Fundamental Attribution Flaws In Programmatic Display
Having famously complained: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don’t know which half”, it would be interesting to see what John Wanamaker made of the banner landscape in 2017.
In 2017, banner viewability (ads seen by a person) in the UK is just 52% - the lowest in the western world.
Given the attribution and research tools available, ad viewability could and should be 100%. So why isn’t it?
The problem lies in “performance” campaigns – those aimed at driving an acquisition.
Click based conversions are almost non-existent meaning campaigns are reliant on post-view conversions – a banner is served and a user later finds their way to site and converts. But if impressions are never seen, they haven’t influenced the user and they would have converted regardless? It’s like attributing a conversion to a press ad that appears on page 42 of a 40 page newspaper.
Banners are essentially bus side ads. They drive past the user and are mostly ignored, but sometimes enough people see them to register as brand awareness, consideration or behaviour change. With the best display suppliers and agencies the lines of attribution are clear – an ad has done its job, potentially playing a part in driving a user to a website.
With most programmatic banner activity, however, non-transparent agencies, in-house trading desks and a number of suppliers still claim the conversion (and often reap the reward) when they shouldn’t. The bus never left the depot.
The solution is clear:
Only count and report on impressions that are served and viewed.
That is what we do at Republic of Media. As a client, if your ROI is lower and your CPAs are higher, then hopefully you’ll understand that in reality, they aren’t. We’re just showing you the truth.
The industry will change. According to AdWeek, ‘approximately 90% of incremental digital advertising spend is flowing to paid search and social’. That’s not sustainable and good suppliers will win out and help reduce reliance on the duopoly of Google and Facebook.
Display still has a role to play, a good bus ad can still make someone go and see that new movie release or covet that new iPhone. And hey, someone might even click on them once in a while.
Customer success manager and qualified marketer with a focus on student recruitment
6 年I enjoyed reading this, especially the link to bus adverts (that's an analogy I use constantly). Unfortunately it seems buyers are too easily wowed by high CTRs but forget that the key, functioning element of "online display advertising" is the "display". I remember my first sales job selling on placement and readership in print publications - something that unfortunately goes over the head of a lot people now who are looking for an easy, quick measure.
Director - Data and Content at Data Thistle
6 年I've been banging on this drum from the publisher side for years. Interestingly I'm hearing this sort of conversation more and more often from the agency side now as well. Good to see.
Co-Founder at Think ALT
6 年Hear hear!
AI-driven marketing strategist | Data-backed decision maker | Growth-focused innovator
6 年Really interesting piece Simon! I think your point on viewability is a really important talking point and one that is often ignored. Basic logic dictates that if a campaign is 100% viewable (or at least 100% viewable by the industry standard measurements), then any potential conversions on a post view basis are more accountable. The bigger question is why doesn’t 100% viewability become industry standard? From my point of view it’s because advertisers aren’t willing to pay higher CPM’s for premium inventory. With every new middle man adding a layer of arbitrage to further distance advertisers for publishers the volume of factors that reduce viewability increase. The fewer middle men involved between advertiser and publisher either on a direct or PG basis would give them the best opportunity to achieve 100% viewability at a realistic CPM rate while still allowing publishers to monetize their audience in an open and transparent manner. The other option is what we have been delivering for clients which is a trading desk solution on behalf of clients but with proprietary access to our owned and operated inventory. That model allows us to offer 100% viewability at rates that don’t terrify advertisers!
Director of Programmatic Marketing at Solja
6 年"Click based conversions are almost non-existent" speak for yourself ;)