Barb launches integration with IPA TouchPoints 10 March 2020 Barb has today launched an integration with IPA TouchPoints. This means that all of Barb’s daily audience data can now be analysed by IPA TouchPoints classifications, helping media agencies, advertisers and broadcasters to understand more about viewers through a wider range of behavioural definitions. The data integration has three major benefits: enabling media agencies to use the rich IPA TouchPoints audiences in order to build their TV plans; allowing broadcasters’ sales teams to build better solutions based on IPA TouchPoints data, including other media usage; and helping broadcasters with their scheduling and promotions planning. The integrated data launched today and are available via Barb-registered data-processing bureaux to all media agencies and broadcasters that subscribe to both Barb and IPA TouchPoints. Barb customers wishing to access the new data will need to contact the IPA to subscribe to TouchPoints first. The data integration has been conducted by RSMB, and the method will be updated on a quarterly basis. Justin Sampson, Barb’s Chief Executive, said: “We continue to find new ways to add value to our audience reporting services. This new initiative creates an extensive range of target audiences that IPA TouchPoints subscribers can use to plan and account for their investment in television programmes and commercials.” Belinda Beeftink, Research Director, IPA added: “IPA TouchPoints creates a 360-degree view of how different media fit into people’s daily lives. For many years the TouchPoints Channel Planner has integrated the industry media currencies, including Barb, into an analytics tool that supports cross-media planning and buying. “We’re now delighted to deepen our links with Barb by integrating our audience classifications into its daily reporting of television audiences. This means agency planners can build even better TV plans based on TouchPoints’ wide range of classifications.” Notes to editors About Barb Barb is responsible for delivering the UK’s television audience measurement currency. We commission research companies to collect data that represent the viewing behaviour of the UK’s 28 million television and broadband-only households. Each year, the UK television and advertising industry invests £7.5 billion in the production and distribution of television programmes and commercials. Barb’s television audience currency is used by broadcasters, advertisers and agencies to evaluate the success of this investment. We enable this assessment by reporting, on a daily basis, how people watch television programmes and commercials. Barb’s research focuses on five questions: Who is watching? What are they watching? When are they watching? Which screen are they watching on? How did the content get to the screen? About the IPA Incorporated by Royal Charter, the IPA’s role is: to advance the value, theory and practice of advertising, media and marketing communications; to promote best practice standards in these fields; and to ensure that the work it does will benefit the public, the wider business community and the national economy. It has a well-earned reputation for thought leadership, best practice and continuous professional development and also provides core support and advisory services. Its membership base is predominantly made up of corporate members who collectively handle over 85% of the UK’s annual £22bn ad spend and who represent over 4,000 brands and employ over 25,000 staff. Based in the United Kingdom for nearly 100 years, IPA programmes can be found in more than 60 countries worldwide. Now in its 10th iteration, IPA TouchPoints is a unique, consumer-focused, cross-media, cross-device database that has been produced in response to the needs of the communications industry to allow them to plan and evaluate cross-media campaigns. The TouchPoints Daily Life data is based on a representative sample of c.6,000 adults aged 15+, living in Great Britain. It is collected as a result of each respondent keeping an diary detailing their activities on a half hourly basis over a seven-day period and completing a questionnaire covering attitudes, product ownership, shopping, media behaviour, etc.