Microsoft is first participant in Data Partner Program

New York, NY, October 18 -- Kantar Media is launching the Data Partner Program, an initiative that integrates Return Path Data (RPD) from its DIRECTView™ Service with datasets from both inside and outside of Kantar Media to provide marketers and media buyers and sellers with new sales and marketing tools and enhanced analytics for more effective audience targeting.

The first participant in the program will be Microsoft Advertising, which overlays data from DIRECTView with the RPD it is currently using for analytics in its Admira television marketplace. Admira simplifies the purchase of national TV media for advertisers and helps programmers maximize the value of their ad inventory using real-time audience measurement data. With the integration of RPD from Kantar Media, media buyers and planners have access to a broader audience panel, further enhancing optimization of ad placements using the marketplace and providing greater granular insight into audience viewing behavior of the programming available through Admira’s national TV inventory.

The DIRECTView service is one of the largest national audience measurement services available in the United States. DIRECTView processes RPD from DIRECTV’s national footprint of 100,000 satellite television subscribers. This data is projectable to the entire DIRECTV subscriber base of more than 17 million households. The service enables measurement of the entire spectrum of live and time-shifted (DVR) audience viewing behaviors at a second-by-second level across more than 350 channels.

 “The value of RPD is increasing as new applications and usage for the analysis it enables evolve and emerge,” says Bud Breheney, chief commercial officer of Kantar Media Audiences. “That is the focus of our Data Partner Program, to foster new opportunities for integration and overlays with other data sets. We are delighted to have Microsoft’s Admira, which has greatly advanced the field of data-driven media buys, as our first partner in this venture.”

Admira is a simple solution for reaching nearly 100 million households across the more than 20 national TV networks available through the marketplace. Admira uses near real-time set top box viewership data to optimize ad placements based on audience segmentation and target criteria.
“Admira drives value through its ability to deliver and substantiate TV audiences on a national scale,” said Scott Ferris, general manager of the TV/Video Business Group, Advertiser and Publisher Solutions at Microsoft. “The addition of audience viewing behavior from DIRECTView augments Admira’s proprietary data by providing access to a larger and more geographically diverse audience panel, helping to improve the precision with which Admira can enable a marketer to reach their audience and TV programmers to better illuminate their viewer segments.”

About Kantar Media
Established in more than 50 countries, Kantar Media helps clients master the world’s multimedia momentum through analysis of print, radio, TV, internet, cinema, mobile, social media, and outdoor worldwide. Kantar Media offers a full range of media insights and audience measurement services through its global business sectors –Audiences, Intelligence, TGI and Custom.  Kantar Media companies also include Compete, Cymfony and SRDS. Drawing upon the deepest expertise in the industry, Kantar Media tracks more than 3 million brands and delivers insight to more than 22,000 customers worldwide.
www.KantarMediaNA.com

About Microsoft’s Admira
A solution from Microsoft Advertising, Admira provides a simple, effective and accountable way for advertisers to buy national TV media and for programmers to help maximize the value of their inventory using real-time audience measurement data. More information is available at http://admira.navic.tv.

About Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising provides advertisers and publishers with media, tools and services designed to drive deep and profitable engagement with their audiences. This includes a global media network of Microsoft properties such as MSN, Windows Live, Xbox LIVE, and partner properties such as WSJ.com and Verizon. The Microsoft Advertiser and Publisher Suites simplify planning and management of campaigns and content, offering a range of services that help advertisers and publishers untangle the complexities of digital media and get more out of their marketing and content investments. Microsoft Advertising makes buying and selling media simple, smart and cost-effective across media and devices spanning 42 markets and 21 languages. Visit http://advertising.microsoft.com for more information.