It's no secret that measuring true video usage across screens is currently impossible. And with viewing continuing to fragment across multiple screens, advertisers' ability to allocate campaign spending and optimize their ROI is getting harder all the time.

To address this situation, comScore has published a white paper, proposing a new viewer-centric, integrated approach called "Total Video," which it began discussing last month at the NewFronts. Aiming for a holistic video measurement approach, Total Video has 5 goals: (1) a single, unduplicated audience metric, (2) unified demography across platforms, (3) holistic accounting of all video viewing, (4) scalable measurement of platforms and audiences and (5) flexibility for the future.

A key part of Total Video's approach is de-duplication of audiences, which comScore believes is critical to accurately measuring campaign reach and frequency. comScore uses its own multi-source de-duplication model, which includes a single-source panel and census-level data.

The white paper goes on to explain how online video is a useful complement to TV in reaching particular audiences, especially millennials. Looking at ten multi-platform campaigns, comScore found that the average TV campaign reached 49% of the population, but digital (video, display and mobile) added incremental reach of 5.8 percentage points. comScore also quantifies the incremental reach benefits of mobile, especially for 18-34 year-olds.

comScore notes that evolving to a Total Video approach is important for both buyers and sellers, but it won't be simple. The white paper includes a contribution from John Muszynski, chief investment officer of Spark SMG, observing that despite the rise in non-linear viewing, measurement systems haven't kept pace.

Muszynski endorses the Total Video approach as a positive step with the right technological and methodological infrastructure. He also observes its adoption will require the collective efforts of both buyers and sellers.

Note: comScore's Chief Research Officer Josh Chasin will be speaking at the June 25th VideoNuze Online Video Ad Summit, on the session, "Follow the Eyeballs: Advertising Success in the Multi-Screen Age." Learn more and register now!