The ARF's Gayle Fuguitt Announces the 2016 Audience Measurement Conference

Charlene Weisler: What makes this year’s conference different from previous years?

Gayle Fuguitt: We find ourselves in very interesting times and there is so much focus on measurement. It feels to me that as an industry we are just not focused enough on the consumer. So with the advent of ad blocking and ad fraud, multi-touch attribution, and big data or smart data, there are remarkable solutions available. But we really have to get right back to the consumer and think about what makes their hearts beat faster. How can we as an industry appeal to the head and their heart of the consumer and not just to their feet and purchase behavior.

Charlene: So how can we get to the head and heart of a consumer?

Gayle: It is primarily neuroscience. CBS’ David Poltrack has amazing new research that ties neuroscience to ROI. And [here at] the ARF [we have] our own original research study which combines neuroscience with new platforms beyond television. Back in March, we demonstrated that cross platform advertising works and that an ROI kicker effect was created by combining television and digital. Now we are dealing with layers as we ask [such questions as], “How much and in what order? Do I run TV first? Do I do digital first? And how do I measure the creative online? How do I know that I appeal to the consumer with my banner ad or my video?”  As TV is being redefined, video is becoming so important; we are finding incredible new insights into how to optimize the impact of the consumer’s emotional connection to the brand and product through neuroscience. This will help direct decisions as to whether I should spend my first dollar on television or on mobile. If I spend on mobile is it mobile video? And how do I know if my mobile video is any good? We are going to unlock the answers to these questions at the conference.

Charlene: I have to ask, what is your definition of TV?

Gayle: Right now it is moving pictures and stories on a screen. It is very interesting to me to see the emotional engagement to story lines, characters and branded entertainment, and how this is impacting the amount of TV consumers are watching. You can see that in binge viewing beyond the platform and device. It is this emotional engagement that’s key, and the loyalty to reinvented television has actually increased almost at the same rate as the number of choices the consumer has. TV is being reinvented and, in fact, one of the key presentations on Monday at the conference is going to be by Google about the evolution and measuring of television:  Television as video across screens. So the fact that we will have Google presenting information like that is a wonderful metaphor to answering this question.

Charlene: Give me some teasers on what to expect at the conference.

Gayle: Here are the main reasons why this year’s conference is a must-attend:

• Sequencing.  At Audience Measurement, we will unveil the critical next phase of the How Advertising Works research that was shared at Re!Think: a roadmap for the optimal sequencing of messages across TV, mobile and digital.
• Neuroscience.  We will definitively demonstrate the connection between ROI and neuroscientific methods.
• 360 view of the consumer.  We will comprehensively show you the leading-edge approaches to measuring audiences in today’s redefined media landscape.
• Erwin Ephron Demystification Award.  We’ll pay tribute to the 2016 winner, Irwin Gotlieb, Chairman, GroupM Global.

This conference offers the latest, best, objective, unbiased views on cross platform measurement, attribution, neuroscience and how to build brands in the brain so that they appeal to the consumer. Are demos dead? We still tend to fall back on age and gender. But we will talk about audiences who are people, with inspired content.

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