Programme update – 2024 asi International Conferences

Detailed planning is now underway for this year’s International Radio & Audio and TV & Video Conferences in Venice. This will be our 34th annual gathering of leading audience measurement specialists from around the world!  We’d like to hear from you about what topics you are particularly keen for us to feature this year: the hot topics in media and its measurement. What is keeping you awake at night? What work are you engaged in that you think would be of interest to share with our community? What other work or developments have you come across that you think we should be including?

To get you thinking, here are some of the issues that have already come up in conversations in the asi office, with our session chairs and on recent editions of the asiCast, our popular podcast. Some of these are building on themes that have emerged over our recent conferences in Nice, others have become more prominent since we last met. Let us know your priorities by getting in touch.

Industry issues

Does the word ‘television’ have any meaning today, given video content is available across multiple devices and platforms? Should video be classified by perceived quality and who determines the classification? Who gets to determine what television is anymore?

For commercial airtime trading, the ‘alt currency’ movement in the US is driven by the sell side, whilst the Aquila project recently announced by the ANA is a buy-side initiative. How widespread is this lack of consensus on the priorities for measurement and is this a trend in other markets? Where does this leave the JIC model and recent calls for collaboration across the industry?

Are the  requirements for a measurement system for planning and media buying diverging from the needs of campaign tracking and evaluation? For both uses, what is more important for measurement, simplicity or accuracy? Are we even agreed on what it is we’re trying to measure – what do we mean by ‘impressions’, impact(s), attention and linear?

How are these to be determined and who will set the standards? What international authority does the Media Ratings Council (MRC) of the US have? Or the IAB? How can we arrive at a consensus amongst national organisations charged with overseeing their respective markets?

Meanwhile, the industry is exploring the implications of Artificial Intelligence, sustainability and the talent profile required going forward. What opportunities are there for media currencies to break out of their silos and collaborate on key common issues and technical tools?

Particular issues we have identified relating to our core sessions are below – again, please let us know your priorities and/or additional key themes:

Advertising

• First-party data sets to improve advertising efficiency
• What exactly do we mean by ‘attention’ metrics?
• CTV opportunities
• Do we need to move from traditional TV metrics like TVRs to impressions?
• Are we all really agreed on what an impression actually is?
• How can we define an outcome?

Streaming and business models

• Subscription services embracing advertising
• Bundling of streaming services
• FAST channels potential
• Sports as subscription drivers
• Industry consolidation
• Pay TV and broadcaster streaming services

Measurement, panels and data

• If there is consensus on the need to leverage the strengths of big data and panels in combination, how do these two elements work together? Which is in the driving seat?
• APIs and dashboards versus respondent-level datasets
• Synthetic data and virtual panels
• Calibration panels vs currency panels
• Personification
• Cost-effective panels
• Sustainability
• Content and advertising detection techniques
• Creative solutions to solve specific local challenges

Cross-media and cross-platform

• Are common reach definitions possible?
• Are forms of media weighting or effectiveness factors acceptable?
• Where does this leave audio, outdoor, earned media and other media channels?
• Progress being made on the two specific WFA pilots (ISBA’s Project Origin and the ANA’s Aquila)
• Progress towards cross-platform video in other markets
• Post-buy campaign-measurement systems
• Requirements and use-cases for media planning, campaign optimisation and campaign evaluation: can one solution meet all these requirements?

Issues specific to radio/audio

• How can we crack podcast measurement?
• Understanding podcast advertising and its outcomes
• Will audio streaming services like Spotify ever join industry measurement currencies?
• What opportunities are presented by big data?
• Demonstrating the effectiveness of radio as a medium
• What is the direction of travel for hybrid systems that blend recall, passive and census streaming data?
• Are the current radio trading systems here to stay or is a change in approach needed?
• What examples are there of the radio industry coming together to ensure its future?

BOOKING

This year’s venue is the Hilton Molino Stucky Hotel, Giudecca, Venice. We offer a discounted rate for delegates to the conferences. You can find information and a dedicated link for booking your accommodation by going to the Conference Programmes page on our website. We recommend you book early to guarantee your reservation at the reduced rate.

The full programmes for the conferences will be released in August. We’ll also let you know when conference booking opens.

You can contact us via the website or email us at admin@asiconferences.com.