• by Tobi Elkin  @tobielkin, June 27, 2017

The Media Rating Council on Tuesday issued a draft version of its Digital Audio Measurement Guidelines for a 45-day public comment period.

When finalized, the guidelines will serve as a basis for assessing digital audio measurement products as part of an independent audit and accreditation process.

For example, the guidelines will look at the definition of an “audio ad impression,” which requires an ad to have been played with the digital audio player in a non-muted state and at a non-zero volume.

The guidelines also aim to spell out the acceptable approaches for the measurement and reporting of digital audio metrics under a variety of different content and advertising distribution models, such as: digital audio models with static content and static ad loads, simulcast in combination with an audio over-the-air broadcast; digital audio models with static content and static ads that are digital-only streams, and do not have corresponding broadcast simulcasts; digital audio models with static content but dynamic ads; and digital audio models with dynamic content and dynamic ads.

The draft was developed in collaboration with a working group that includes digital audio ad buyers and sellers, digital audio content distributors and measurement services.

The Radio Advertising Bureau, the National Association of Broadcasters’ Committee on Local Radio Audience Measurement, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the IAB Tech Lab were also involved.