Reid to Lead ViziSense in Australia

MD Andrew Reid has left Australian music and events firm Peer Group Media after two years to head up ViziSense, the web site metrics platform being rolled out in Australia by Indian firm Komli.

The Australian IAB is poised to tender to find an approved online audience metric for the country, and is likely to opt for a hybrid system, using a combination of panel-based survey data and site traffic stats from tagging. Reid, who previously held senior roles at Blue Freeway and Nielsen NetRatings, suggested the opportunity represented by the move was his only reason for leaving Peer Group. He told Australian news site www.mumbrella.com.au : 'I want to take digital audience measurement and analysis to a new level of understanding... I'd argue that publishers and agencies need an ethnographic perspective of people and lifestyles, along with the hard data. That's where I want to be in 12 months time.'

ViziSense already has an Australian panel of 15-20,000 users, according to Reid, who will be ViziSense's first Australian employee and will work from the Sydney office of PostClick, recently acquired by Komli. Two weeks ago the Indian firm announced that it had won a further $6m to fund expansion for ViziSense and other services.

Komli CEO Amar Goel comments: 'Andrew's solid experience in the field of research and his passion for building a credible audience measurement business makes him a fitting candidate to lead ViziSense's efforts in Australia.'

Web sites: www.komli.com and www.vizisense.com .