6 online media companies agree to use standard metric system

MANILA, Philippines - Six leading online publication companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) yesterday to standardize the metric system being used in the online publishing industry. Watch full video

Present during the signing were head executives from PhilStar Global Corp., Summit Publishing Co., Inc., Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc., GMA New Media, Inc., Inquirer Interactive, Inc., BusinessWorld New Media, Inc., and ABS-CBN Interactive, Inc.

According to Edna Belleza of GMA, one of the leading proponents of the project, the six publishing companies began meeting on a regular basis last year to discuss the need to have a standard metric system for Internet publishing.

“At the very first meeting there was no doubt that the time is called for such collaboration and at the outset the discussion immediately focused on the process of criteria needed for a third party system,” said Belleza.

No longer a new media, Connie Nolasco-Lopez, managing director of ABS-CBN Interactive, describes the Internet today as far reaching and engaging as television, radio and print. Nolasco-Lopez explained, “With the growth of access and increasing amount of time people are spending online, the Internet is now considered as one of the platforms included in the traditional basket of media. The Internet allows us to reach and engage with Filipinos not only in the Philippines but throughout the world. ”

However, despite the growing 30 million online users today, Paolo Prieto, president of Inquirer.net, admits that ad spending remains low due to the lack of a third-party standard metric system. To address this problem, he along with other publishers agreed to adapt Effective Measure.

Effective Measure counts not only impressions and page views but also empowers advertisers to decide where to put their investment. “Advertisers need a credible standard by which they can judge where to put their money. I’m very optimistic about the success of this historic event,” said Atty. Gozon, chairman of GMA Network.

Likewise, Kevin Belmonte, president and CEO of philSTAR.com calls the event a milestone in the development of the Philippine digital space, “We expect great things to this partnership with Effective Measure. Finally we will have a credible, accurate measurement of our business, across the industry, which will benefit not just us publishers, not just our partners in advertising but more importantly our online readers as well.”

Vergel Santos of Businessworld added, “This event signifies the seriousness of our purpose to heed certain standards. By coming together we are ending the denial that there is a greater power in cyberspace and that we simply have to deal with it one way or another.”

Liza Gokongwei-Cheng, president of Summit Publishing and PEP also hopes that the cooperation of all publishers will yield to the betterment of the industry and more transparency to the medium which had not received the advertising attention it deserves.

Also present during the MOU signing were philSTAR.com chief operating officer Rose Anne Belmonte, president and chief operating officer GMA New Media Judd Gallares, president and chief executive officer of Philippine Daily Inquirer Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, PDI chairman Maxiri Prieto , Businessworld executive editor Arnold Belleza and Russel Conrad of Effective Measure.