Measurement, video…and throwing the baby out with the bathwater
In the wake of Facebook’s video metrics controversy, the IAB’s Alex Kozloff argues the industry needs to take a step back and think about the bigger picture of digital measurement
One of the best things about the advertising industry is the close sense of community we enjoy as a sector. Anyone walking down Charlotte Street on a Friday lunchtime or visiting a Soho pub on a Thursday night knows the feeling – sometimes the ad industry in London feels like a small village.
This has amazing benefits in terms of collaboration and growth, but when issues arise I think we are a little prone to tunnel vision, making us forget all the fantastic progress we’ve made as an industry.
A sense of perspective in digital measurement
Facebook’s recent error in its video measurement has clearly brought up many questions about digital measurement in the industry. For me it brings up another question – can you imagine another medium where there was this much data that a mistake like this would even be possible?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t seek to excuse this mistake, and Facebook themselves have conceded this was a major fault, I think we just need a sense of perspective on the overall net gain we enjoy in the industry from the amazing level of measurement and transparency that digital media offers media buyers.
Some commentators have said digital is no better off, no more accountable, for having so much data, but I just can’t get my head around that. To me that patronises the advertiser, implying that they can’t cope with this wealth of digital data, and that they can do no better than to ‘stick to what they know’ rather than use technology and data to their advantage.
I don’t think that is the way the world is heading. There are plenty of advertisers out there who can demonstrate perfect examples of ‘it’s what you do with it that counts’, using data very intelligently to attribute their campaigns in ways that would have been unimaginable in the days of traditional media.
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Let’s take a step back and make an effort to think about the bigger picture of digital measurement. Of course there is more to be done in standardising and communicating digital measurement. We hear that loud and clear. But it’s so important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and forget the amazing opportunity that digital data offers advertisers overall.
Let’s get the definition of viewability right
The definition of viewability has come up a lot this week, particularly in regards to video. Many readers will know the MRC has set the standard for viewable video ad impressions at 50% of the ad’s pixels being displayed for two seconds minimum. I understand the general reaction is ‘that’s not enough to do anything’ but unfortunately it’s based on a misunderstanding of the definition.
It is better to think of viewability as a term couched in adserving best practise, as opposed to ‘measurement’ as brands tend to think of it. The viewability standard simply means the video ad was served in a place that people were able to see it – what we call the opportunity to see that video ad.
It doesn’t mean that it was actually noticed, or indeed that the ad was even effective. Think of viewability as just a way to make sure the ad was delivered to the right part of the page and to a real person.
After that, effectiveness is measured by each advertiser uniquely according to the objectives that they have set out for that campaign. The viewability standard has no place in conversations about how to best measure the effectiveness of advertising. We have to hold our hands up that the IAB has some work to do in communicating to try and lessen the confusion in the market on that point.
It takes a village…to get digital measurement right
I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to throw mud at a whole medium, especially when consumers spend nearly three hours a day using their digital devices. To avoid negatively impacting the whole of the advertising industry going forward we have to get digital measurement right, so let’s focus on working together and being constructive.
There are already a couple of examples of how seriously the digital industry takes independent measurement and collaboration to move things in the right direction. The first example of this is UKOM, which is co-owned by the IAB and AOP, with board representation from the IPA and ISBA.
UKOM sets and governs the UK industry standard of online audience measurement, which importantly for this article, includes UKOM’s endorsement of comScore’s VMX, providing video audience measurement including video views, video duration and duration per user.
Secondly, there is further progress through JICWEBS, which (amongst other things) provides approved industry agreed metrics for video play measurement, which are already in use by BARB. It would be wrong to suggest that digital measurement is ‘done’ with these two initiatives, there is clearly still more work needed to make sure that digital campaigns are measured in a way that buyers feel they can trust.
The only way we see this moving forward is to work with the whole village – excuse the stretched metaphor here – to overcome these issues, whilst not forgetting how far we’ve already come.
Alex Kozloff is the director of marketing and industry engagement, IAB UK
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