TV marketers should have their ranges measured accurately, both analog and digital, says W&V guest author Viktor Eichmann. Discussions among advertisers about the “decline” of net ranges on TV and the lack of measurability of online video advertising concern the managing director of adlicious. He is of the opinion that video advertising must have an impact on the target group — legitimate criticisms of measurability distract from important questions.
Moving image campaigns and the comparison
The organization Advertisers in the Brand Association (OWM) has recently renewed its criticism of TV marketers. The focus is on the declining relevance of TV advertising and measurement problems. According to W&V, OWM complains that the medium TV is bringing advertisers less and is demanding extensive measurement options for online videos on all devices. The net ranges of linear TV are declining, while the technical measurability of online video advertising is inadequate due to lack of dissemination of the VAST 4.0 measurement script. While the OWM states that linear TV is suffering from the fragmentation of video consumption - i.e. has lost immense reach in recent years (also confirmed by AGF statistics) - the consequences for the media mix are still too weakly formulated. Since contact frequencies actually achieved via programmatic campaigns are comprehensively mapped and can be controlled and are much more relevant to advertising impact than GRPs, should online video play a much more important role - where the measurement problems mentioned can be solved and should not be a hurdle for significantly more digital moving image advertising.
Facing declining TV ranges
Based on statistics from AGF Video Research, one cannot deny a decline in audience market share. As a result, advertisers must question the efficiency of linear television. YouTube, as the most popular platform for moving image content, vividly demonstrates the reality of use: 88 percent of the twelve to 19-year-olds surveyed use Google's moving image offering at least several times a week, 63 percent daily. Marketing decision makers must take the shift in media consumption towards internet-based media much more into account for advertising planning. With their panel logic, AGF and AGOF (Online Research Association) are reaching their limits to depict real user behavior and actual net reach of target groups, not only due to the progressive fragmentation of the moving image market. The following example from customer journey tracking proves why the effect of linear TV is offset by excessive costs: Measured over the baseline of Online shop traffic for the uplift - new visitors - through TV commercials is unfortunately often worth over 100 euros per visitor. This shows that target groups are not really reached here and that cheap sounding 6 euro TCPs from TV marketers do not necessarily represent a good media investment.
Discussion of measurement methods in online video omits alternative solutions
The OWM critique cites the lack of dissemination of the Video Ad Serving Template 4.0 (VAST) as a central cause of the lack of measurability of online video inventory. However, the requirements are not effective on this point - as they focus the discussion about the measurement scripts on implementation by publishers. This leaves out neutral solutions that are technically available: the allocation of video inventories via SSPs, which communicate with DSPs within the framework of MRC and IAB standards and thus enable comprehensive measurability for video. These standards form a neutral basis, function independently of VAST 4.0 via tags and require the integration of third-party measurement to prove target group reach and visibility. Due to the current situation, TV marketers must also open up to the internationally recognized standards of the advertising industry and (have) their reach measured accurately, both digitally and analogously. Based on the behavior of their target group, marketing decision makers should and can ensure comparability in the impact of their moving image campaigns by collecting and taking into account the correct measurement values.
What could the solution look like?
In order to increase media effectiveness and efficiency, the impact of online video advertising, including connected and smart TV, must be measured in conjunction with the other marketing channels and ideally managed across campaigns from a single source. The programmatic availability of target groups in the video sector is now also very good on relevant inventories. This applies to both net and gross ranges, as well as outside YouTube and Facebook, where external measurement options are limited. With the shift in video consumption to digital, it is time for precise target group measurements instead of surveys to become the standard in measuring the reach of all media. In the online sector, the implementation of the MRC and IAB standards in conjunction with the relevant measurement providers can ensure transparent measurability and achieve consistent media control for efficiency and effectiveness. Ensuring brand safety and eliminating ad fraud are also based on these and other tools (such as external crawlers). However, it requires further measures in analytically driven campaign settings and optimizations by data scientists. Unfortunately, media planners in generalist agencies and agency networks are often overwhelmed by the complexity of measurement and control. This helps to ensure that the really effective approaches are not pushed forward even in public discussion.
This article is originally published as a guest commentary at wuv.de appeared.
