A new media research company, TRA, merges data from people's cable set-top boxes with consumer-purchase databases from shopper loyalty cards. The service promises to finally connect the shows people watch to the products they buy.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, TRA - standing for True ROI Accountability for Media - is using data from cable boxes to measure second-by-second viewership of TV programs and commercials in 300,000 households in Southern California. It expects to have more than one million households across the country by the end of this year. Viewership information is then matched with data from seven grocery-store chains on more than 12 million households' grocery-store purchases based on frequent-shopper-card data.
The loyalty cards track what a consumer buys on each trip, including the brand, specific product, price paid and date and time bought. Shoppers identities, however, are kept anonymous.
TRA's clients include networks such as CBS, media agencies such as WPP's Group M and a handful of advertisers. But the Journal says it's not clear, given the entrenched competition, if the TV ad industry will ultimately support another research company.
The service is rolling out as some heavy hitters are deciding whether to continue testing a similar endeavor. Project Apollo, backed by companies such as Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, merges purchasing data from Nielsen with Arbitron's portable people meters, which track TV-watching and radio-listening habits. But the Journal said the partners may drop the project primarily over concerns that the service may turn out to be too expensive for advertisers.
TRA says its research service is more affordable because it uses existing databases (e.g., loyalty card data) and doesn't rely on individual households to participate in a panel. The company says its approach - merging databases using its unique algorithms - differentiates it from earlier efforts.
TRA says its service will help an advertiser tweak its media buy. For instance, an advertiser could find out which networks' viewers are most likely to watch its ad. It could decide to air most of its ads on Thursdays or Fridays, knowing that shopping data show that consumers typically purchase its product on Saturdays.
The service can also merge a company's proprietary research about its customers into TRA's existing databases. The next step, TRA says, will be accumulating more databases from sectors such as autos, consumer electronics and financial services.
"We're filling a gap in the marketplace," says Mark Lieberman, TRA's chief executive.
Discussion Questions: What potential do you see in a media measurement tool tying TV viewership to shopper loyalty cards? What challenges/hurdles will such a service face?