{ "published_before_scoring": "2026-09-28", "purpose": "Rules fixed before any product was scored. They define the cohorts and their applicability masks, what each dimension means, what a score of 0 to 5 requires, when a cell is n/e or n/a, which cells count, how availability, evidence grade and verification status are recorded, and how the Focus Quotient summarises them without a league table.", "selection_rules": { "universe": "A reasoned market sample assembled by the vendor-universe sweep (workstream U) from the brief's named seeds plus vendors discovered while researching workstreams A to I. Not a census. Pure outcome or lift products without an attention construct go to the outcome-comparator table; attention-priced, optimised or guaranteed media offers go to the trading table; neither is scored. Vendors that surfaced only as names without an opened source are listed in the universe, not scored.", "scored_set": "A named product enters the matrix when it sells, to a buyer, either measurement, planning or optimisation of attention on media exposures (cohort A) or selection and improvement of creative before launch by testing or validated prediction (cohort B), and it has at least inclusion_min_scored counted numeric cells. n/a, n/e and unverified cells do not count. data/product-register.json lists every scored, listed and historical product with its inclusion reason. A company can have rows in both cohorts; evidence is not inherited between rows.", "deep_profiles": "Six to eight companies, chosen by market weight and depth of public evidence: Adelaide, Lumen, TVision, Amplified, DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science, plus one cohort B product (Kantar or Adverteyes) and one media owner from the trading table. Each profile states why it was chosen." }, "scale": { "0": "a source documents that the capability is absent or has failed the criterion", "1": "adjacent or incidental", "2": "partial or indirect, for example only through a partner, with the integration documented", "3": "real but thinly evidenced, narrow in scope, or beta", "4": "documented and specific, but from vendor documentation only; or independently observed but narrow", "5": "documented in operational detail by an official document, filing or independent observation" }, "cell_rules": { "scale": "0 to 5 integer, evidence-bounded, not absolute; every value is defined in \"scale\" above, and every applicable dimension carries its own anchors for at least 5, 3, 1 and 0 (per cohort where the cohorts differ). Dimension anchors take precedence over the generic scale; the evidence cap is applied after scoring against the anchors.", "zero": "0 is used only when a source documents absence (a vendor statement that the feature is not offered, or an independent finding of failure). Missing evidence is never scored 0.", "ne": "n/e (no evidence) when the opened record gives no basis to score either way. Distinct from 0. A partner's name alone is n/e; only documented, integrated functionality counts.", "na": "n/a comes only from the cohort's applicability mask (cohorts[].applicable), never vendor by vendor. n/a never enters k, a group mean, the coverage numerator or any imputation.", "availability": "Every scored cell carries one label: live (generally available at the cutoff), beta (limited access or beta), announced (not yet observable), retired, unconfirmed (claimed but no observable evidence).", "evidence_grade": "A = filing, official transaction document, regulator, accreditor or standards-body record; B = independent measurement or documentation by a party without financial interest; C = vendor technical documentation or help centre; D = vendor marketing, press release or case study; E = none. A third party paid by the vendor is not independent; if funding is unknown, independence is unknown.", "date": "The date of the most recent source the cell rests on (YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD).", "verification_status": "Every scored cell carries one: verified (a verifier re-checked the cell's sources), qualified (re-checked; scored against the qualified claim) or unverified. Only verified and qualified cells count; an unverified cell is shown but treated as n/e for admission, k, the quotient and band eligibility.", "product": "The scoring unit is a named product that serves the cohort's buying task, one row per product, each mapped to one record in data/product-register.json. Evidence is not inherited between rows, a parent group never pools its subsidiaries' capabilities, and an alias or bundle never creates a second row.", "same_standard": "The same evidentiary standard applies to every vendor. Documentation volume is not product quality: a large help centre earns grade C, not a higher score. Styling, placement or a marketing adjective is not a capability.", "grade_caps": "Vendor documentation (grade C) caps a score at 4 and vendor marketing (grade D) at 3; a grade can cap a score but never raise it. scripts/check.mjs enforces the caps in grade_caps.", "maturity": "Live and beta products may be scored under the caps; announced and retired products are listed in the product register, not scored (check.mjs fails a scored announced or retired cell).", "us_first": "The US availability dimension scores documented US availability and coverage only. International breadth is recorded as an attribute and earns no points.", "units": "Vendor attention units (for example Adelaide's AU on a 0-100 scale) are vendor-defined and are never compared across vendors in a cell. A model estimate is never scored as observed attention." }, "grade_caps": { "C": 4, "D": 3 }, "inclusion_min_scored": 4, "dimensions": [ { "key": "method_validity", "label": "Method validity", "short": "Validity", "definition": "Demonstrated validity of the product's attention measure for its stated construct (visual or auditory attention) against an appropriate reference method (eye-tracking or webcam gaze for visual attention; the documented auditory equivalent for audio), with calibration and sampling documented. Owning a panel is not required. Panel size is recorded here as sampling. Publishing a detail earns no validity points (that is method disclosure).", "anchors": { "0": "a source documents that no validation exists, or an independent study finds the measure fails validation against the reference method for its stated construct", "1": "device or on-screen signals only (viewability, time in view, screen coverage, audibility, interaction), with no reference method named", "2": "validity rests on a named partner's reference data, with the integration documented, and no agreement or error statistic of the product's own", "3": "a reference method is named and used, but validation is thin: no held-out agreement or error statistic, or reference sample size or recruitment not stated", "4": "(a) and (b) documented; calibration documented for one environment only or not by environment", "5": "validated against an appropriate reference method for the stated construct, with all three of: (a) reference sample size and recruitment stated; (b) an agreement or error statistic on reference data held out from training; (c) calibration documented separately for each environment or channel the product sells" } }, { "key": "outcome_validation", "label": "Outcome validation", "short": "Outcomes", "definition": "Evidence that the product's attention measure relates to memory, brand or sales outcomes. The cell rationale records memory, brand and sales evidence separately, with sponsor and design. Independent means produced by a party with no financial interest; unknown funding is not independent. Replicated means at least two studies on different datasets, at least one of them independent.", "anchors": { "0": "an independent study with a published method finds no association between the product's measure and the outcome, or no increment over time in view", "1": "vendor claims of outcome value only", "2": "vendor or commissioned case studies reporting an outcome association with sample and outcome stated but no method or comparator", "3": "commissioned validation with a published method (design, sample and outcome stated), without holdout", "4": "independent validation against memory only; or commissioned validation against brand or sales outcomes with a published method and a holdout or out-of-sample test", "5": "independent, out-of-sample validation against brand or sales outcomes, replicated" } }, { "key": "granularity", "label": "Granularity and timing", "short": "Grain", "definition": "The resolution and stages at which the product delivers its output. Cohort A: the level (impression, placement, campaign) and the stages (planning or pre-bid, in-flight, post-campaign), each labelled by measurement basis (direct observation or model estimate). Cohort B: the resolution of creative diagnostics (second-by-second, element, asset). The size and method of norm databases are scored under creative diagnostics.", "anchors": { "0": "see anchors_by_cohort", "1": "see anchors_by_cohort", "3": "see anchors_by_cohort", "5": "see anchors_by_cohort" }, "anchors_by_cohort": { "media": { "0": "a source documents that the product provides no campaign-level or impression-level output", "1": "study-only: bespoke studies, no ongoing measurement product", "2": "format or placement benchmarks only, without campaign-level reporting", "3": "campaign-level or placement-level post-campaign reporting; or impression-level output at one stage", "4": "impression-level output at two of the three stages, labelled by measurement basis", "5": "impression-level output at all three stages (planning or pre-bid, in-flight, post-campaign), each stage labelled by measurement basis" }, "creative": { "0": "a source documents that the product provides no asset-level output", "1": "one summary score per asset or per test, without norms", "2": "one asset-level score per asset, compared against norms", "3": "asset-level scores on two or more metrics per asset", "4": "second-by-second or element-level diagnostics per asset, without norms at that resolution", "5": "second-by-second or element-level diagnostics per asset, compared against norms at that resolution" } } }, { "key": "activation", "label": "Activation", "short": "Activation", "definition": "Cohort A only (n/a for cohort B). Attention used in buying: pre-bid segments, curated deals or optimisation live in named DSPs, SSPs or curation platforms. Each named platform counts once, whatever the number of deal types. A platform owned by the product's parent counts as one platform. Data access without buying use is scored under data access and integrations.", "anchors": { "0": "a source documents that the product is not available for activation", "1": "planning use only; no use in buying documented", "2": "activation only through managed-service or partner deals, not in a named self-serve platform, with the integration documented", "3": "live in one named buying platform, or beta in any", "4": "live in two named buying platforms, documented", "5": "live in three or more named buying platforms, documented" } }, { "key": "creative_diagnostics", "label": "Creative diagnostics", "short": "Creative", "definition": "Cohort B only (n/a for cohort A). Pre-launch testing of creative: the published method (participant design or model design, sample, metrics) and the norm database (stated base of assets or tests, and category or market breakdown).", "anchors": { "0": "a source documents that the product does not offer pre-launch testing", "1": "incidental: creative insight as a by-product of media measurement, no pre-launch testing", "2": "pre-launch testing available only as a bespoke study or through a partner, with the arrangement documented", "3": "basic pre-launch testing: per-asset scores from a described method, without published norms", "4": "pre-launch testing with a published method; norms without a stated base or without a category or market breakdown", "5": "pre-launch testing with a published method and norms with a stated base (number of assets or tests) broken down by category or market" } }, { "key": "channel_coverage", "label": "Channel coverage", "short": "Channels", "definition": "Channels in which the product's measurement (cohort A) or testing (cohort B) is live: display (web and in-app), online video (including YouTube unless the vendor labels it social), CTV (for cohort B, TV or CTV spots), social, audio, in-game, DOOH. Each channel counts once. Live means available as a product in that channel at the cutoff, not a one-off study. Retail media and other channels are recorded as attributes and earn no points.", "anchors": { "0": "a source documents that the product has no live channel", "1": "one channel live", "2": "one channel live and at least one more in beta", "3": "two to four channels live", "4": "five or more of the seven channels documented, of which four are live and the rest beta", "5": "five or more of the seven channels live" } }, { "key": "data_access", "label": "Data access and integrations", "short": "Access", "definition": "Named, documented routes by which a buyer gets the product's output. Cohort A: ad servers, verification suites, clean rooms, a documented API or log-level export (activation in buying is scored separately). Cohort B: creative tools, asset-management systems and a documented API. Each named route counts once; an API counts only when developer documentation or an API reference is published or cited.", "anchors": { "0": "see anchors_by_cohort", "1": "see anchors_by_cohort", "3": "see anchors_by_cohort", "5": "see anchors_by_cohort" }, "anchors_by_cohort": { "media": { "0": "a source documents that results are not released to the buyer", "1": "reports or dashboards only", "2": "one named route in beta, or available only through a partner with the integration documented", "3": "one or two named routes, documented and live", "4": "three or more named routes documented, at least one of them only in beta", "5": "three or more named routes (ad servers, verification suites, clean rooms, documented API, log-level export), documented and live" }, "creative": { "0": "a source documents that results are not released to the buyer outside the vendor's reports", "1": "reports or dashboards only", "2": "one named integration in beta, or available only through a partner with the integration documented", "3": "one or two named integrations or a documented API, live", "4": "three or more named integrations documented, at least one of them only in beta", "5": "three or more named integrations with creative tools, asset-management systems or a documented API, live" } } }, { "key": "production_scale", "label": "Production scale", "short": "Scale", "definition": "Volume measured or tested in production in a stated period. Cohort A: impressions or campaigns measured with the product's attention metric (not all impressions a company verifies). Cohort B: assets or tests run. Thresholds are inclusive (at or above). A period shorter than 12 months is scaled linearly to a year and marked derived. A cumulative total with a stated start date is converted to a mean annual rate (total divided by years elapsed to the stated date), marked derived, and capped at 4. A figure dated before 2024 is capped at 2. Panel size belongs to method validity.", "anchors": { "0": "see anchors_by_cohort", "1": "see anchors_by_cohort", "3": "see anchors_by_cohort", "5": "see anchors_by_cohort" }, "anchors_by_cohort": { "media": { "0": "a source documents that the product is not in production", "1": "a stated figure below those thresholds, or a total with no period or start date", "2": "100 million or more impressions a year, or 20 or more campaigns a year", "3": "1 billion or more impressions a year, or 100 or more campaigns a year", "4": "10 billion or more impressions a year, or 1,000 or more campaigns a year", "5": "100 billion or more impressions a year, or 10,000 or more campaigns a year, measured with the attention metric" }, "creative": { "0": "a source documents that the product is not in production", "1": "a stated figure below 100 a year, or a norm-base or test total with no period or start date", "2": "100 or more assets tested a year", "3": "500 or more assets tested a year", "4": "2,500 or more assets tested a year", "5": "10,000 or more assets tested a year" } } }, { "key": "us_availability", "label": "US availability and coverage", "short": "US", "definition": "Documented US availability and US-specific coverage only: sold in the US, calibrated on US data (US panel, US participants or US norms), and used in US production (named US clients or US campaigns). International breadth is an attribute and earns no points.", "anchors": { "0": "a source documents that the product is not available in the US", "1": "US mentioned incidentally (for example a single US study), no documented US availability", "2": "available in the US only through a partner or reseller, with the arrangement documented", "3": "available in the US, with neither US calibration nor US production use documented; or US availability in beta", "4": "generally available in the US, with either US calibration data or US production use documented, not both", "5": "generally available in the US, with US calibration data and US production use both documented" } }, { "key": "assurance", "label": "Independent assurance", "short": "Assurance", "definition": "Independent assurance scoped to product, metric, environment and standard, read from the accreditor's or certifier's own record. Cohort A: MRC accreditation of the product's attention metrics. An audit in progress counts only when the accreditor confirms it; a vendor's announcement of one is a vendor assertion. Accreditation of other metrics is recorded, and earns credit only as stated in the anchors. The standards the accreditor lists are recorded in the cell. Cohort B: independent audits of the testing method.", "anchors": { "0": "see anchors_by_cohort", "1": "see anchors_by_cohort", "3": "see anchors_by_cohort", "5": "see anchors_by_cohort" }, "anchors_by_cohort": { "media": { "0": "accreditation of the attention metrics denied or withdrawn", "1": "self-attested: the vendor states conformance with the attention guidelines or another standard, with no accreditor record", "2": "MRC accreditation of the viewability or invalid-traffic inputs the attention metric is built on, for the same product, with no attention accreditation", "3": "an audit of the attention metrics in progress, confirmed by the accreditor", "4": "MRC accreditation covering the product's attention metrics in at least one, but not every, environment in which it sells them", "5": "MRC accreditation covering the product's attention metrics in every environment in which the product sells them" }, "creative": { "0": "an audit or certification of the method failed, was denied or was withdrawn", "1": "self-attested: the vendor states its method is validated or audited, with no named auditor or record", "2": "a commissioned third-party audit of the method, with the auditor named and a summary public record", "3": "an audit in progress, confirmed by the auditor", "4": "an independent audit or certification covering part of the method, for example panel or fieldwork processes certified under ISO 20252, but not the attention metric", "5": "an independent audit or validation of the testing method by a party with no financial interest (accreditor, standards body, or academic team with disclosed funding), scoped to the product and its metrics, with a public record of scope and result" } } }, { "key": "method_disclosure", "label": "Method disclosure", "short": "Disclosure", "definition": "Completeness of the public methodology, counted over seven elements: (1) construct; (2) observations or signals used; (3) reference labels; (4) panel or sample size and recruitment; (5) model type or scoring procedure; (6) validation statistics; (7) update or recalibration cadence. 'With data' means underlying data, code or a replicable dataset is available to buyers or researchers.", "anchors": { "0": "a source documents that the method is not disclosed to buyers", "1": "a marketing description only (none or one element)", "2": "two or three of the seven elements published", "3": "four to six of the seven elements published (a summary method)", "4": "all seven elements published, without data", "5": "all seven elements published, with data" } }, { "key": "privacy", "label": "Privacy posture", "short": "Privacy", "definition": "The consent model for panels, participants and device signals, data minimisation (which signals are collected, and whether impression-level signals carry personal data or are de-identified), and documented compliance. Company-wide policies count only as stated in the anchors.", "anchors": { "0": "a regulator finding, enforcement action or documented breach involving the product's data, unresolved at the cutoff", "1": "a generic company privacy policy only", "2": "a company-level privacy policy that names the product or its data types", "3": "one of the product-specific consent model or data minimisation documented", "4": "product-specific consent model and data minimisation both documented by the vendor, with named legal frameworks addressed for the product", "5": "product-specific consent model and data minimisation both documented, and compliance documented by an independent record (a certification scoped to the product, a regulator record or an independent audit)" } } ], "peer_groups": [ { "key": "specialist", "label": "Specialists: attention-measurement and testing specialists", "definition": "Companies whose primary business is attention measurement, planning or testing (for example Adelaide, Lumen, Amplified)." }, { "key": "verification", "label": "Verification: verification and measurement suites", "definition": "Verification companies selling attention metrics inside a wider verification and measurement suite (DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science)." }, { "key": "research", "label": "Research: market research, neuro and biometric firms", "definition": "Research, eye-tracking, facial-coding and prediction firms whose attention product is one line among research services (for example Kantar, Tobii, iMotions, eye square)." }, { "key": "media_owned", "label": "Media-owned: products owned by a media seller or buying platform", "definition": "Attention products owned by a company that also sells or buys media (for example TVision under Viant, GumGum)." } ], "cohorts": [ { "key": "media", "label": "A · Media attention measurement", "definition": "Measuring, planning or optimising attention on media exposures, at the planning or pre-bid, in-flight or post-campaign stage.", "applicable": [ "method_validity", "outcome_validation", "granularity", "activation", "channel_coverage", "data_access", "production_scale", "us_availability", "assurance", "method_disclosure", "privacy" ], "banded": true }, { "key": "creative", "label": "B · Creative attention testing", "definition": "Selecting or improving creative before launch, by testing it with participants or by a validated model prediction. Panel use is a method attribute, not a requirement.", "applicable": [ "method_validity", "outcome_validation", "granularity", "creative_diagnostics", "channel_coverage", "data_access", "production_scale", "us_availability", "assurance", "method_disclosure", "privacy" ], "banded": true } ], "cohorts_note": "Each cohort lists its applicable dimensions (the mask). Cohort A: creative diagnostics is n/a. Cohort B: activation is n/a, with cohort-specific anchors for granularity, data access, production scale and assurance. Both cohorts keep eleven applicable dimensions and at least one in every group. A cohort that carries bands needs at least six band-eligible rows before any band is shown.", "row_order": [], "matrix_title": "The capability matrix", "matrix_note": "Each cell scores one documented capability from 0 to 5 against fixed anchors; n/e means no evidence, n/a means the dimension does not apply to the cohort. Click a cell for its rationale, availability, evidence grade, date, sources and verification status. Rows are compared only within their cohort.", "matrix_foot": "", "composite_index": { "used": true, "name": "Focus Quotient (FQ)", "added": "2026-09-28, with these rules and before any product was scored, as the quotient of the shared method (shared research rules v3) for the attention, audio and gaming papers.", "groups": { "Depth": { "label": "Depth", "meaning": "What the measurement is: validity for its construct, link to outcomes, resolution and timing, and use in buying or creative decisions.", "dims": [ "method_validity", "outcome_validation", "granularity", "activation", "creative_diagnostics" ] }, "Reach": { "label": "Reach", "meaning": "Where it works: channels, data routes, production volume and US coverage.", "dims": [ "channel_coverage", "data_access", "production_scale", "us_availability" ] }, "Standing": { "label": "Standing", "meaning": "Whether a buyer can trust and trade it: independent assurance, method disclosure and privacy posture.", "dims": [ "assurance", "method_disclosure", "privacy" ] } }, "weights": { "Depth": 0.45, "Reach": 0.25, "Standing": 0.3 }, "field_mean_method": "raw_mean", "prior_strength": 4, "shrink_alternatives": [ 0, 2, 8 ], "missing_scenario_values": [ 1, 4 ], "missing_envelope_values": [ 0, 5 ], "bands": [ [ "Most documented", 12 ], [ "Well documented", 1 ], [ "Partly documented", -8 ], [ "Least documented", -1000 ] ], "thin_record_min": 6, "cohort_min_banded": 6, "method": "Within each cohort, over its admitted rows (thin rows included; listed and historical products never count): each group score is the mean of the row's counted numeric cells in the group (n/e, n/a and unverified cells skipped, never zero). Raw = 0.45 Depth + 0.25 Reach + 0.30 Standing, renormalised over the groups present. F = the arithmetic mean of the cohort's Raw scores (field_mean_method raw_mean). Shrunk = (k x Raw + K x F) / (k + K), k = the row's counted numeric cells, K = prior strength 4. Quotient = 100 x Shrunk / 5 at full precision; only the displayed value is rounded, halves up. An empty cohort has no quotient. This field mean differs from the Contextual and Native Quotients, which pooled group scores.", "reweightings": [ { "name": "Equal thirds", "weights": { "Depth": 0.3333333333333333, "Reach": 0.3333333333333333, "Standing": 0.3333333333333333 } }, { "name": "Depth-led", "weights": { "Depth": 0.6, "Reach": 0.2, "Standing": 0.2 } }, { "name": "Reach-led", "weights": { "Depth": 0.3, "Reach": 0.45, "Standing": 0.25 } }, { "name": "Standing-led", "weights": { "Depth": 0.3, "Reach": 0.2, "Standing": 0.5 } } ], "why_not_a_sum": "A sum counts an unscored dimension as zero and so penalises a thin public record rather than a weak product; a plain average of scored cells rewards missing evidence. Group means plus shrinkage avoid both.", "limits": "The index summarises publicly documented capability within a cohort, not product performance or business quality, and inherits the scoring limitation: one initial AI scoring pass, with a blind second AI pass only on the rows nearest a band line. Bands are reported because exact positions depend on the weights.", "bands_rule": "Bands come from the unrounded offset 20 x (Shrunk - F): Most documented at +12 or more, Well documented at +1 or more, Partly documented at -8 or more, Least documented below; equal values share a band. These are the Contextual Quotient’s offsets. The bands were first named Front rank, Strong, Mid and Narrow; they were renamed to say what they measure, how much capability is documented in public, and the thresholds did not change.", "thin_rule": "A row is band-eligible with k >= thin_record_min and at least one counted cell in every group that applies under the cohort's mask; a row missing a whole applicable group is shown with that group named and no band. Count the eligible rows first: a cohort with fewer than cohort_min_banded of them shows quotients and coverage without bands.", "shrink_rationale": "Prior strength K = 4 is an author-defined heuristic, not a statistical estimator: the dimensions are different capabilities, not repeated measurements of one quantity. The build reruns the index with K = 0 (Raw), 2 and 8 and reports how far positions and bands move.", "missing_rule": "Missing evidence is not neutral. Deletion: each counted cell turned into n/e in turn, recomputing the row's k and eligibility; quotient change, admission loss and eligibility loss are reported separately. Scenarios (not bounds): row by row, with F and every other row frozen, all of the row's applicable n/e cells filled with missing_scenario_values[0], then [1]; a banded row whose band changes under either is flagged band sensitive to missing evidence. Fills of missing_envelope_values are reported separately as a hypothetical full-scale envelope, never used for the flag. Imputed cells never create admission or band eligibility: the row keeps its observed k and eligibility.", "reweighting_rule": "Each reweighting recomputes Raw and F across the fixed cohort." }, "scorer": { "independent_second_scorer": false, "disclosure": "One initial scoring pass by the author's research process, applied after the verifier records were read, then an AI consistency audit. The six rows nearest a band line were re-scored blind by a separate AI scorer (data/second-pass.json); every other row was scored once. No human second scorer was used." } }