After several years of being on the industry wish list, standardized media measurement is no longer just an aspiration. The WFA (World Federation of Advertisers) has unveiled an advertiser-centric framework and technical proposal for a unified approach to cross-media measurement. The technical proposal was developed in partnership with digital platforms, including Facebook and Google, and will now be tested by the U.K. and U.S., with ISBA and the ANA respectively leading local efforts.

In addition to the WFA membership, over the past 18 months the approach was steered by several prominent advertisers and advertiser associations. The collaborators include Canada’s ACA, as well as the ANA, ISBA (U.K.), Union des Marques (France), OWM (Germany) and brands such as Deutsche Telekom, Mars, Mastercard, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever and others. The Media Rating Council (MRC) has also been involved in this work throughout.

This could be a win from the Canadian association’s perspective and a sign of greater things to come.

“ACA has been advocating for better measurement in Canada for decades,” says Judy Davey, VP of media policy and marketing capabilities at the ACA. “This is an advertiser-led initiative that ACA worked on with the WFA to create. We desperately need a standardized approach to cross-media measurement that includes commercial ratings and deduplicated reach and frequency.”

Davey says the ACA will be following the framework that identifies a “North Star” ambition that includes four principles to guide the advancement of measurement.

“We will work collaboratively with advertisers, broadcasters, platforms, and agencies to make this a reality in Canada.” The proposal recognizes that measurement requires local governance alongside the need for common global components. Any aspects that require customized technology will be open sourced. As such, says Davey, “we have, and will continue to have discussions with Numeris, and other potential participants moving forward.”

In Canada, a cross-media measurement steering committee is being formed by the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) to work with industry stakeholders to support and align with the Framework.