Digital Media

Sara Kimberley, mediaweek.co.uk, 13 October 2009, 07:00am

UKOM appoints McArthur as chairman ahead of its launch

LONDON - UKOM, the UK online audience measurement company, has appointed former chief executive and founder of the Radio Advertising Bureau Douglas McArthur as its chairman as it gears up to launch in January.

McArthur: connected and energetic

He will succeed former chairman Mark Cranmer, who stood down earlier this year to join Aegis Media's digital agency network Isobar as chief executive. McArthur, who recently worked on the consolidated COI media review, has been working for UKOM in a consultancy role since Cranmer stood down.

McArthur worked to develop the radio audience measurement system, RAJAR, in 1992. As head of the RAB, he spent 14 years leading and sustaining radio's revenue share increase from 2% to 7%. In 2006, he launched his own marketing consultancy - Planning for Results.

As independent chairman, McArthur will aim to ensure UKOM's key stakeholders - the Internet Advertising Bureau and Association of Online Publishers - are able to contribute to the development of UKOM and he will work closely with trade bodies the IPA and ISBA, and UK publishers.

In September, UKOM appointed The Nielsen Company as its official partner to deliver an industry-agreed online audience planning system, which will allow advertisers and their agencies to plan online campaigns targeting specific audiences, using an industry approved system, just as they do with traditional media.

Bob Wootton, director of media and advertising at ISBA, said: "Douglas has seen the industry from all sides. He's experienced, connected and energetic enough to keep things moving in this rapidly changing world. We look forward to working with him again in the UKOM context."

McArthur's appointment could come under scrutiny from industry critics who have branded UKOM's proposed measurement system "outdated" and "old guard" because it has been heavily aligned with panel-based measurement systems such as RAJAR and BARB.

However, his appointment may reassure advertisers and publishers about UKOM's progress after comScore last week announced it was to launch its own online measurement service to take on UKOM, based on panel and user data.

It was feared comScore's currency could leave advertisers, publishers and agencies confused after they had called for a universal metric system.