The Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) is developing a Request for Information (RFI) which will be issued to the industry to help create a solution for cross-media measurement, beginning with cross-video platform measurement. This comes after the recent conclusion of the Industry Measurement Advisory Group’s (IMAG) mandate, known as Project Vista. Under the direction of IMAG’s executive committee, Project Vista brought industry together to assess the cross-video platform measurement needs of advertisers and agencies, in addition to the capabilities of media providers to meet those needs.

While the ACA, and the ACA’s Cross Media Measurement Committee will lead the process, the association hopes to have collaboration and input in the development and evaluation of the RFI from across the industry. It is seeking support from industry stakeholders with advanced technical and project management expertise. The RFI will be issued to the industry in the coming months. Similarly to what has happened in the U.S. and the U.K., it’s expected that those responding to the RFI will likely be research and measurement companies.

In the journey to cross-media measurement, the ACA has declared itself to be a “fast follower,” so collaboration with the U.S. and U.K. industries is very important. Judy Davey, ACA’s VP media policy and marketing, says once the information is received the industry will evaluate the responses and determine next steps. “We are closely watching what’s going on in the U.S. and U.K. so we can maximize learning and minimize expense. Their trials are going on this year so it’s important that we get learning from them so as to maximize effectiveness.

“While we would like to have something in place ASAP it’s important that we do this thoughtfully so it will take time. We haven’t started developing the RFI yet, but it will ask for what’s needed to help make cross media measurement a reality in Canada.”

The Industry Measurement Advisory Group (IMAG) was founded by the ACA, the Canadian Media Directors’ Council, the Association of Creative Communication Agencies, thinktv, and Numeris in June 2022. Catherine MacLeod, president & CEO, thinktv and Jennifer Holgate director, cross media measurement, ACA served as IMAG’s co-chairs. The Canadian solution is being built on the World Federation of Advertisers’ (WFA) North Star Principles for Cross-Media Measurement.

The ACA is a participant in the WFA Halo program, which aims to expedite the implementation of a cross-media measurement solution globally. The program is the only global advertiser-driven, open-source, neutral cross-media measurement framework and is designed to enable the most advanced and scalable privacy-preserving technologies to allow advertisers to have a holistic view of their marketing spend.