comScore’s response can be found here.  Basically, comScore has already taken steps to open its methods to the public through third party auditing by the Advertising Research Foundation, which is a very good first step.  But what the IAB is asking for, and what advertisers want, is standardization; not just transparency.

In Nielsen’s response, William Pulver, CEO of Nielsen//Netratings,  also stressed Nielsen’s accomplishments in terms of transparency, claiming to be the only company to have completed “MRC’s pre-audit,” which is a step towards an audit and transparency.  Again, consistency is what is being called for.

Once these audits are done, it will be important for comScore, Nielsen, and all the other services out there (WebSideStory, Omniture, WebTrends, etc) to collectively, and voluntarily standardize the way they do business.

Perhaps responding to Steve Fredericks’ call to action, the IAB sent an open letter on Friday, 4/20, to comScore and Nielsen//NetRatings calling for standardization in Net metrics.  The press release and letter can be found here and is worth reading, although a bit long-winded.  This issue has garnered much media coverage; a good rundown is the one in Nielsen’s MediaWeek, which can be found here.

Something tells me that Fredericks’ statements didn’t inspire Randall Rothenberg (pres/CEO of IAB) to stay up all night and write that long letter.  I’d like to think they did.

See a fuller analysis of the situation in this week’s min’s b2b.