Whetherornotaformalpanelexiststhroughdirectcontact,selection,andrecruitmentofusers,allofthefollowingconsiderationsapply.Forinstance,trackingmethodsrelyingonlarge-samplesofusers,e.g.fromOpenRTBdata,canbehaveeffectivelylikeapanel.Biasesexistinwhogeneratessuchactivityandhow.Therateatwhichusersgenerateactivityindifferentgeographicareasorspecificplacesmayvary,mimickingpanelresponseratelimitations. Similartocensus-based,client-initiatedtrackingmethods,thequalityoftheuserattributionprocess(logging,activityassessment,etc.)iscriticaltomeasurementaccuracy.Thefollowingotherareasarecriticaltoaccuracyamonguserattributedtrackingmeasurementorganizations:

• Completenessofframeforselectionofpanelists• Completenessofattributiondata-source(ifnon-panel)• Panelistselectionprocedure• Panelistcharacteristicupdating• Panelrefreshandturnover-replacementprocedures• Panelcooperationandincentivetechniques• Panelrepresentationversuspopulation• Panelcalibrationmethods• Measurementcoverageissues• Characteristicattributiontechniques,includingmodeling,ascription,etc.• In-tabulationqualificationrules• Accuracyofsoftwaremetersand/orotherdatacollectiontools• Completenessofdatacollection• Informationprocessingcontrols• Reasonablenessandsupportfordataediting,adjustment,modelingand/orascription

techniques• Reasonablenessandsupportforweightingvariablesandmodels• Appropriatenessandqualitysourceofuniverseestimatedata• Accuracyofdatacalculationsandreporting• Overallratesofresponse• Disclosureofstandarderrors

Iforganizationsuseadataenrichmentprocesstoattributelocation,staticdeviceinformationshouldnotbeusedandthefollowingadditionalmattersshouldbeconsidered.

• Completeness• Coverageofdataintegrationsource• Accuracyofdataintegrationsourcedata

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• Testingandqualitycontrolofdatatransferbetweenthemeasurementserviceanddataintegrationsource

• Privacyconsiderations,ifpassivetothepublic• Assessmentofanyadjustments,ifany,thatneedtobemadeofthedataintegration

sourcedata• Processesforon-boardingandterminatingdataintegrationsourcesaswellasdisclosing

thesechangestocustomers.Disclosureandauditingisstronglyrecommendedforthesecomplexsyndicatedmeasurementorganizations.SeetheMRCDigitalAudience-BasedStandardsforfurtherguidanceandrequirementsrelatedtopanelsandDEPwhenusedasasourceofaudienceattribution,includinglocation.

6.3 TrackingofPlace(SourcesandAttribution)TechnicalDetailsPlacemeasurementinvolvesthedeterminationofthephysicallocationofabusinessorotherplaceforthepurposeofcorrelatingthislocationtouser/devicelocationmeasurementtoderivefoottrafficorvisitationdataaswellastotargetusers/devicesbasedonproximitytoaspecificplaceorlocation.Suchplacemeasurementgenerallyinvolvesgeo-fencing(orestablishmentofa“virtualbarrier”),whichmaybedonemanuallyviadirectmeasurementorbeaconplacement(discussedabove)byameasurementvendor,aswellasviaacquisitionorsubscriptiontoalocationdirectoryorthird-partydata.Geo-fencingmayinvolveeitherPoint-RadiusorBoundarymethodologies.InaPoint-Radiusmeasurement,acircleofdataisutilizedwithacertainradiusaroundlatitudeandlongitudecoordinatesofaplace.InBoundarymeasurement,acomplexpolygonorboundaryisestablishedthatisgenerallyamorepreciseandgranularrepresentationofaplaceIneachcase,itisimportanttovalidatethatthegeo-fencerepresentationaccuratelyreflectsnotjustthelocationanddimensionofthephysicalplace,butaccountsforhowamobiledevicewouldreportitslocationwhenatthatplace,toensurecorrectconclusionsaboutvisitation.Ingeneralgeo-fencingcannotrepresentmulti-storystructures.Placemeasurementmayalsoincludeprobabilisticassignmentbasedonuser-behaviormeasurementviatheabilitytosurveyusersabouttheirlocationduringperiodsofbehaviororthroughuseofcheck-ins(suchasthroughsocialmediaactivity).Whileuseofsuchtechniquesmaybeviable,whenproperlysupported,itshouldberecognizedthatauserdevice'sreportedlocationmaynotcorrespondtotheirphysicallocationonamapandassuch,placemeasurementmaynotaligncompletelywiththemaplocationanddimensionsoftheplace.Asaresult,useofprobabilisticassignmenttechniquesforestablishingplaceboundariesrequiresempiricalsupportandappropriateaccuracy/precisiontolerances.

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Regardlessofwhichmethodologyisused,locationderivedfromdevice-levellocationservicesshouldbeusedtoidentifyuser’sdevicelocationwithrespecttogeo-fencedlocationsandlessprecisedata,suchasIP,shouldbeavoided.Considerationofscaleshouldalsobepartofuseofsuchinformation.Robustonboardingandmonitoringofplacedeterminationshouldbeappliedtosuchdataandvendorsshouldapplysuchproceduresconsistentlytoallmeasuredplaces.Anyinferencesusedinlocationorvisitationmeasurementwithregardtoplacedatashouldbethoroughlytestedandsupportedaswellasdisclosed.Placedatamaybesubjecttomanipulation(hijacking)andallplacedatashouldbesubjectedtofiltrationasrequiredbytheMRCInvalidTrafficDetectionAddendum.Thecapabilitiesandlimitations(precision/accuracy)oftherespectiveplacemethodologyshouldbedisclosed.PlacedatabasesLargethird-partydatasets,mapsorplacedatabasesmayalsobeusedtodetermineandmapphysicalplacelocationandboundaries.Vendorsthatutilizesuchinformationshouldconsiderthepotentiallimitationsofsuchdatabases(andwhether/howtheyalignwiththeprovider'slocationmeasurementapproach),includingout-of-dateandincompleteinformationandcoverage.Vendorsusingsuchdatasourcesareencouragedtomakeuseofmultipleindependentsourcesofdata,withformalizedandempiricallybasedprocedurestohandleandresolveconflictsordiscrepanciesamongthesesources.Third-partyorDemographicEnrichmentProvider(DEP)datashouldbeknownandisencouragedtobeauditedandaccredited.SeeothersectionsofthisdocumentrelatedtospecificDEPconsiderations.

6.4 MeasurementonApplicationsTheapplicationmeasurementorganizationshouldhavesufficientcontrolstodeterminethat:

• Theapplicationwasdownloaded,openedandinitializedasdesignedonthatClientUserpriortothemeasuredSession.

• Theapplicationitselfwasfunctioningasintendedduringthesession.Applicationtransactionrecords,canbederivedandtransmittedtotheapplicationmeasurementorganization:(1)onareal-timebasisduringapplicationexecution,(2)inbatchedgroupsthataretransmittedperiodically(inwholeorinpart)duringanon-lineapplicationSessionor,(3)firststoredduringoff-lineapplicationuseandlatertransmittedduringasubsequenton-lineSession(notnecessarilyassociatedwiththesameapplication)oftheapplicableClient-User.Insituationswheretheconnectionspeedoftheclient-usercanimpactcountingeffectivenessorthecountedactivityitself,theapplicationdeveloperorSDKdeveloper,ifapplicable,shouldmakereasonableeffortstoensurecountingisaccurate.Editinganderrorhandlingrulesshouldbedevelopedtodetect,segregateandreportcountingsituationswithsuspectaccuracyrelatedtoconnectionspeed.

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Thegeneralinternalcontrolspresentattheorganizationthatdevelopsorapprovestheapplicationforreleaseareacriticalcomponentoftheoveralloperatingeffectivenessofadvertisingmeasurementassociatedwiththeapplication.Thesecontrolsdonothavetonecessarilyresideattheoriginalapplicationdevelopment/programmingfacility;however,certainlevelsofqualitycontrolshouldbepresentatsomestageofapplicationrollout.Ultimatelyitistheresponsibilityofthemeasurementorganizationtoensurethatpropertestingandreleaseprocessesarefollowedandthatcontrolleddevelopmentprocesseswereemployedinbuildingtheoriginalapplication(whichmaybeaddressedviaTermsandConditions).Ingeneral,themeasurementorganizationshouldhavesufficientcontrolstoensure:

● Developmentofandchangestoapplicationsareauthorized,testedandapprovedpriortobeingrolledoutforUserdownload(release).Segregationofversionsshouldbemaintainedwhereadvertisingfunctionalityhasbeenchanged.

● Accesstoapplicationsoftwareassociatedwithlocationfunctionalityisrestrictedtoauthorizedpersonnel(nonUser)andprograms.Usersshouldnothavetheabilitytoalterlocationdata.

● User-setparametersaredocumented,recordedandincludedindatatransmissionsbacktothemeasurementorganizationifchanged.

● Theapplicationisdocumented,andlocationfunctionalityisdocumented.● Onlyauthorizedcontentisacceptedasinputbytheapplication,regardlessofwhether

thatcontentisservedreal-timeorstoredforlateruse.● Anycalculationsordataaccumulationprocesseswithintheapplicationhavebeen

testedforefficacy.● Datatransmissionsfromapplications(whetherreal-timeorbatched)arecomplete,

accurateandprotectedfrommodification.● Errorsanddatarejectedforqualitypurposesislogged,evidencesupportingtheerror

isretainedanderrorsarefollowedupontocorrectpotentialcasesofsystematicorrecurringissues.

● Theapplication’sperformanceisnotmateriallyaffectedbymeasurementintegration.● Measurementintegrationcontemplatesallowabletrackersinapplicationadrequests.

TheuseofSDKsformeasurementmaypresentsomechallengesintermsofadministeringandmaintainingtheiruseatscale.Furthermore,thepotentialforthepresenceofmultipleSDKswithinthesameapplicationmayimpactperformance,userexperienceanddatatransmission.Forthisreasontheremaybevalueinthedevelopmentofanopen-sourcestandardSDKbytheindustrythatcanbeusedbyallparties.Weencouragesuchdevelopmentandwouldsupportanopenandsinglesourcestandard.Furthermore,robustqualitycontrolforonboardingSDKusers,updatingandversioncontrolmustbepresent.InSDKorientedmeasurementenvironments,theapplicationdeveloperormeasurementorganizationshouldhavesufficientconfidencethattheabovecontrolsaremaintainedfortheSDKfunctionality.Developmentofthisconfidencecanencompassaperiodic

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reviewand/ortestingconductedbytheapplicationdeveloper.AnotherapproachisfortheSDKdevelopertoitselfbeauditedbyathirdpartywithsomeformofobservableassuranceprovidedsuchascertification,accreditationorathird-partyCPAattestation.Inthislattercase,iftheapplicationdeveloperislookingtobecomecertifiedoraccrediteditself,theauditingorganizationcanbuildacaseforrelyingoftheSDKassurance(dependingonconditionsofthatassurance).AnAPIapproachmayinvolvetheuseofathirdpartythatisresponsibleforimplementationandultimatelytheinputsintomeasurement.Measurersarerequiredtoconductrobustqualitycontrolprocedurestoonboard,vetandperiodicallyreviewtheuseofthirdpartyinputsintomeasurement.Suchqualitycontrolsproceduresshouldinclude(butnotbelimitedto)executingscriptsinthirdpartyAPIenvironmentstoverifyappropriateandaccurateimplementationbothduringonboardingandperiodicallyonanongoingbasis.UseofAPIlibrariesandaprocessforvalidatingtheanalysisofdatacollectedbytheAPIforpublishersorvendorsusingstandardagreeduponAPIsisstronglyencouraged.ThirdpartyprovidersofAPIsmaychoosetohavetheirfunctionalityandAPIinputscentrallyvalidated/examinedtoprovideassurancetotheirmeasurementusers.Thisapproachcouldsignificantlyreduce(butnoteliminate)thetestingrequiredbymeasurementusers.SimilartotheguidanceonSDKs,theremaybevalueinthedevelopmentbytheindustryofanopen-sourcestandardAPI(usingMRAID,VASToraW3Coutput)thatcanbeusedbyallparties.Weencouragesuchdevelopmentandwouldsupportanopenandsinglesourcestandard.SeetheIABMobileApplicationMeasurementGuidelinesforfurtherguidance.

7 EnhancingTrackingAccuracy

7.1 EnhancingAdvertisingTrackingAccuracyFormeasurementoflocationassociatedtoadexposure,existingkeyconceptsofadimpressioncountingshouldbefollowed,asdetailedinpreviouslyissuedIABMeasurementGuidelines.Theseinclude:

• Client-InitiatedCounting• Mobilemeasurementfordownloaded,opened,andinitializedapplications• Inclusionofoff-lineapplicationactivityduringacampaignreportingperiod• FiltrationofInvalidActivitycommensuratewithMRC’sInvalidTrafficDetectionand

FiltrationGuidelines• CacheBustingTechniques• DifferentiateSignificantAuto-RefreshversusHuman-InitiatedActivity• DifferentiatePre-FetchandPre-RenderActivity(fromtraditionalservedactivityand

eachotherwherepossibleandcountsadsonlyaftertheyappearonauser’sbrowser)• DifferentiateImpressionsOut-Of-FocusorwithObstruction(forviewability)

o Measurersarerequiredtoaccountforsituationsofobstructiontotheextenttechnicallyfeasibletodeterminethein-focusstatusofmeasuredcontent.

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Limitationsintheabilitytodetectcertainobstructionsorocclusionsofmeasuredcontentshouldbefullydisclosedwithimpactonreportedresultsquantifiedwherematerial.

• DisclosingMaterialInternalTraffic(ifnotfiltered)• FullDisclosureofmeasurementmethodsandkeymetricsbyPublishers,Portals,Ad-

Servers,AdNetworksandExchangeso Inthecontextofviewablemobileadimpressions,thisprincipleoftransparency

ofmeasurementprocessestodatausersshouldapplytoallmeasurersofviewablemobileimpressions,including3rdpartymeasurers.

7.2 FiltrationforInvalidTrafficFiltrationofsiteorad-servingtransactionstoremoveinvalidactivityishighlycriticalforaccurate,consistentcounting.AllmetricssubjecttoauditbyMRCwillbeexpectedtocomplywiththeMRC’sInvalidTrafficandFiltrationGuidelinesAddendum.Thisincludeslocation-basedmetrics,whichshouldbefilteredforknownGeneralInvalidTraffic(GIVT)asrequiredbythoseguidelines.Furthermore,likeothermetrics,applicationofSophisticatedInvalidTraffic(SIVT)detectionprocessesisstronglyencouragedforlocation-basedmetrics.WhileapplicationofSIVTdetectionprocessesisstronglyencouragedformonetizedtraffic,digitalaudienceandpersonslevelmeasurementrequiresahigherdegreeofprecisionandaccuracy.Assuch,digitalaudiencemeasurementandreportingrequiresfiltrationinclusiveofbothGIVTandSIVT.LocationmeasurementappliedtoaudiencereportingmustincludeSIVTfiltration,however,locationmeasurementasaserviceorfunctionalitywithoutaudiencereportinggenerallycanbelimitedtoGIVTfiltration.

7.3 InternalTrafficMeasurementorganizationsshouldhaveprocedurestosegregateallinternallygeneratedactivity(thatofthemeasurementorganizationandtheorganizationundermeasurement)whichdoesnotrepresentlegitimateconsumptionorotherwisevalidinternettraffic–forexample:softwaretesting;tagtestingbypublisher,agenciesandadvertisers;corporatemandatedtransactionsthatmaydrivetrafficunnaturallyhigh,etc.Theseactivitiesareconsideredinvalidtrafficforadvertisingcommercepurposesifmaterial.Testingcomputerenvironmentsshouldbelogicallysegregatedfromproductionenvironmentsastonotcommingletestandproductiontransaction.Specifictolocationmeasurement,secretshoppersorotherknown“unnatural”locationandvisitationdatashouldalsobesegregated.Materialinternaltrafficnotfilteredshouldbefullydisclosed.

7.4 InactivityConsiderationsandLimitsAnapplicationSessionismeasuredfromthestartoftheapplicationtotheend-timeofuseoftheapplication,aslongastheapplicationdoesnotencounterinactivity(seetheIABMobileApplicationMeasurementGuidelines)ofapre-definedduration.AsnotedintheIABMobile

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ApplicationMeasurementGuidelines,theseinactivityrulesmayvarybasedonthetypeofapplicationinvolved;forinstance,someapplicationsaredesignedforlongperiodsofinactivity(suchaslong-formvideo,orscoreboards,tonametwoexamples),inwhichcasealongerinactivitythresholdmaybemoreappropriatethaninanothersituationwherelongerperiodsofinactivityarenotnormallytobeexpected.Inallcases,inactivityrulesappliedmustbefullydocumentedanddisclosed.Themobileenvironmentgenerallyallowsforagreaterrangeofoptionsfordetermininguseractivitythanareavailableintraditionalonlineenvironments,andtheseshouldbeleveragedinmakinginactivitydeterminations.Forinstance,screendimsanddarks,orscreentouches,canbeusedinhelpingtomakeinactivitydeterminations.

7.5 TargetingTargetingisdefinedasdeliveringadsbasedonusers’location,typicallyinvolvingproximitytospecificplace(s).Itiscriticallyimportantthattheaccuracyandprecisionoflocationdataaswellasthesourceandmeaning(real-timelocationvs.homeorworklocation)isdisclosedandconsideredwhenusingsuchdatatotargetadvertising.Empiricallysupportedproximityrangesshouldbeestablishedforlocationtargetingandthisrangesshouldbedisclosedtousers.Further,vendorsenablingdeliveryoflocation-targetedadsshouldincludefirst-partyverification(suchasuserprompts)oflocationtogaugeeffectivenessandfurtherfine-tunemeasurement.Theresultsofsuchverificationproceduresshouldbedisclosedtousersofthedata.Developmentofthesefunctionsisencouraged;however,privacyregulationsshouldbeconsidered.Privacyregulationsastheyemergeshouldbemonitoredandstagedfortheapplicationmeasurementorganizationassoonasknown.Publiclyavailableprivacypolicydocumentsareencouraged.

7.5.1 PrivacyandConsumerPerceptionVendorsandpublishersshouldmakeeffortstoobtaintheenduser’spermission,andtoprovideconcise,clearprivacypolicynoticesdescribinghowtheirappproductsand/orwebservicesuseandsharedataandwhattheconsumer’schoicesare.Useofclearopt-inpracticesisencouraged.Entitiesemployingmobileweblocationcollectionshouldincludethefunctionalitytoprovidepromptswhenvisitingawebsiterequestingcurrentlocationdata,withaclearopt-inaswellasthewebsitehostname,andtheoptionfortheconsumertoacceptordenypermission.Entitiesusingmobileapplicationlocationservicesshouldgettheuser’spermissionviaapop-upatapplicationinitializationorduringuseandrequestthisaccessagaineachtimeauserchangesthepermissioninthelocationservicessettingwithinthedevicesettings.

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Apublisherorvendorshouldclearlystateintheirprivacypolicywhytheyarecollectingthisinformationandhowitmaybeshared.Ifrespondentshavebeenledtobelieve,directlyorindirectly,thattheiranonymitywillbeprotected,theirnames,addressesandothersuchidentifyinginformationshallnotbemadeknowntoanyoneoutsidethemeasurementserviceorganization.Measurementorganizationsareencouragedtoconsideradditionalindustryguidelinesinthisarea.Additionally,measurementorganizationsseekingMRCaccreditationarerequiredtoadheretorelevantMRCMinimumStandardsinthisarea.Privacyregulationsshouldbeconsidered.Privacyregulationsastheyemergeshouldbemonitoredandstagedforthemeasurementorganizationassoonasknown.Finally,ifavendororapplicationcollectsdatathatisintendedtobeusedforbehavioralanalysistodeterminehomelocationorotheruserlocationheuristics,thisshouldbemadeknowntousersaspartofpermissionsandprivacypolicies.Trackinglocationthroughoutadayandcombiningsessionstodeterminelocationhasprivacyimplicationsthatshouldbeconsideredindisclosuresanduser-facingpolicies.

8 ReportingParameters

8.1 GeneralParametersGeneralreportingparameters(dayparts,weekparts,timezones,etc.)provideforconsistencyandcomparability.Theseshouldbebasedonthelogicalapplicationofinformationabouttheusagepatternsofthemedium.Inordertoprovideformorestandardizationindigitalmediameasurementreporting,thefollowinggeneralreportingparametersarerecommended.Notethattheseareonlyseveralofthepossiblereportingparametersthatmaybeused.Ifparametersinadditiontothesearereported,similarrulesshouldbedefinedandapplied.ManyofthesehavebeenspecifiedonaconsistentbasiswithpriorMRC/IABmeasurementguidelines.

8.2 TimeDay—12:00midnightto12:00midnightTimeZone–Fulldisclosureofthetimezoneusedtoproducethemeasurementreportisrequired.Itispreferable,althoughnotacurrentcompliancerequirement,forcertifiedmeasurementorganizationstohavetheabilitytoproducemeasurementreportsinaconsistenttimezonesobuyerscanassessactivityacrossmeasurementorganizations.ForUS-basedreportsitisrecommendedthatreportsbeavailableonthebasisoftheEasternTime,fornonUS-basedreportsthisisrecommendedtobeGMT.Daypart—Digitalmediausagepatternsneedfurtheranalysistodeterminetheusefulnessofestablishingeffectiveandlogicalstandardizedreportingdayparts(suchasworkinghoursand

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non-workinghoursnormalizedacrosstimezones).Weencouragesuchanalysistodeterminetheneedforstandardizationofthismeasurementparameter.Totheextentthataudiencemeasurementisspecifictoamediavertical(e.g.,TV),measurersareencouragedtoconformtoexistingandstandardizeddayparts(e.g.,broadcastday),especiallywithregardtocross-mediacomparisonsorGRPs.However,itislikelythatmedia-agnosticmeasurementwillneedtobefurtherstudiedtodeterminetrafficandusagepatterns.Digitalspecificdaypartsshouldbesupportedbyempiricaltrafficanalysis.CustomdaypartsshouldbefullydisclosedWeek—MondaythroughSundayWeek-parts—M-F,M-Sun,Sat,Sun,Sat-SunMonth–Threereportingmethods:(1)TVBroadcastmonthdefinition.Inthisdefinition,theMonthbeginsontheMondayoftheweekcontainingthefirstfullweekendofthemonth,(2)4-weekperiods–(13peryear)consistentwithmediaplanningforothermedia,or(3)acalendarmonth.Forfinancialreportingpurposes,amonthisdefinedasacalendarmonth.

8.3 QualificationofDataAdjustmentProceduresSection5ofthisdocumentdiscussedvariousdatapreparationandqualitycheckingproceduresthatmaybeappliedtolocation-baseddata.SuchproceduresmayresultinEditingorAdjustmenttorawdata.DataEditingandAdjustmentprocedurescanbecriticaltoprocessinglocationmeasurementdata.Theseprocedurescanbeapartofbestpracticesforensuringcompleteandconsistentmeasurementresultsovertime.However,thespecificdataadjustmentandeditingparametersusedshouldbesupportedbyempiricaljustificationbasedonpriorstudy.Thevolume/extentofeditingandadjustmenttooriginallycollectedtrafficandrespondentdatashouldbedisclosed,wherethisvolumeismaterialtothetotal(generallyifthatexceeds5%ofrecords).Thesedisclosuresshouldbegranularbytypeandreportedonthebasisofweightedandreportedcharacteristic.Ifeditingoradjustmentratesareonlyperiodicallymeasured,thismeasurementshouldbefrequentenoughtobepertinenttoreporteddata.

8.4 MinimumReportabilityStandardsMeasurementvendorsareencouragedtoestablishempiricallysupportedminimumrequirementsforreporting(forspecificmeasuredpropertiesormetrics)andifestablished,arerequiredtodisclosetheminimumrequirements.

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8.5 DataRetentionRequirementsDetailedcollecteddata(preandpost-processing)supportingdigitallocation-basedmeasurementshouldberetainedforasufficientperiod–atleastoneyearafterthereleaseofdata.Obfuscatedortruncateddatamaybemaintainedtosatisfythisrequirement,shouldtherebePersonalIdentifyingInformation(PII)orprivacyconcerns,butshouldbeavailableinatransparentmannertoaccreditation/certificationauditorsandatadetailedleveltoallowreprocessingofreportedestimateswherenecessary.Differentmetric/transactiontypesandvaryingrisksassociatedwithtransactiontypesshouldbeconsidered.PIIlegalrestrictionsmaydictateeliminatingoneormoreofcollectedfieldsfromretainedrecordsoralteringthecontentoffieldsforidentityprotectionpurposes.Further,privacyorcontractualrestrictionsonrawdatamaystipulateshorterretentionperiods.Suchrestrictionsmaystillallowforalternativelevelsofretentionthatarestillsufficienttosupportreprocessingofdata.Inthesecasesdeviationsshouldbesupportedbythemeasurementorganization’sprivacypolicyandshouldbeavailableforreviewbyauditors.

9 DisclosureGuidanceLocationsreportedcanbetheactualphysicallocationofthecontentconsumerorthehomelocation.Ifassumptionsaremadeaboutphysicallocationsofaudiencemembersordevices,theseshouldbedescribed.Accuracyofassumptionsmadeshouldbeestablishedbyempiricalstudyanddisclosedtousersofmeasurementdata.Ifelectronicmeansareusedtoestablishthelocationofaudiencemembers,theaccuracyofthesefunctionsshouldbeestablishedanddisclosed.Thesemethodsshouldbevalidatedtobeappropriatelyaccurateatthelevelsofgranularitybeingreported.Userdisclosuresshoulddistinguishhowplacedataisattributedaswellastherelativeperformanceofamethodology.Also,wheremixedorhybridattributionmethodologiesareused,vendorsshoulddisclosewhatpercentageofattributionisusedforeachrespectivemethodaspartofgeneraldisclosures.

Userdisclosurematerialsshouldoutlinetheattributionmethodologyindetailincludingtheuseofprobabilisticattribution(usingproximityoralgorithmicapproaches)ordeterministic(usingactualvisitation)attribution.Digitallocation-basedmeasurementorganizationsshoulddisclosetheirlocationmeasurementactivityrecordingprocesstobuyers,sellersandotherusersofthemeasurementdata.Anorganization’smethodologyforaccumulatingdigitaladvertisinglocationmeasurementsshouldbedescribedtousersofthedata,includingmethodsforcalculatingunitaudienceswhereapplicable.Specifically,thenatureofcountsand/ormeasurements,methodsofsamplingused(ifapplicable),datacollectionmethodsemployed,dataeditingproceduresorothertypesofdataadjustmentorprojection,calculationexplanations,reportingstandards(ifapplicable),

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reliabilityofresults(ifapplicable)andlimitationsofthedatashouldbeincludedinthedisclosure.Further,privacyandsecuritypolicies,userpermissionmethodsandprotectionofcollecteddatadiscussedaspartofsection7.5.2shouldbeprominentlydisclosedtousersofthedata.Thefollowingpresentsexamplesofthetypesofinformationdisclosed:NatureofDigitalAudience-BasedMeasurements

•Name/TypeofLocationActivityIncludedintheMeasurement•NameofMeasurementReport•TypeofMeasurementsReported

o TimePeriodsIncludedo DaysIncludedo UniverseEstimatesandCoverageEstimatesusedforProjectiono BasisforMeasurement(MeasurementUnit)o GeographicAreaso SignificantSub-GroupingsofData

o Demographiccategories•FormatsofReportedData•SpecialPromotionsImpactingMeasurements•AuditingAppliedandDirectionstoAccesstoAuditReport•Sampling/ProjectionsUsed

o SamplingMethodsUsedo ExplanationofProjectionMethods

DataCollectionMethodsEmployed

•MethodofDataCollectiono CacheBustingTechniquesEmployedo First-PartyorRegistrationo ExposureorAttributionLevelDatao AudienceDataSourceso ViewableCriteriaEmployed,i.e.,MRCViewableImpressionGuidelineso AudienceQualifiers,InclusionSpecifics,etc.

•TypesofDataCollectedo CensusTagging,Surveys,Diary,Observations,ElectronicMeasurements,etc.o FrequencyofCollectiono ProcedurestoDetectandReportPre-fetch/Pre-renderaswellasAuto-

Play/Auto-Refresh(whereapplicable)•ContactswithUsers(ifapplicable)•ResearchonAccuracyofBasicData

o LatencyIssueswithPeriodicMeasurement,AsApplicable•RateofResponse(ifapplicable)

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EditingorDataAdjustmentProcedures•CheckingRecordsforCompleteness•ConsistencyChecks•AccuracyChecks•RulesforHandlingInconsistencies•CircumstancesforDiscardingData•FiltrationProcedures•HandlingofPartialDataRecords

o AscriptionProcedures

ComputationofReportedResults•DescriptionofHowEstimatesareCalculated

o Illustrationsaredesirable•WeightingTechniques(ifapplicable)•VerificationorQualityControlChecksinDataProcessingOperations•Pre-ReleaseQualityControls•ReprocessingorErrorCorrectionRules

ReportingStandards(ifapplicable)•RequirementsforInclusioninReports,BasedonMinimumActivityLevels• DemographicandGeographicBreaksReported

ReliabilityofResults•SamplingError(ifapplicable)•ValidationofAccuracyandPrecisionanddisclosuresrelatedtothese

Dataretentionrules•Maintainingsufficientdataorprocessesthatallowforaudittrail

LimitationsonDataUse•Non-samplingError•ErrorsorUnusualConditionsNotedinReportingPeriod•LimitationsofMeasurements

10 AuditingGuidelines

10.1 GeneralThirdpartyindependentauditingisencouragedforalldigitallocation-basedmeasurementsusedinthebuyingandsellingprocess.Thisauditingisrecommendedtoincludecountingmethods,measurementmethodsandattributionforlocationandprocessing/controlsasfollows:

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1. CountingMethods:Independentverificationofactivityforadefinedperiod.Countingmethodproceduresgenerallyincludeabasicprocessreviewandriskanalysistounderstandthemeasurementmethods,analyticalreview,transactionauthentication,validationproceduresandmeasurementrecalculations.

2. Panel/Census/AttributionMethods:Independentverificationofactivitytoattributelocation.Theseproceduresgenerallyincludeprocessreviews,methodstoensureaccuraterepresentation,qualifiersappliedandtestingofapplicationofthesequalifiersforinclusioninaudiences,transactionauthentication,validationofweightingandprojectionproceduresandmeasurementrecalculations.

3. Processes/Controls:Examinationoftheinternalcontrolssurroundingallphasesofthemeasurementprocess.Processauditingincludesexaminationoftheadequacyofappliedcountingandqualificationtechniques.

Althoughauditreportscanbeissuedasinfrequentlyasonceperyear,someaudittestingshouldextendtomorethanoneperiodduringtheyeartoassureinternalcontrolsaremaintained.Auditreportsshouldclearlystatetheperiodscoveredbytheunderlyingaudittestingandtheperiodcoveredbytheresultingcertification.

10.2 U.S.CertificationRecommendationAlldigitallocation-basedmeasurementproductsusedinthebuyingandsellingprocessarerecommendedtobecertifiedascompliantwiththeseguidelines,atminimumannually.Thisrecommendationisstronglysupportedbythe4Asandothermembersofthebuyingcommunity,forconsiderationofmeasurementsas“currency.”InadditiontoMRC,thereareanumberofothercertifiersandtypesandlevelsofcertificationavailabletoorganizationsinvolvedinmediameasurement.Anumberofdigitallocation-basedproductsexistintheUSandsomeoftheseproductshavebeenaccreditedbytheMRCinsomefashion.Uponfinalizationoftheseguidelines,inadditiontotimelyevaluationofeachoftheseproductsforcompliance,areconciliationprocesswilllikelyneedtotakeplacethataccountsforthedifferentialdatacollection,editingandprojectiontechniquesemployedbytherespectivevendorsandthepotentialimpactsonreportedestimates.SpecialAuditingGuidanceforAdvertisingAgenciesorOtherBuyingOrganizations:Ifbuyingorganizationsmodifyorotherwisemanipulatemeasurementsfromcertifieddigitallocation-basedaudiencemeasurementorganizationsuponreceipt,auditingoftheseactivitiesshouldbeconsidered.

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10.3 InternationalCertificationRecommendationTheMRCencouragesnon-U.S.measurersofactivitytoadoptthepracticesspelledoutintheseguidelines.Whilecertificationregimesmayvaryonacountry-by-countrybasis,weencouragemeasurerstobeauditedforcomplianceannuallybyindependent,third-partyauditingorganizations.

11 References http://www.iab.com/guidelines/iab-mobile-location-data-guide-for-publishers/https://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/AudienceReachMeasurementGuidelines.pdfhttp://www.mmaglobal.com/documents/demystifying-location-data-accuracyhttp://www.researchexcellence.com/files/pdf/2015-02/id97_can_publisher_data_play_a_role_4_3_12.pdf

12 SupportingAssociationsandParticipatingOrganizationsAbouttheInteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)TheInteractiveAdvertisingBureau(IAB)empowersthemediaandmarketingindustriestothriveinthedigitaleconomy.Itiscomprisedofmorethan650leadingmediaandtechnologycompaniesthatareresponsibleforselling,delivering,andoptimizingdigitaladvertisingormarketingcampaigns.Together,theyaccountfor86percentofonlineadvertisingintheUnitedStates.Workingwithitsmembercompanies,IABdevelopstechnicalstandardsandbestpracticesandfieldscriticalresearchoninteractiveadvertising,whilealsoeducatingbrands,agencies,andthewiderbusinesscommunityontheimportanceofdigitalmarketing.Theorganizationiscommittedtoprofessionaldevelopmentandelevatingtheknowledge,skills,expertise,anddiversityoftheworkforceacrosstheindustry.ThroughtheworkofitspublicpolicyofficeinWashington,D.C.,IABadvocatesforitsmembersandpromotesthevalueoftheinteractiveadvertisingindustrytolegislatorsandpolicymakers.Foundedin1996,IABisheadquarteredinNewYorkCityandhasaWestCoastofficeinSanFrancisco.AbouttheMobileMarketingAssociation(MMA)TheMMAistheworld’sleadingglobalnon-profittrademobilemarketingassociationcomprisedofmorethan800membercompanies,fromnearlyfiftycountriesaroundtheworld.Ourmembershailfromeveryfactionofthemobilemarketingecosystem,includingbrandmarketers,agencies,mobiletechnologyplatforms,mediacompanies,operatorsandothers.TheMMA’smissionistoacceleratethetransformationandinnovationofmarketingthrough

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mobile,drivingbusinessgrowthwithcloserandstrongerconsumerengagement.AnchoringtheMMA’smissionarefourcorepillars;tocultivateinspirationbydrivinginnovationfortheChiefMarketingOfficer;tobuildthemobilemarketingcapabilitiesformarketingorganizationsthroughfosteringknow-howandconfidence;tochampiontheeffectivenessandimpactofmobilethroughresearchprovidingtangibleROImeasurement;andtoadvocateformobilemarketers.Additionally,MMAindustry-widecommitteesworkcollaborativelytodevelopandadvocateglobalbestpracticesandleadstandardsdevelopment.AbouttheMediaRatingCouncil(MRC)TheMRCisanon-profitIndustryassociationestablishedin1963comprisedofleadingtelevision,radio,printandInternetcompanies,aswellasadvertisers,advertisingagenciesandtradeassociationswhosegoalistoensuremeasurementservicesthatarevalid,reliableandeffective.MeasurementservicesdesiringMRCAccreditationarerequiredtodisclosetotheircustomersallmethodologicalaspectsoftheirservice;complywiththeMRC'sMinimumStandardsForMediaRatingResearch;andsubmittoMRC-designedauditstoauthenticateandilluminatetheirprocedures.Inaddition,theMRCmembershipactivelypursuesresearchissuestheyconsiderprioritiesinanefforttoimprovethequalityofresearchinthemarketplace.Currently,approximately110syndicatedresearchproductsareauditedbytheMRC.Formoreinformation,visitwww.mediaratingcouncil.org.ParticipatingWorkingGroupOrganizations:4info inMarket RTBiQIncA+EOleCommunications Joingo,LLC SchurzCommunicationsAcxiom Joule SenseWhereAdara KatzMediaGroup SkyhookAOL KTVN-SarkesTarzian StarcomMediaVestGroupAOL-Convertro LocalSearchAssociation(LSA) TABOnlineApple Mbooth TenthAvenue/JouleAuditedMedia MECGlobal TheMarketingArmBeebyClark+Meyler MediaGeneral TheWeatherCompanyCBSInteractive Medialets ThinknearbyTelenavChapellAssociates Meredith TribuneBroadcastingcomScore Microsoft TritonDigitalCriteo MNI TurnerBroadcastingCuebiq Mobext txtsignal.comEY MobileMarketingAssociation(MMA) UbimoEyeCorpMedia Near UnacastFacebook Nielsen UnivisionFactual NinthDecimal VerizonWirelessFederatedMedia OneMobile VerveMobileFleishmanHillard Pandora VMob

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Foursquare ParkourMethod WalmartGasBuddy Placecast WalmartStores,Inc.Gimbal Placed WeatherChannelGoogle PlaceIQ XAdHavasMedia PromoMap YextHorizonMedia RadioResearchSymposium(RRC) YPIAB RazorFish IgnitionOne Reveal

13 ContactUsIAB:EricJohn,SeniorDirector,Mobile&[email protected]:RonPinelli,VPDigitalResearchandStandards212-972-0300rpinelli@mediaratingcouncil.org MMA:LeoScullin,[email protected]

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A. Appendix:DigitalAudienceChecklistTBD

Documents

Location-Based Advertising Measurement Guidelines · The Guidelines contained in this document originated from a project led by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and the Interactive