The Charter for the ‘Office of the Out-of-Home
Measurement Commissioner’

Mission
The Measurement Commissioner (“Commissioner”) shall serve as the independent, industry-wide arbiter and steward of audience measurement standards for out-of-home advertising (OOH). The Commissioner’s responsibility is to ensure that the measurement currency is accurate, transparent, comparable, trustworthy, and broadly accepted by media owners, agencies, advertisers, and verification bodies.

Key Powers and Responsibilities

1. Oversight & audit authority
   • Commission or approve independent third‐party audits of measurement vendors, data suppliers, modelling pipelines, viewshed assumptions, and data refresh cadence.
   • Issue findings publicly (executive summary) and demand corrective action plans when deficiencies are found.
   • Temporarily suspend or de-certify a dataset or vendor if material problems are identified and not remediated in a timely fashion.
2. Methodology transparency & change management
   • Require the measurement body (e.g., Geopath) to publish an “apples-to-apples” transition guide when key methodology changes are made (new inputs, modelling, vendor changes).
   • Oversee publication of vendor-diversity disclosures (number of suppliers, data freshness, sample provenance) and refresh cadence.
3. Governance & certification
   • Approve a certification program for data vendors and modelling firms that feed into the measurement currency.
   • Establish a dispute resolution process: Operators (media owners), buyers (agencies/advertisers), and vendors can appeal audit findings via an independent panel within the Commissioner’s Office.
4. Standard-setting & industry alignment
   • Convene working groups (buy-side, sell-side, technology/data) to define shared standards (data definitions, deduplication rules, time-of-day weighting, audience segment definitions).
   • Ensure alignment with other media measurement bodies (e.g., digital, broadcast) for multi-channel planning comparability.
5. Disclosure & reporting
   • Publish an annual “State of OOH Measurement” report summarizing audit outcomes, vendor refresh performance, data-freshness metrics, significant changes, and industry adoption.
   • Maintain a publicly accessible “scorecard” of certified data suppliers, vendor performance, and audit status.
6. Independence & accountability
   • The Commissioner reports to a tripartite oversight board composed of equal representation: media owners, buying agencies/advertisers, and independent measurement/verification bodies.
   • The Commissioner’s term is fixed (e.g., 4 years), renewable once, and the selection process is transparent and independent of any single major operator or vendor.
   • Conflict of interest disclosures are mandatory; the Commissioner must not have direct financial ties to any data vendor, major operator, agency network, or measurement vendor during the term.

Selection Criteria for Commissioner

The ideal candidate must demonstrate:

• Deep experience in audience measurement, media analytics, or advertising currency standards (minimum 15 years).
• Strong pedigree in building trust across stakeholders (owners, buyers, agencies, verification bodies).
• Independence from major operator ownership or single-vendor data supply.
• Ability to communicate complex technical methodology in plain English and present to C-suite and buy-side audiences.
• Proven track record in reform, audit, or governance oversight.

Term and Remuneration

• Term: 4 years, renewable for one additional 4-year term only.
• Remuneration: Market-competitive, structured to maintain independence (no performance fees tied to any one vendor).
• Removal only for cause (fraud, gross negligence, conflict of interest) following board vote (2/3 majority) and publicly disclosed explanation.

Reporting and Accountability

• Quarterly status updates to the oversight board (non-public) and semi-annual public executive summary.
• Annual public “State of OOH Measurement” full report.
• All audit findings and remedial action plans to be published in executive summary form within 60 days of final audit.
• Stakeholder feedback mechanism: representatives of agencies, advertisers, and operators may submit concerns or requests for review; the Commissioner must respond within 30 days.

Transition and Implementation

• Within 90 days of appointment, the Commissioner shall initiate the first independent audit cycle (covering vendor selection, data freshness, and methodology changes over the last 24 months).
• Within 180 days, publish vendor-diversity disclosure and data-supplier scorecard.
• Within 12 months, convene working groups and publish an updated measurement standard and change-management protocol (including reconciliation guide).
• By month 18, publish the first “State of OOH Measurement” report.

Legacy & Remit

• The Commissioner’s office shall bear the name: “Office of the Out-of-Home Measurement Commissioner (OOH-MC)”.
• The role is analogous to a “commissioner” in sports: empowered to enforce rules, audit the scoreboard, and restore confidence in the game.

Suggested Candidate Shortlist

Before I get to the shortlist, let me share that it was only a few short years ago that the Industry had the ideal candidate already in the position for our proposed ‘Measurement Commissioner’ (OOH-MC), namely with Kym Frank. Frank had the multimedia knowledge, high intelligence, technical understanding, and winning personality (which may have been her downfall) to reach across all media owners, buyers, and brands to address the issues OOH measurement faces today. What Frank failed to achieve was Geopath Board of Directors alignment, which to some extent eroded her support by leadership at the highest levels.

It is that very failure of the OOH leadership group to support the Geopath President, which demands the election of an all powerful OOH-MC. The OOH-MC, would have complete authority and responsibility for OOH Measurement without ANY accountability to individuals of or to the BIG 3 who are the primary financial supporters of the Geopath.

Now we find ourselves in the unenviable position of ‘trust and credibility’ concerns reaching a depth that requires drastic action to resolve. It is time for a fully authoritative ‘OOH Measurement Commissioner’.

We begin by suggesting a candidate shortlist of

I. Adjacently Qualified candidates and

II. Outside Qualified candidates.

It is time for a fully authoritative ‘OOH Measurement Commissioner’

II. Here are five strong names outside the out-of-home (OOH) industry who would be interesting candidates to serve as the new “Commissioner” (à la the Kenesaw Mountain Landis role) for OOH measurement — bringing fresh perspective, independence, and measurement/analytics credibility:

1. Gian Mark Fulgoni — A pioneer in audience measurement and analytics (co-founder of Comscore, previously CEO of Information Resources). His deep background in measuring consumer behavior and advertising effectiveness gives him strong credibility across channels. Wikipedia
2. Rich LeFurgy — Known for establishing digital-advertising standards (founding chair of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)), he has the governance, standard-setting, and cross-industry respect that a measurement commissioner would benefit from. Wikipedia
3. Jon Watts — Managing Director of the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), with 25 years of experience in media and tech measurement across platforms. His cross-media perspective (TV, digital, programmatic) is valuable. cimm-us.org+1
4. Angela Dwyer — Recognized as a “media measurement game-changer” with expertise in analytics, measurement frameworks, and data-driven transformation outside the traditional OOH space. Fullintel
5. Rex L. Repass — A veteran in marketing research and measurement (President of Research America Inc.), his strong background in research, survey methodology, and quality assurance could bring the rigor needed in a Commissioner role. Wikipedia

These candidates bring measurement-credibility, cross-platform/multi-channel experience, and relative independence from the core OOH owner/operator ecosystem — all qualities that align with the “independent referee” role envisioned in the charter.