Measuring media has never been as precise as stakeholders would like. Adding CTV (connected TV) and ATV (advanced TV) to an already intricate mix compounds the complexities.
I recently asked Scott McDonald, president and CEO of the Advertising Research Foundation, to update us on efforts to improve the process.
Paul Talbot: Could you share a bit of historical perspective? How does where we stand today with efforts to develop robust audience measurements for CTV and OTT compare with where we were 70 years ago working to develop audience measurement estimates for broadcast TV?
Scott McDonald: 2021 vs 1951? What’s the same? The market wants an independent measurement of the reach of a TV ad campaign. Tthis measurement is a key ingredient in setting prices between buyers and sellers – which is why it’s called a ‘currency.’ But not much else is the same.
What’s different?
Back then there were only 3 networks, everything was broadcast free over the air and the most popular shows got over 50% share of viewing. Measurement was done by recruiting panels to fill out diaries reporting their viewing and the ads were purchased based on the viewing of the program.
Now the market is vastly bigger but incredibly fragmented across different platforms and devices, with programs and ads sometimes viewed in different apps, each with their own measurement challenges.
Most measurement is passive and direct (no diaries) but because each person watches on multiple platforms and devices, understanding the deduplicated reach of a campaign is a challenge.
And now part of the TV market is addressable (ads can be targeted based on household or geographic characteristics rather than program context). Also, now a significant chunk of the market watches subscription-based ad-free TV. One huge difference is that back in 1951, an independent company like Nielsen could measure the market without soliciting cooperation from the companies being measured.
That is less true now since many of the signals needed for measurement must be passed by multiple distributors to be read by the measurement systems, a situation that requires cooperation between the measured and the measurers.
Talbot: What needs to happen for all the different stakeholders to be provided with quality CTV and OTT audience data?
McDonald: Now that the networks all own the data for viewing on their platforms, they need to agree to share these data in measurement solutions. Part of this means that the signals that identify a unit of ad or program content need to be interoperable (standardized) so that they can be read and comprehended across the fragmented landscape.
Beyond this, to get to the deduplication, we need some privacy-centric way of figuring out how those different screens and platforms map back to persons or households.
If we can’t get this done in a manner that is consistent with privacy requirements, then one approach is to aggregate those persons and households up to big enough groupings to make them useful to advertisers but impossible to reverse-engineer back to tracking and individual targeting.
If we can’t figure out how to do that to everyone’s satisfaction, then we need to go back to pure contextual targeting which seems retrograde to many, but which was perfectly adequate for the first 60 years of TV advertising.
There is a lot of debate in the industry about how to make sure that everyone gets counted, and it remains a strong argument for the importance of high-quality panels to correct for the inadequacies of the big data.
Talbot: What are some of the common misconceptions surrounding the measurement of these audiences?
McDonald: Until recently, it often was assumed that the audiences for CTV and OTT were younger and/or more affluent. However, the demographic profile of streamers broadened considerably during Covid so these assumptions aren’t true anymore.
Some media companies have been assuming that households will continue to spend ever higher levels for subscription TV, but the evidence suggests that there are limits.
Talbot: What’s the situation concerning the financial investments required to fund the necessary measurement technologies?
McDonald: These measurement challenges are technically difficult, even if you have a lot of cooperation and interoperability. That means that they will require a lot of capital.
Some of these barriers could be mitigated by more cooperation, agreeing on common technical standards, cooperating on things like universe estimate studies and approaches to ‘truth sets.’
But even if we resolve some of these problems, measurement will still be expensive and competitive. It has been challenging to introduce alternative measurement since most networks can’t afford to pay for more than one currency-grade measurement system at the same time during a transition. However, this can work if the new alternative can be produced more affordably.
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‘This year will be the first time that we’ll see a global ad spend of over a trillion’ U.S. dollars, says Charles Etienne Morier
Published Apr 23, 2024 • Last updated 26 minutes ago • 5 minute read
Like their partners in the Canadian news industry, the country’s media agencies are undergoing unprecedented transformation. The National Post is holding conversations with leaders of Canada’s largest agencies on the fast-changing fundamentals. This week, Charles Etienne Morier, chief operating officer of Touché! & Omnicom Media Group Montreal, speaks to writer Rebecca Harris.
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It has dramatically changed with technological advancement and shifts in consumer behaviour. Now, more than 80% of digital ad spend is transacted through digital buying platforms, so it has become increasingly important for our workforce to have a good understanding of the algorithms and how to maximize them.
The process has changed also. It’s no longer about creating a 30-second spot and then selecting a media channel to distribute the message. We start with the audiences, the channels where we need to reach them, and then tailor a message that will be appealing. And so, we need to work even more closely with our creative partners.
And we think 2024 will change even more. It’s going to be an inflection point despite all the changes we have gone through over the last three years. This year will be the first time that we’ll see a global ad spend of over a trillion (U.S. dollars). It shows the responsibility that we have as advertisers and agencies to spend that money wisely and ensure we make every ad dollar count, and that we are engaging consumers in a way that speaks to them in an age where there’s a lot of uncertainty about how they share their data and private information.
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The team now needs to be proficient in so many areas. We used to have strategy, media buying and planning, and optimization and reporting. Now, we need to be able to help our clients navigate within this complex digital ecosystem with clean rooms (environments where brands, publishers and advertisers share data), the deprecation of cookies, and dynamic creative optimization. Our agency has changed dramatically in the sense that we offer much more depth in our services now. So, our leaders need to be proficient in being able to discuss those subjects with clients. We have a strong learning system in place and it’s part of our value, to make sure that our teams stay curious because it’s changing so much by the day.
Brands that are breaking through are able to prioritize authenticity, relevance and creativity in their messaging and their approach to media. Consumers are bombarded with messages every day and there’s ad blocking, so we have to find new ways of capturing consumer attention… We need to make ads relevant to consumers and bring more value into their lives. And leverage the data we have at our disposal to tailor the message to specific audience segments and engage the consumer in multiple touchpoints.
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We’ve been working for almost two years on educating our clients, making sure that they are prepared. So, we are doing assessments to make sure we have everything in place to prepare for the impact of the deprecation of cookies. It will change a lot for measurement because we will not be able to measure the same things the same way. We will not be able to target in the same way. But I see it as an opportunity somewhat, to be able to come back to (advertising) that is more creative and more around content and context… and more in relation to targeting the right people in the right moment instead of relying too much on the data.
Retail media (platforms that allow retailers to sell ads to brands) will be expanding. Now, the stat is one in five dollars will be spent in retail media globally and 20 per cent of the commerce ecosystem will be done online. So, it’s going to be more important to have a strong omnichannel approach and deliver a positive consumer experience.
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There’s also social commerce… There are so many influencers – there are 50 million creators globally. So how, as an agency, we’re able to harness that and power that at scale is crucial, and how we can partner with creators effectively. It’s changing a lot in media planning on that front. There is a real shift from curation to generation of content.
Television as well is changing a lot, from linear to connected TV. There is a streaming war at the moment, so we need to create new standards, overcome walled gardens (where the platform provider controls the content and data) and figure out measurement.
And obviously automation will play a bigger role. The way I see it is (artificial intelligence) will bring more value to what we do to bring smarter, faster and more effective work. For me, it’s not just about AI itself. It’s more about connected intelligence with the human at the centre of it. So, it’s how we can use the tool to amplify what we are doing.
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A 13-year-old western Quebec boy accused of harassing and threatening another child online is facing four charges and conditions restricting his internet activity.
In a news release issued Friday, police in the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais said the alleged victim’s parent filed a complaint after being “subjected to the suspect’s wrath for several months.”
Police said they went to the accused’s home on Sunday to arrest him, but had to return with a warrant the following day after his parents initially refused to co-operate.
The 13-year-old was arrested Monday evening and detained. He was formally charged on Tuesday with criminal harassment, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, distributing child pornography and unauthorized possession of an unspecified restricted weapon.
Among his release conditions, the boy can’t access social media and can’t use the internet without adult supervision.
Police didn’t offer details about the alleged threats or where the youth lives. The municipality includes the communities of Chelsea, Quyon, Val-des-Monts and Wakefield.
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