At Advertising Week today, The Nielsen Company announced the development of Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings, which will for the first time provide audience data comparable to Nielsen’s television ratings. The new measurement system is a significant advancement for the media industry and will provide greater accuracy, faster reporting, and wider coverage than existing online measurement.

“This is a major step forward for both Nielsen and our industry. This new system will provide marketers with a better understanding of their ROI, and will give media companies a much needed tool to prove the value of their audiences,” said Steve Hasker, President, Media Products, Nielsen. “Perhaps most importantly, marketers and media companies alike will now have a simpler way to measure the combined reach of TV, the web and even mobile advertising. Reach alone doesn’t tell the whole story, however, and Nielsen intends to combine the ratings with cross-platform advertising effectiveness metrics to provide a complete view.”

Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings will be tested with several industry leaders in Q4 of 2010 including advertisers such as Procter & Gamble and Verizon Wireless, major media agencies such as Starcom MediaVest, and Facebook.

Watch The Announcement

Overview Video

Read the full press release about Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings, including comments from the online advertising industry.