Called Online Rating Points, the system uses the same methodology as for television, by measuring impressions against the all-individuals universe. The aim is to create a common currency for comparing the effectiveness of online advertising with traditional media, so that advertisers can see like-for-like effectiveness and reach.
Andrew Walmsley, co-founder of , said: "This method is new to new-media people, but any client who is involved in television understands. The client reaction has been great so far."
He said that the system had been running for six months now, and helped to put the impression numbers for online campaigns into context, giving advertisers a simple benchmark for how much of the audience a campaign had reached, and how it compared with traditional media.
One of the clients who has tested out the new system is Yell Group.
The company's head of consumer communications, John Hayward, said that the introduction of ORPs allowed the company to plan campaigns far more scientifically, with a better understanding of the scale.
"We've always known that our online activity delivers results in terms of obtaining new users for Yell.com. But until recently we couldn't really analyse weight of presence within a campaign period as effectively as we can offline," he said.
Martin Shaw, buying director at i-level, said: "At last, it means that advertisers have a genuine like-for-like comparison with their traditional above-the-line spend. They can look at the cost of a rating point online versus say TV. People will still want to consider the relative 'impact' of each medium, but this creates a great benchmark."
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