Viewability, in my view
Ask anyone in digital media what the burning issues in our industry are at the moment and you'll likely be told three things: ad fraud, ad blocking and viewability. Here at ad2one, the most pressing of the three (currently) is viewability.
I recently received an email from a media agency stating that they would be monitoring viewability for client X going forward, and would be expecting at least 80%, working toward 100%. That was all they said. Nothing about the tech vendor they would be using (and what % of impressions would be measured), which sites and campaigns, whether or not they would be white-listing our sites - some viewability measurement vendors block served impressions due to reviews or comments left on articles, even though the publisher may register them as having been served (and rightly expect to get paid). The list goes on. It took me three weeks of trying to get a conversation going with the agency.
I am absolutely sold on the need for viewable digital ads. I have heard grumblings from some quarters saying "lots of people go boil the kettle when tv ads come on" or "what about people changing the radio station when the ads come on?" They're missing the point. Viewability isn't about whether or not someone sees your ad, it's about whether or not they have the opportunity to. Ads that never appear on screen should not be counted as ads (if a tree falls in the forest....).
The move toward 100% viewability needs to be a collaborative process. Without an agreed upon method of measurement, there will be significant discrepancies between tech vendors, and currently all of the risk sits with the publishers, as per the example above.
To any publishers out there, I suggest carrying out an audit of your properties to assess how you stack up. You can then make adjustments to move the viewability dial in the right direction. We are already working with many of our publishers to do just this.
To advertisers and media agencies - you need to have two way dialogue with your publisher partners, and not just tell them what you're doing without consultation or information.
If you need any more convincing as to the importance of this topic, take a look at this video appeal from Rob Lowe, it's an issue that's deeply personal to him too.
https://www.fox.com/watch/446414403654
Peace
Vice President, Commerce & Audience Solutions, APAC
9 å¹´Good point Andrew. Unfortunately this doesn't solve the issue for many thousands of publishers, and not every brand would want or need to do that. Sometimes selling a seat on a plane is just about getting your message in front of someone who is looking for flights.
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9 å¹´Here's a novel way to combat viewability! Put brands (creatively and tastefully) within the original content that people are watching on Social Media Channels with the likes of Youtube, Snapchat, Instagram and Periscope stars where the viewability and reach is far larger and of better performance than repurposed TV ads that get either blocked or passed-over.
Vice President, Commerce & Audience Solutions, APAC
9 å¹´Couldn't agree more Nico. I was at a conference during the week and someone made the point that there are plenty of obstructed ooh installations that brands pay top dollar for. The beauty of digital is that we can do something about it. We just have to agree on the methodology!
Hi Peter, thanks for this post! These are good points - people often confound the technical viewability (OTS - opportunity to see) and whether a consumer paid attention to ads (we also don't know whether someone just switched on their PC but isn't watching - likewise, people often have multiple browser tabs open). Nevertheless, I must say that TV has massive measurement issues as well - just recall how poorly TV ratings are measured and then extrapolated to the population (some details here: https://www.adnews.com.au/opinion/a-solution-to-reduce-viewability-concerns-algorithmic-attribution-modelling).