Is the GRP Really Dead In a Cross-Platform Ecosystem?: Why the Gross Rating Point Metric Should Thrive in Today's Fragmented Media World

Over the past 15 years, US spending on digital advertising have surged, growing six-fold to reach $49.5 billion in 2014. Magna Global forecasts that digital will exceed television advertising by the end of 2016. Such growth, along with a plethora of computer-driven measures, have caused some industry observers to suggest that traditional metrics -- specifically, the gross rating point (GRP) -- are no longer relevant and should be replaced. The GRP measures reach multiplied by frequency. It is a metric that has long been used within (and across) the traditional platforms of television, radio, and print to gauge how much advertising "pressure" is being delivered. But there are more compelling arguments for the continued use of the GRP. People live in a digital world. And for cross-platform campaigns, GRPs -- and targeted GRPs -- remain extremely important metrics in understanding what was delivered across platforms. As new GRP data emerge, advertisers can leverage today's viewing behaviors to better impact consumer choice in powerful ways.