Watch out Nielsen: SMI to provide Australian-first real time, accurate data across all media

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SMI.jpgAustralia’s first, independent, real time advertising revenue index, SMI, launched today offering access to independent data across all media every month.

SMI is co founded by CEO Sue Fennessy, a media and sponsorship expert,and publisher Jane Schulze, the former Editor of The Australian’s Mediasection and a media writer for over 15 years.

SMI has struck individual agreements with all Australia’s major mediaagencies to provide, for the first time ever, their advertising revenuebuying data to SMI. Those media buying firms include Carat, GroupM(MediaCom, Mindshare, Mediaedge:cia and MAXUS), Ikon Communications,Initiative, Mitchell Communications Group, Universal McCann, OMD, PHD,Starcom MediaVst and ZenithOptimedia.

The ad revenue data is collected every month directly from the mediaagencies and is pooled to provides an independent benchmark thatdemonstrated aggregated demand across all media.

SMI has contracted BCC AdSystems, Australia’s leading media softwarebusiness that has existing relationships with all the media agencies,to securely collect and rationalise the data. SMI will then deliver itssubscribers with real aggregated revenue data plus deep dive analysisevery month in real time.

The SMI data covers all mainstream media, an, for the first time, willreveal Google search revenue, a breakdown of subscription TV channelrevenue data, revenue of Australia’s new digital free-to-air multi channels, revenue of the top 50 online publishers and will be the onlysource of mobile telephony revenue data.

The data can be provided by media owner network, media type and subtype, market type and market, and right down to individual media suchas a TV station, digital media vehicle, newspaper, magazine, etc.

“The entire media industry is currently undergoing extreme volatilityand suffers from an information void. This creates a proliferation ofsubjective commentary which often leads to a false trading market,”Schulze said.

“There has never been a more important time for accurate, timely data.SMI’s data will shed light on the real revenue movements across themedia industry for the first time and provide a common tradinglanguage.”

It was the lack of timely and accurate revenue data that led Schulze tostart planning a system that would provide greater clarity toadvertisers, media owners, buyers, analysts and fund managers.

“Over the past 15 years, I was constantly writing about an opaqueindustry – reporting on billions of dollars in a market that waslacking hard data. Arguably this lack of clarity exacerbated the recentdecline in media share values,” she said.

SMI CEO Sue Fennessy said: “SMI has evolved out of a genuine desire torevitalize the media industry. As we emerge from the current economiccycle, media stocks and the advertising market will recover, albeitwith a greater mix of media fighting for the advertiser and investordollar.

“Advertisers, financial analysts and even media operators arechallenged as new digital media constantly emerges and further fragmentand already complex market.”

Fennessy has worked in media for more than 20 years, having launchedtwo business, MM Communications in Australia and Frontiers Group inChina, specialising in sponsorship and branded content programming,plus media sales for sports and entertainment rights, including theWorld Cup football.

Schulze and Fennessy have teamed with equity partner Michael Bartlettat SMI. Bartlett, formerly with Morgan Stanley in New York and London,and more recently a partner with fund manager K2, brings financialmarket insight and an understanding of how the right data combined withknowledge of a market can be powerful.

“SMI brings an opportunity to re-shape media investment, givinginvestors in media stocks the knowledge and security that the revenuesof these companies are solid, and without real demand data we do nothave that level of comfort,” Bartlett said.

Australia’s largest media buyers have welcomed the launch of SMI.

Mitchell Communications Group chairman Harold Mitchell said: “In myexperience of recessions, it is the preparation for the upswing andinvestment in finding new opportunities that dictates success. SMI datacan help you uncover those business opportunities.”

GroupM trading director James Parkinson: “SMI will deliver increasedmarket visibility on real time demand and trends across all mediasectors and vendors. In the current market this data becomes invaluableas we differentiate between market opinions and meaningful data-basedtrends…An aggregated perspective on overall market conditionsprovides clarity to the industry and moves us to a more progressive,informed and accountable place.”

MediaCom CEO Annie Parsons said: “We are an industry which spendsbillions of our clients’ dollars without total transparency. We give itour best shot, our considered opinion and our knowledge of histroy, butwith SMI we can base our decisions on industry facts. Their vision fordata plus technology to provide a robust picture across all media I seeas real innovation.”