Forbes Leads the First Wave of Publishers to Adopt comScore Validated Campaign Essentials™ (vCE)

NEW YORK and RESTON, Va., March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Media and comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) today announced an agreement to implement viewable impression measurement across all display ad campaigns appearing on Forbes.com as part of its validated Brand Increase Guarantee (vBIG) program. This innovative offering from Forbes leverages comScore validated Campaign Essentials™ (vCE) to validate that ad impressions delivered as part of an advertiser's vBIG program are in-view, providing the assurance that advertisers will only be charged for ads that have had an opportunity to deliver the desired advertising effect. This program is consistent with the principles addressed as part of Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS), an industry-wide initiative led by the ANA, IAB and 4A's, which called for a set of standards across the industry and the need for a true measure of 'viewable impressions'.

"Forbes is thrilled to be the first-to-market premium publisher using comScore vCE to guarantee viewable impressions to our advertisers as part of our vBIG program," said Bruce Rogers, Chief Insights Officer, Forbes Media. "We see this as a game-changer for Forbes and a significant first step for the industry toward improved accountability for – and ultimately monetization of – digital ad inventory. For too long online ad pricing has involved significant guesswork, because while we knew that not all ads were delivered in-view, we weren't always sure which ones. The comScore vCE technology provides much-needed transparency to accurately reflect the ads that are actually being seen. This knowledge is essential in proving that our highly engaging content delivers a higher percentage of validated impressions and that they are delivering outstanding performance for our advertiser clients."

"Premium publishers that offer highly engaging content often do not get the credit they deserve for below-the-fold placements on their web page, which may actually deliver results that are every bit as strong as the above-the-fold placements," said Erin Hunter, Executive Vice President, comScore.  "comScore vCE is helping premium publishers like Forbes clearly illustrate the value of their inventory and prove to advertisers why placements throughout their site have the ability to deliver the desired effect on audiences. The result is greater transparency and accountability on both sides of the media equation, representing a win-win scenario for both advertisers and publishers."

comScore vCE enables Forbes vBIG program to deliver enhanced value to advertisers by validating that an ad had the opportunity to be seen, a clear requirement for delivering desired performance. The vBIG program utilizes comScore AdEffx™ Brand Survey Lift to ensure campaigns appearing on Forbes sites are moving the needle in terms of traditional branding metrics. Importantly, by basing these ad effectiveness studies on validated impressions, advertisers can better evaluate their campaigns' impact, because impressions generating a positive result are not dragged down by non-validated impressions, which by definition cannot deliver an impact.

About Forbes validated Brand Increase Guarantee (vBIG)

Using comScore vCE, Forbes will (1) guarantee that 100 percent of all paid ad impressions are viewable and (2) guarantee lift in brand metrics by conducting an ad effectiveness survey. If the advertiser does not see a statistically significant lift at the 90%+ confidence level for one of four brand metrics — Awareness, Message Association, Brand Favorability or Purchase Intent — Forbes will return the advertiser's money. To qualify, advertisers must run a minimum of $250,000 on Forbes.com over a 90-day period. 

About comScore validated Campaign Essentials (vCE)

vCE is a holistic solution for complete campaign delivery validation and in-flight optimization. Unlike existing single-point solutions, vCE provides an unduplicated accounting of impressions delivered across a variety of dimensions, such as ads delivered in-view, to the right audience, in the right geography, in a brand safe environment and absent of fraudulent delivery. vCE reports on reach and frequency, comprehensive demographics and behavioral segments. This measurement eliminates all impressions that never had a chance to make an impact, providing a more realistic and accurate picture of campaign delivery.

About Forbes Media

Forbes Media encompasses Forbes and Forbes.com (www.forbes.com), the leading business site on the Web that reaches on average 27 million people monthly. The company publishes Forbes and Forbes Asia, which together reach a worldwide audience of more than 6 million readers. It also publishes ForbesLife magazine, in addition to licensee editions in Africa, Argentina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Middle East, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Other Forbes Media Web sites are ForbesWoman.com; RealClearPolitics.com; RealClearMarkets.com; RealClearSports.com and RealClearWorld.com. Together with Forbes.com, these sites reach on average 33 million business decision makers each month.

Steve Forbes serves as Chairman and Editor in Chief. Mike Perlis is President and Chief Executive Officer. Lewis D'Vorkin is Chief Product Officer. Meredith Kopit Levien is Chief Revenue Officer.

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.; Forbes Media