The Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB) has finally released its new audience measurement tool, Eyes on Impressions or EOIs. Outdoor companies can now use these numbers as media buying currency. The question is whether or not it is an effective audience measurement system. Like its media counterparts did in radio and TV (PPM and LPM), this new measurement system marks a new era in media buying.

TAB prides itself on two of EOI’s newest features. First, EOIs provide buyers with the number of adults who view a board. The most important word in that sentence is view. In the past, buyers were sold DECs (daily effective circulation), which was only a measure of the number of adults who passed by a board. Now, TAB is providing buyers with the number of people who actually view the board. The number is derived from a percentage applied to each board’s DEC. The percentage was formulated based on tests where adults wore state-of-the-art eye tracking devices that monitored their eye movements. Factors such as size, angle to the street, type of street, and distance from the road are applied to each board.

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Secondly, buyers now have access to demographic detail. EOIs provide a demographic breakdown of each board’s viewers. TAB has essentially taken the demographics from the market and applied it to the DEC to come up with the demographics for a board. This is something they have always had the ability to do, but haven’t until now.

So do these figures provide retailers more depth and a truer value due to more factors within the formula? That is what TAB would like you to believe. I am not fully convinced. Is it an improvement over the old DEC measurement? Absolutely. However, it is still very far from foolproof. I can’t blame TAB because they are improving their system the best they can to make their numbers more accurate. However, buyers must draw upon experience and common sense when buying as well. Using EOIs as the definitive factor in purchasing outdoor for your clients is a mistake. It is definitely part of the equation when buying outdoor, just like any other audience measurement system, but we have to look beyond the numbers when making buying recommendations. The goal of your outdoor campaign should drive the factors you use to make your media buying decisions. I believe EOIs, DEC, location, visibility, and size of the board are the biggest factors when deciding which boards are right for your clients. The amount of importance placed on each one of those factors is up to you. Good luck!