Let me suggest that standardization is to be dreaded and won't solve any issues that would benefit online sales.
First let's clarify online marketing and sales measures versus technical standards. The IAB has proposed a set of guidelines regarding online video measurement that is technically oriented (e.g., determining exactly when a video should be "counted" in the download process). Those issues are certainly valid and the IAB's efforts are commendable.
But we shouldn't be in such a hurry to standardize online advertising, pricing and audience delivery measurement. Here are four reasons why:
1. All traditional media executives hate the measurement system by which they are "standardized."
Radio hates Arbitron. TV hates Nielson. Print hates ABC and that wacky "readership" number from Simmons.
Once you've accepted a "gold" standard you're going to be rubbing nickels.
A TRUE FORMULA HAS TO FACTOR IN THE DEPRECIATING VALUE OF OLD MEDIA.
2. Why enter a game you'll lose? The purpose of standardization seems to be to equate online media with traditional media. Make it easy to compare. Forget it. It will always be a bad fit and a very false measure. That box on which you are reading this does not resemble a magazine, billboard, TV set, or radio. It has a keyboard and mouse that begs for interactivity. That interactive dynamic sets online media far apart from traditional media, which is largely designed to be passive.
Many traditional forms of media, such as the LITE FM Radio station you have on, is specifically made to not disturb the audience. The :30 second spot in the middle of a 10 spot cable commercial cluster has nothing to do with a killer online video made by a compelling Webstar.
Most "standardized" formulas focus on tonnage of audience. Online will have a tough time winning that game when compared with a spot on "Lost," UNLESS the formula includes depreciation.
The moment a dollar is committed to traditional media, the value of that dollar declines. The moment a dollar is invested in online digital media, it increases. If those variables are factored into a media buyer formula, then it begins to accurately reflect an online advertising investment.
3. The reason you entered digital work was to be part of something new. You see that the world is changing and you wanted to help sharpen the cutting edge. Putting formulas and standardization deep into the process of selling digital advertising will turn it into --traditional media. Once those standards are set, they will not be changed.
Radio ratings were created to measure Average Quarter Hour audiences. Why? Because that's how long radio soap operas were in the 1940s. Pass-along readership was invented in the 1950s by Simmons. The first number for cable is "homes passed"—that is the number of homes that can get cable. Do those formulas from the last century make sense right now?
SPREADSHEETS DON'T SHOW DESIRE.
4. The CEO wants to sell product. They don't want to buy CPPs, CPCs, Views, Impressions, or CPMs. They want customers to buy products. The impulse to buy a product is emotional. It's not on a spreadsheet. The most effective ad medium? Your best friend telling you to buy something. It goes downhill from there.
The goal should be to offer advertisers a true measure of that most human equation: Desire. Imagine the impact of a "formula" that demonstrates how effective online video and other products are at creating desire. Traditional media have never actually offered that to advertisers. The moment we demonstrate how effectively and predictably the online environment creates desire, the CEO will cancel the other ad budgets.
Walter Sabo is the Founder and Creator of the business concept. He is an experienced leader of new organizations and is currently CEO of Hitviews. Walter can be reached at walter@hitviews.com.