The first ever 'currency' for mail, JICMail is based on comprehensive readership research for the channel, to help advertisers with their media planning.
Launched in January, it was designed to provide robust audience data for mail, measuring the readership, reach and frequency of exposure to each item that comes through the letterbox.
The JIC took home the award for Media Research at the Market Research Society awards, held at London’s Old Billingsgate on 3 December.
JICMail engagement director Mark Cross said: “We had some great endorsements from judges saying that this is a very important industry-wide initiative that is very credible.
“For us it’s almost a shorthand for demonstrating that this research is not only good, it is industry award-winning. It’s a great endorsement of the project.”
Until JICMail’s inception, advertising mail wasn’t measured, reported on or governed like all other media channels.
The JICMail team said the currency provides foundational audience and item data and insights across the mail journey in the home, enabling advertising mail to compete on a level playing field.
Data has been captured since April 2017 and is released quarterly. Now with more than 18 months data in two databases – audience and item – with the release of the most recent data last month there are 70,000 items in the latter database, representing the world’s largest capture of mail journeys across the home.
The currency now has nearly 30 subscribers, who account for more than £4bn of advertising expenditure.
“We’re on track with where we’d expect to be. If you took a three-year adoption cycle, in three years’ time we’d want to have more than 50 to 60 subscribers,” said Cross.
He added product developments for JICMail over the coming months will include integrations with both the established TGI and IPA Touchpoints surveys.
“When that integration happens, for the first time anywhere in the world you will see mail data integrated with other channel data to be able to do cross-media/channel planning for the first time off an integrated set of data – it’s going to be a big moment,” said Cross.
Additionally, in early 2019 JICMail will be producing circulation data through publishers such as Nielsen that it said will enable more accurate share of voice assessment in line with the circulation data available for other media channels.
