P.R.I.S.M.

It looks so cool in all caps with periods and stuff huh... Pioneering Research for an In-Store Metric. Did the acronym just work out that well? But I digress...

As a part of the consortium (another fun word), I can't really talk about the details of what's going on. However, I did want to comment on the experience overall. Its a massive undertaking from a logistics standpoint alone. Its interesting how much pure thinking and pre-planning needs to go into setting this thing up; test design, coding, metrics, outputs, etc... Its amazing to see how many research, agency, brand and retail people it takes to screw in a light bulb.

My biggest thought is that technology feels like a double edge sword here. While it facilitates the process immensely, it also creates the assumption that this thing should be perfect. Think back to TV; it was first measured with a small sample of households self-reporting their viewing habits into a diary. Hell, diaries are still used in many markets. We (retail folks) are a victim of post internet metrics. The web was so trackable, we measured everything to the point where most of the metrics were useless.

The hope with this is to find a nice middle ground of useful metrics for planning and auditing purposes, while also maintaining accuracy beyond counting on someone to tell me they think they watched Law & Order last night on NBC but they can't remember which permutation.

Either way, its very cool to be a part of the beginning of something this big. One day, when my grandchildren tell me they generated 2 unduplicated impressions in the produce section of Safeway, I'll be able to say that I was a part of that.

Have a Good 4th everyone!

I Love a Good Conspiracy

I found this article posted on MSN Health... 10 Things Your Grocery Store Doesn't Want You to Know. While the more health-based points I don't mind, (yes, shockingly grocery stores are dirty) its "the man is trying to control you" type points that annoy me.

Marketers influence so many of peoples' experiences at this point, it seems redundant to point out. Has the general public not have noticed that... no sporting event goes un-sponsored, arenas are re-named by mutual funds, popcorn bags in movies theaters have ads, your trip to the bar bathroom is sponsored by a cab company, people on TV only drink beers with labels facing the camera, etc.

For those that haven't figured out that marketers control their lives, we do.

That's all for today...