Advertising without a measurement system would be like a basketball hoop with no rim, a world without gravity, a ship without a captain. And, since we need rims, captains and something to keep us grounded it can be inferred if not required that we have a system by which to measure advertising success… and failure when it rears its ugly head.

Luckily for the outdoor side of advertising, our method of measurement has changed recently. In order to best understand the impact of the newest measurement system, you must also be familiar with the components of systems past.

In the beginning there was the Traffic Count. A traffic count is the number of vehicles passing a specific geographical location. Official machine counts are regularly conducted by city, county and state governments, while hand counts are performed in uniquely small markets. This method was great at telling advertisers the average number of cars that passed a location each day and night but, it wasn’t an accurate calculation of a campaigns true reach. (Because really, how many people drive with night-vision goggles….?)

Knowing the shortcomings of traffic count figures, an additional layer of data was applied resulting in daily effective circulations (DEC’s). Daily Effective Circulation is an average number of persons potentially exposed to an advertising display for either 12 hours (un-illuminated – 6:00 am to 6:00 pm) or 18 hours (illuminated 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight). DEC’s are also referred to as Daily Impressions. DEC’s are merely traffic count numbers converted to figures that account for times when a unit may not be visible.

While DEC’s took into consideration the number of vehicles passing an outdoor unit during night hours when the unit wasn’t illuminated, these figures still weren’t completely accurate. These inaccuracies were taken into consideration and led to the unveiling of the newest measurement system in out-of-home advertising, Eyes On Impressions (EOI).

New data means more measurable ROI in out-of-home advertising

Eyes On Impressions is a measurement of the number of people that pass an out-of-home (OOH) advertising display that are then likely to notice the ad. EOI’s are more accurate figures because they not only quantify the number of people who pass a display but also the number of people who actually notice the outdoor unit. EOI’s integrate several measurement tools such as; DEC’s, Census Data, Travel Survey, Data Modeling, analytics and statistical conversion factors called Visibility Adjustment Indices (VAI). Unlike measurement systems of the past, EOI’s take into consideration both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Increased Analytics

The standard eyes on impressions (EOI) measurement is reported for 18+ populations. However, advertisers can also target specific demographics including, age, sex, race, and household income or a combination of multiple demographics, for example: Asian American Women, over the age of 55 with a HHI of between $50,000 – $75,000.

Improve Reach & Frequency Data

This new measurement also improves Reach and Frequency (R&F) tools. No longer will two campaigns with the same circulation have the same reach and frequency. The Eyes On R&F will differ, taking into account dispersion of units across a market and audience duplication. For example, a dispersed campaign will have a higher reach and lower frequency while, a clustered campaign will have a lower reach and higher frequency.

Outdoor Now Directly Comparable to Broadcast & Print Media

Eyes On will help place outdoor media on an even playing field with other traditional media like TV and print, when comparing measurement statistics and analyzing entire advertising campaigns.