GLOBAL BRANDS ADVANCE TOWARDS 'HOLY GRAIL' OF CROSS-MEDIA MEASUREMENT
Advertisers have long struggled with poor quality data that does not allow them to properly assess how best to invest their ad budgets across multiple platforms and media.
As media consumption changes and advertisers increasingly run integrated campaigns across different platforms and devices, it has become more important to measure accurately and consistently across different media.
The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has released a framework for cross-media measurement, what it calls the “holy grail” for marketers accompanied by a proposed solution, designed to give advertisers a much greater understanding of the reach and frequency of their advertising efforts.
The proposal was built in partnership with digital platforms, including Facebook and Google and will now be tested by the UK and US, with Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) respectively leading local efforts.
The WFA has worked with national advertiser associations over the past 18 months to create the framework, which identifies advertisers’ cross-media measurement needs as well as the principles that advertisers believe that all solutions should be bound by.
Alongside the framework, the WFA is also publishing a technical proposal for a cross-media measurement solution, which meets the principles outlined in the framework, including those covering transparency, neutrality and auditing.
The proposal utilizes a Virtual ID (VID) and various security protocols to protect privacy while avoiding double-counting of impressions across media. Consumers would also benefit from having better cross-media frequency control by not being unintentionally aimed by the same ad through multiple media platforms, potentially addressing one of the key motivators behind ad blocking.
The WFA tested the technical solutions via an international open comment and peer review exercise earlier this summer, organised by the WFA and involving several hundred of the industry’s most prominent measurement professionals. Validation efforts will place particular care and focus on how TV data will be integrated with digital data within the product.
The complexity of modern advertising requires more complete cross media measurement systems built with privacy at the core. This framework will help to optimize marketing decision making for driving business and brand growth, also it enables improved ad relevance and reduces excessive frequency, ultimately providing a better consumer experience. Not only are cross-media measurement solutions helping brands effectively measure their campaigns, but they are also reducing programmatic advertising spend in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Source: wfanet.org
