Media Currency Devalution -- Steve Grubbs

Analytics Audience Targeting First Second ampamp Third party data Settop box data Data Mining Big Dataamp8230 there are a huge number of companies providing these services for the TV and digital ecosystems and new entrants every few weeks They are supported by marketers agencies and media companies with the goal of divining indepth consumer and media insights It39s all laudable We are moving ever closer to validating the delivery of the right ad message to the right viewer at the right timeIt occurs to me though that with all the technology research and measurement innovation sometimes we overlook the obvious The TV impression one of the two components which comprise our basic media currency CPM is still defined and quantified by the TV ecosystem in the same manner as it was 4050 years ago Yet it39s pretty obvious that it too has undergone a significant transformation Today39s TV impression certainly doesn39t make the same impression on the viewer that it once did and that devalues our media currencySimply put the contract between TV network and advertiser guarantees the network shall deliver a client39s commercial within a designated program at a designated price and the audience for that show shall have the opportunity to view that ad Whether viewers actually watch the ad or it registers with them or it engages them is hard to judge but it is still reported by Nielsen Rentrak and other as a media impression At a very basic level should an opportunity to view a commercial still be the gold standard upon which we base our media currencyFor years the TV business didn39t differentiated between opportunity to view and actual viewers because the measurement technologies did not allow for it But in the 6039s and 397039s you could almost equate the two Maybe someone missed a commercial if they left the room Channel surfing wasn39t significant because there were less than a dozen channels available to a household less in smaller markets So media buyers accepted opportunity to view because there was a very good likelihood that people were viewing if Nielsen reported itFast forward to 2015amp8230 our remote controls are now frequently used as commercial avoidance devices We have commercial breaks in onehour shows that are now longer than the entire commercial load for a onehour primetime show in the 6039s amp8211 8039s The NAB code which placed limits on TV network commercial loads was abolished in 1986Furthermore we now have on average 12 other technology devices in our hands when watching TV We have multitasking moms and millennials We have an epidemic of quotdistractedquot viewers who are focused on other tasks during commercial breaksamp8230 not the commercials themselves Frankly we have so overcommercialized the TV entertainment experience that we have conditioned the viewer to mentally or physically tuneout commercial breaksSo many viewers today are declining their opportunity to view commercials This doesn39t show up in the Nielsen ratings and it is not reflected in TV buying decisions Minute by minute or second by second audience measurement is an improvement but it only reduces the magnitude of the problem Looking at it another way the value of our industry39s currency has been greatly devalued without notice or much objection We put the pot of water with the frog in it on the stove in the 198039s then turned up the heat and now it39s boilingThis is where the digital media should have a huge advantage over traditional media They have the capacity to determine which people are viewing their ads and how long they view them Their challenge is twofold Click rates are often miniscule and advertisers and agencies have been reluctant to pay significant cpm premiums for engagement So many just choose to default the industry standard impression metricBoth the TV networks and digital publishers should chart a course to selling quotengagedquot views and charging a premium for them Yes it39s an uphill battle to even mention quotcpm premiumquot in today39s procurement driven cost conscious environment But with all that Massive Data available to us we should be able to determine the value of an engaged view It39s certainly worth significantly more than an opportunity to view As there is more consumer adoption of connected TV39s overthetop boxes and interactive TV ads certainly the TV folks will be able to measure engaged viewsOpportunity to view as our industry39s currency suffers further devaluation each year If John Wannamaker were alive today he might revise his famed adage quotI know 25 of my advertising is working I just don39t know which 25Steve Grubbs is President and founder of Second Act Media consultancy Second Act advises media and emerging tech companies on how best to monetize their products and services across the advertising ecosystem Steve can be reached at stevegrubbssecondactmediacomRead all Steveamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at My Second ActCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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