They audit know better

I nearly choked when I heard SPH’s senior manager for new media Raymond Teoh suggest advertisers take their dollars elsewhere if a website could not show an audited figure. This was said at the first-ever Singapore Online Symposium held at The Arts House on 15 August.

From L-R: Teoh, Jay Shapiro, Grant Watts, Forrest Diddier

Could this be the same SPH which still won't get a number of its magazines audited? At Marketing we are all for auditing of every media, but this is surely a case of people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw Nielsen//NetRatings reports.

Here’s what happened:

Over 60 marketers and internet industry professionals attended the Symposium which explored how online industry players can work together to accelerate internet development in Singapore, and possibly beyond.

The event’s host, internet industry auditor Nielsen//NetRatings, emphasised the pressing need for industry alignment on guidelines related to performance measurement and benchmarking.

Co-panellists and online publishers Dominic Yeo, CEO, Trevvy/Sgboy and Eugene Low, General Manager, Hardwarezone showed support for Nielsen//NetRatings’ Market Intelligence service for its tangible results in terms of advertiser engagement and ad revenue growth upon presenting their advertisers with NetRatings’ independently audited statistics.

The rest of the six panellists also agreed that for our online advertising industry to grow, we have to be audited.

It was near the end of the event when Teoh said to marketers that if they want to put their money online, they should ask publishers, “Are you using NetRatings?”. Immediately after which he added something to the effect of: If not, I’m not advertising with you.

Tonight, I’m attending the Magazine Publishers Association of Singapore (MPAS) Founders' Night at ARIA Bistro & Wine Bar at the Esplanade, a group set up to work towards a professionally successful, reputable and responsible magazine publishing industry (print and online) here.

“For the Association to be effective and meaningful, it is crucial that it represents the majority of the industry and we urge every one of you to find time to attend this event,” MPAS Pro-tem Committee head Ho Sum Kwong said.

SK Ho.

It really is an exciting time, considering both print and online industry players are getting together to set down guidelines for the improvement and evolution of our business environments.

So just as SPH made a very strong stance advocating online auditing, I hope to see Teoh’s colleagues from publishing make the same powerful statements at the meeting tonight.