First launched in Chicago and later South Africa, the system is currently in the planning phase for China, with both media agencies and owners asked to participate in a taskforce which will examine localising the system.
The system will track reach, frequency and ratings data along with demographic information, by using a GPS device called Nielsen Personal Outdoor Device or Npod, which will cross reference the data with a citywide database of outdoor sites. A launch date has yet to be finalised.
Consumers in the sample group will simply be asked to carry the device — no larger than a standard mobile phone — for a set period of time. Through the GPS satellite network, Nielsen Outdoor's system will allow for time and date-stamping of consumers, as well as their direction and speed of travel. It will also include variables originally developed by UK OOH measurement body Postar, including the angle of the display to the road, distance from the curb, the distance from which the display is first visible and whether or not the display is illuminated.
"This is the biggest initiative in the industry because China desperately needs some measurement for outdoor, and the industry should support Nielsen," said Winnie Lee, deputy MD, OMD China. "It is going to give agencies and owners a very good benchmark on daily outdoor exposure," she added.
The new system is expected to face a number of challenges however, both logistically and in the accuracy of the data. First and foremost, China's largest outdoor networks comprise only approximately 30 per cent of the market, with smaller owners, many responsible for single panels, making up the remaining 70 per cent, a ratio which could pose difficulties in the creation of an inclusive database required for the system.
The measurement system will also exclude underground sites, such as subways because of the limits of GPS technology, and although it will measure static outdoor displays, media agencies say consideration needs to be given to traffic flow and density at diferent hours of the day.
"Additional visibility considerations can be incorporated into the research if required, but these need to be devised by the industry at large," said Lorraine Hadfield, managing director, Nielsen Outdoor. "It will also make outdoor more accountable to the (global) advertisers that require ROI metrics."
