New Ratings System for NZ Websites

An industry group representing New Zealand's Internet publishers, advertisers and agencies have announced the selection of Red Sheriff and Phoenix for their new Internet ratings and audience measurement figures.

The new standard incorporates website traffic and audience measurement with demographic information on New Zealand Net users. It will allow site owners and advertisers to draw comparisons and evaluate differences in demographic profiles. The first detailed website ranking results are due to appear in September 2002.

The announcement follows a request for proposals from interested providers to supply the industry group with a service. The organisations behind the move included TVNZ's nzoom.com, Telecom's XtraMSN, Wilson and Horton's nzherald.co.nz, INL's stuff.co.nz, IDG and Vodafone. The group also comprises of the Internet Bureau and the Communications Agencies Association of New Zealand (CAANZ), which represents advertising agencies.

The primary requirements of the request were for consistent information on site audience reach, frequency, and user demographics. The solution also needed to be accessible to smaller sites, while having sufficient capacity to measure New Zealand's largest sites.

XtraMSN marketing director, Chris Thompson, says a lack of consistency in measuring website audience numbers has been confusing for publishers and advertisers. 'It doesn't matter if you're a large player or a niche website, having one industry-endorsed standard that has everyone talking the same language is vitally important for the development of the whole online industry. Just as TV has people meters and magazines have ABC figures, we'll have an independent third party which will be able to categorically say 'this is what's happening on the Internet',' he says.

According to Red Sheriff's New York-based CEO, Richard Webb, the speed at which the New Zealand Internet industry has moved on establishing a national standard is creating a world first. 'Nowhere else has the implementation of a common applied standard been undertaken so rapidly. This could be leveraged to create a real competitive advantage, with New Zealand's Internet audience measurement standard potentially providing a global benchmark for Internet measurement and assessment,' he says.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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