Marketer demand for cross-media audience measurement is at an all-time high. In the absence of comparable data, marketers squander a huge chunk of advertising money every year, say experts. As digital media explodes, one often hears the media/marketing fraternity in the country rue that they are unsure if a platform is effectively addressing the intended demographic or not. Akanksha Nagar discusses with experts why efforts to come up with cross-media metrics seem to be failing, and the way forward.
Lack of unified system leads to issues in measuring effectiveness
Krishna Menon, chief operating officer, QYOU Media India
The world of advertising has evolved dramatically the world over. With the proliferation of multi-platform and cross-media content consumption, the need for standard or third-party measurement metrics for viewership cannot be overstated. As an industry, we have arrived at a crossway. The way audience ratings are being measured is a constant debate. At present, the industry has an incomplete understanding of how audiences engage with cross-media content. Fragmented metrics across various channels make it difficult to track user behaviour and performance across different platforms. The absence of a unified system leads to inconsistency in measuring the effectiveness of an ad campaign.
Data indicate, the more touchpoints, the greater the ROI. However, advertisers have long struggled with the lack of comparative data that show how various media channels might interact with each other, resulting in the exclusion of some media channels. With holistic media buying and integrated campaigns across different platforms and devices, the need to measure accurately and consistently across media vehicles is crucial. A true cross-media measurement is no longer an option but the ‘holy grail’ for marketers looking to reach their target audiences effectively. Achieving this will allow marketers to compare their media spending across multi-channels, thus showing an impressive multiplier effect.
In this time of change, to seize the momentum to rally around marketer needs, we must begin evolving how we measure and reach audiences today. It is time for us as an industry to come together, address the burning need for cross-platform analysis, and break the silos in audience measurement.
A problem we are not going to solve, however much we wish
Unny Radhakrishnan, CEO, Digitas India
Third-party cross-media measurement is a problem we are not going to solve, however much we wish. For the following reasons: all attempts for cross-media have been in the context of TV and online videos. But online includes non-video also and consumers get influenced by other media as well. Even if there is an argument that TV+online constitutes a major share of advertiser money, discounting non-video in online is not sensible.
Also, frequency control and unique reach in a digitised world is a myth. All the rules on reach and frequency were created for the television world. The time now spent on digital is significantly high, making ‘infinite inventory’ a reality. On top of this, there is an increased complication with added variables like viewability, brand safety, etc.
Platforms have no incentives to open themselves and have a common ground on measurement. In the world of infinite inventory, it’s data that qualifies as inventory. If the data is commonly available across platforms, there is no differentiation for the inventory. So, every platform will have its own measurement frameworks, tools and studies such as brand lift studies. Apart from that, the continuous evolution of new media, new platforms, influencer content and significantly increased opportunities for branded content on all video platforms are new avenues. These do not fit into the expected cross-media measurement framework, while all of them are ‘media’.
Experimentation, testing different platforms, and new ways of audience research are possibly new ways of measurement. Trying to fit old measurement ways in the new digital world is like searching for better-burning candles to take on electric bulbs.
One is either reaching a highly duplicated audience or losing out on a newer audience
Kavita Chand, head, media, South Asia, insights division, Kantar
With growing media fragmentation, while advertisers continue to
grab every possible opportunity to reach the desired consumer, the attention span of the audience is shrinking like never before. Multi-screening, media consumption on the go, and too many media choices require an integrated communication planning and media strategy. While advertisers and agencies are working hard towards an integrated plan, there is no way they can measure success unless there is a single source measurement solution available.
In the absence of cross-channel measurement, one is either reaching a highly duplicated audience and overexposing the consumer, which may result in diminishing returns, or losing out on a newer audience that the platform can potentially deliver. Even within digital, one cannot measure cross-publisher performance. While planners deliver unique reach for the brand on individual platforms, they struggle to get cross-publisher read due to the inability to track cross-publisher impressions and because of walled gardens.
As we are preparing to enter the cookieless world, there is a dire need for direct integration with all big publishers on a common audience pool. Also, the media performance is not just about delivering GRPs or impressions, but it must finally translate into brand outcomes that drive business. So cross-platform media attribution on brand building is as important as cross-platform audience measurement.
