GroupM pitches branded content standard

<P>WPP's media management arm GroupM has inked a deal to automate its measurement of sponsorship and branded content, in a move it hopes could help formulate industry standards in negotiating future deals.</P> <P>GroupM has hooked up with two-year-old Australian-based company Repucom; thus, the only media agencies in Asia-Pacific to offer Repucom's technology to measure brand exposure will be those within the WPP network.</P> <P>Repucom, which already supplies branded content measurement to Australia's three major commercial broadcasters, set up an office in Singapore earlier this year. It will continue to work direct in the region with broadcasters and existing clients such as Emirates, Holden, Fujitsu and PepsiCo.</P> <P>Moving to an automated system will firm up negotiations in branded content deals by minimising the potential for human error, said Mike Rich, GroupM's regional CEO for content and ESP (entertainment, sports and partnerships). "You can start to tie down a partnership on the basis of exact volumes of exposure," he said. "If this becomes an industry standard, then we're over this issue of how much exposure you get."</P> <P>The promise of improved measurement was welcomed by Malaysian broadcaster Media Prima, which has earmarked branded content as a valuable revenue stream.</P> <P>"This will also help grow the overall branded content market, bringing to the fold more clients who are not really embracing branded content because of the lack of shared metrics," said Navonil Roy, group GM of the creative marketing group at Media Prima Television Networks.<BR></P>