At the beginning of July, the Association for Media Research (AIMC) announced the selection, by its Board of Directors and unanimously, of Comscore as the recommended meter of digital audiences for the Spanish market starting in 2027. But the company’s international restructuring process has interfered with those plans and forced the association to reevaluate the decision.
The AIMC has announced in a statement that Comscore has reported that it is not in a position to formalize the contract or execute the project committed to in its proposal. “Comscore’s decision occurs within the framework of the global restructuring that the company is carrying out and which, as it has informed the AIMC, has entailed a significant transformation of its operations and its workforce, affecting its ability to develop the project in the scope, conditions and schedule initially contemplated.“, they explain from the association.
“It would not be responsible to make commitments that Comscore cannot guarantee”
What’s more, the AIMC refers directly, and in the original English, to the statement it received from the company and in which it states: “It would not be responsible, neither for the AIMC nor for the Spanish market, to assume commitments that Comscore cannot guarantee at this time to meet at the level that the industry expects and deserves.”.
Given this, the AIMC has announced that its Board of Directors will meet in the coming days to analyze the situation and decide next steps regarding the future of the digital measurement service in Spain. “The AIMC will continue to report on the evolution of this process and the decisions that are adopted, given the relevance of this service for the entire media and advertising industry.”he has stated.
Now the association could start or resume conversations with companies such as GfK or Nielsen in order to reevaluate the proposals they submitted to the competition called in March; or call for a new process to consider more options.
From Reason Why we have contacted you to learn more about the situation. We will update the news when we have more information.
Comscore restructuring
The uncertainty scenario occurs as a consequence of the new global strategy that Comscore has launched and which aims, as announced in August, to restructure the business, optimize the company’s operations and invest in long-term growth opportunities. “This strategy seeks to reduce and make the company’s cost structure more flexible, simplify Comscore’s internal and external operations, strengthen accountability and concentrate resources on products and opportunities that generate lasting long-term value.”; he commented.
Among other things, the plan involves, in the words of CEO Matt McLaughlin, substantial staff reduction, as well as additional initiatives aimed at simplifying complex areas and streamlining the company’s international commercial presence. These measures affect, as confirmed by the AIMC, the structure of Comscore in Spain, a country in which it has operated with its own resources since 2010.
The company, however, has not yet officially reported if or when it will cease its activity, nor has it detailed the number of affected employees. It could continue operating for its clients through a different structure than the one it maintained for almost two decades in our country.
The choice of Comscore as the recommended digital audience meter for the Spanish market was the consequence of the contest called by the association last March. The association highlighted the company’s hybrid methodology, which combines census data with data from different panels, and which was one of the requirements of the document. He also valued positively the incorporation of new developments and services in recent years, especially linked to social networks and artificial intelligence.
Comscore’s proposal would have responded, initially and in the eyes of the AIMC, to the requirements established in the tender document which, among other things, requested a hybrid measurement system that combined census data with a multi-device user panel, as well as covering the largest possible number of sites and digital platforms and establishing clear reliability thresholds for the publication of data.
It also had to have a set of mandatory metrics that the system must offer for different digital environments; and incorporate mechanisms to eliminate invalid traffic, including bots and other automated systems.
And economically, the candidates had to present a plan that guaranteed the long-term sustainability of the system, including forecasts for the evolution of rates and the financing structure of the service. Given its global restructuring, Comscore would not be in a position to guarantee its correct development.
Comscore’s proposal prevailed over those of the other two participants in the process: Nielsen and GfK. Comscore was called upon to take over, precisely, from the latter, which was selected for the task in March 2021 and has carried it out from the beginning of 2022 until now, in accordance with the extension granted to the contract, valid until December 31, 2025.
