Feeding the Monster - The Tyranny of Big Numbers

This session is all about looking at the world of audience measurement from an advertising and advertiser perspectiveI believe we are fast approaching a tipping point We have for years inhabited a world within which the most important some would say the only thing that mattered was how many amp8216somethingsamp8217 you bought and at what priceThis was the world of trading the world where the biggest number always wins the world where amp8216bigamp8217 beats amp8216preciseamp8217 every timeHow else to explain the US Upfront system Or the preference again in the US for program ratings as the trading metric as opposed to audiences to commercialsHow often do we see amp8216oh but it generates clicksamp8217 as a justification for some inane piece of editorial content Why does that matter Because in the heads of Publishers and Editors click volume equals advertising revenue Theyamp8217re not wrong but they should beThere can only be one reason for this obsession amp8211 a fear that numbers may go down and that if they did ad revenue would consequently and inevitably declineNever mind that what weamp8217re buying is commercials and what weamp8217re measuring is programs Never mind that clicks hardly correlate with business successBig is good we must feed the monster even if all logic suggests that itamp8217s irrational to do soWhy else do we continue to focus on metrics like amp8216viewsamp8217 even though the way we define what constitutes a view varies from channel to channelWhy does the industry ignore ad fraud within programmatic buying even though everyone knows it happens at scale Because fraudulent clicks mean bigger numbers and bigger numbers are goodThe truth is that all of these things get us big numbers amp8211 even though theyamp8217re demonstrably questionable as well as being of limited at best pragmatic use in meeting our clientsamp8217 goalsWeamp8217re now moving into a world where why things work matters as much as what worksA world where it is not only legitimate but increasingly popular to question any association between the most basic audience metrics and business effect To what degree do outputs impact outcomesA plannersamp8217 world defined by a desire to understand how people consume media not just how many of them do soA world of combinations of searching for the best mix of communication channels to meet a defined objectiveA world where we look beyond narrow advertisingfunded channels to consider owned media forms earned exposures and formats like ingame or inprogram product or message placementsIn this world crossmedia measures matter And if I may put in a plea to many in this room crossmedia is not the same as crossplatform or crossvideo despite what you might hear from some speakers on this platform Words matter definitions matter and if we canamp8217t rely on the professional research community to speak accurately then weamp8217re in a bigger mess than I thoughtIf weamp8217re to plan in a truly crossmedia manner then we need the vision of Origin and similar initiatives Thatamp8217s not the same as saying everyone has to agree with every detail but it does mean a belief that the vision is worth striving towardsI think the opposition weamp8217re seeing to Origin specifically from broadcasters is misplaced itamp8217s backwardlooking narrow and rooted in the old trader mentalityMuch more importantly it does the broadcasters themselves no favors Theyamp8217re in an immensely strong position as an impactful brandsafe flexible medium a point made very well by Nick Manning lastamp160week in The Media Leader Further they have a large body of evidence pointing to the mediumamp8217s success in building brands and businessesThey are far better off inside the tent where they can ensure that any crossmedia system develops in a way that benefits them by bringing their strengths into playIamp8217m encouraged by the number of large advertisers embracing the world of planning They want to move forward to understand not only what works but why That way they can focus on what worksIamp8217ve never understood the amp8216youamp8217re either for us or against usamp8217 mentality Promoting tools and techniques to help planners doesnamp8217t mean stopping measuring audiencesAudience measurement by channel is as it has always been essential Its a crucial building block in measuring advertising effectiveness Itamp8217s not and if truth be told itamp8217s never been the whole houseRelative newcomers like the attention measurers the smart TV manufacturers the neuroscientists all provide blocks amp8211 some big some smallWe certainly need to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater but even the most carefully filtered bathwater needs refreshing occasionallyPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Feeding the Monster - The Tyranny of Big Numbers

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Brian Jacobs

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