MediaPost | Metrics Insider

What Your Smartphone Has To Do With Marketing Attribution

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:09:44 -0500

I remember the day I bought my first smartphone -- the IBM Simon -- which was so long ago that it was actually called a "personal digital assistant." I excitedly opened the package, charged it up, started reading through the manual on all the intriguing features -- and then my head started to spin. I started slow and eventually learned the ropes of my new machine. I never imagined I would use a phone to do all these other things -- but fast-forward to today when, like most of you, I've become a smartphone "power-user." Just as smartphones were in the mid-1990s, the practice of marketing attribution is still relatively new. And as with the adoption curve for smartphones, the understanding and use of attribution is increasing.

Designing An Accurate Global A/B Test To Improve Campaign Optimization

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:02:10 -0500

For online marketers, the practice of global optimization involves making small changes to the volumes of impressions served on all, or almost all, ad placements with the goal of maximizing a target metric, such as gross profit or number of conversions. Online marketers typically haven't performed such tests at a macro level of optimization because they are difficult to design and properly administer. However, there are two good ways any online marketer can set up a global optimization test.

The Future Of Media Metrics Is Interoperability

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:17:29 -0500

If there was one clear story that came from TV this January, it was the story of interactive TV. That, for starters, was a clear major takeaway from CES. TV platform after new TV platform introduced opportunities -- from apps to newly interactive consoles -- for advertisers to share content and advertising directly via the TV set itself. Suddenly, the very divided worlds of TV viewer and TV advertiser have just become intimately connected. As media professionals have correctly observed, that new connection also makes TV newly measurable. It's a huge step forward for metrics. But even with all that said, there's still a huge problem for metrics lurking in the background. It all goes back to what kind of transformation we're actually seeing in the TV world today.

Rooting Out Worst Practices

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:56:42 -0500

Perhaps we can make 2012 the year when "Best Practices for Conducting Online Ad Effectiveness Research" become standard operating procedures. And, in a year of action, let's encourage the vendors to do the research on research that the esteemed Dr. Paul Lavrakas recommended in his 2010 "An Evaluation of Methods Used to Assess the Effectiveness of Advertising on the Internet." The list of issues and items to consider when adopting best practices is rather long, largely due to the inadequacies of the current research methods and the costs of doing better work. Let's address some of the most common misconceptions and root out some worst practices:

Taming Big Data

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:27:46 -0500

The zettabyte is here. Sun Microsystems became the first company to go to market with a zettabyte file system Nov. 20. You don't really need to know that, but what you do need to know: it's an ominous sign that "big data" has no horizon, and it's only getting bigger. It could be more intimidating than the national deficit, but big data means big opportunity for digital marketers, if you know how to make sense of it.

Data-Driven Creative

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:42:35 -0500

As we start the new year, we are entering the age of data-driven creative strategies. Including data as an input into the creative cycle will allow current trends, consumer sentiment, real-time behavior and attitudinal response to be interwoven into creative thinking, thus making a campaign more relevant, dynamic and effective.

Attribution Management: A Direct Response & Brand Marketing Tool

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:31:02 -0500

Marketers and their agencies typically look at attribution management and the value it provides an organization in direct response terms. Focusing on accurately attributing metrics like conversions, revenue, CPA, ROI, and ROAS makes complete sense when a marketer has responsibility for producing some type of measurable conversion. But a growing number of professionals responsible for moving the needle on brand metrics -- like awareness, preference, consideration and purchase intent not linked to a "hard" conversion -- are also using attribution as a valuable analytics and optimization solution.

2011 Ad Inventory Takeaways

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:06:33 -0500

This year we've looked at more than 500,000 unique domains -- some of them hundreds of times, over and over. This is called taking inventory of the inventory. We've discovered some eye-openers about the state of the inventory as 2011 ends, and 2012 begins. Here are our more important and relevant findings.

Unlock The Flock And Nix The Demographics

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:32:24 -0500

In today's day and age, people online have very short attention spans. Everything is being shared very quickly -- and disappearing just as fast -- whether a funny CollegeHumor video, a piece of spicy news or even a Republican candidate's video. Online behavior is very similar to flock behavior -- people flock to topics and quickly forget about them. This flock mentality renders demographic targeting virtually useless. People are no longer as static as they used to be. No one can be just an "18-year-old who loves music and parties," because that's not dynamic enough to represent how online works.

Managing Data For Sales Conversion

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:27:43 -0500

Maybe it's counterintuitive, but the better the data management, the better the emotional connection with the customer. A data dive into a customer's history, purchase habits and channel preferences is like a treasure-trove that can be utilized to enhance the connection with the customer. And the beauty of that enhancement is that you're building a foundation for future purchases and even brand advocacy. Building a data management system that is streamlined for sales conversion and customer engagement isn't a simple proposition. Here's a proven set of guidelines for managing data for maximum conversion:

2012: A Measurement Odyssey

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:49:00 -0500

As I thought about the different ways this column could close out 2011 and ring in 2012, one topic stayed top of mind: Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS). In addition to 3MS, there are a few other central themes that will surface in 2012. Without further ado, here's a checklist of metrics solutions and issues to follow in 2012.

Leverage Customer Data To Turn Browsers Into Buyers

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:57:31 -0500

Online shoppers are more distracted than ever. As the count of e-commerce and comparison shopping sites on the Internet expands daily, an e-retailer's job of attracting and retaining customers becomes even more difficult. This fierce competition online has left online retailers grappling with how to convince shoppers to buy at their site over competitors'. Fortunately, there are strategies online retailers can use to reach their most valuable customers - and it all starts with using a resource all retailers have, but few understand: their own customer data.

Why The Operational Half Of Metrics Is In Trouble (And How To Fix It)

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:11:03 -0500

A lot of the metrics conversation revolve around computational issues -- questions of what data we have and how we can use it best, or how we can create proxies for data that we're missing. Obviously, the computational discussions are critical. But often, the computational discussions ignore the fundamental problems we face in actually making the metrics feasible: the problems in technology and operations that stand between a smart media community and a truly efficient one. So in the interest of having that complete conversation, I wanted to spend this piece exploring the major operational challenges that media metrics face.

Proceed With Caution: Attribution's Insights Not Always Straight Line

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:46:16 -0500

The insights that are produced by your cross-channel attribution management solution, and the resulting optimization actions that you take, may at first glance appear to be very straightforward in terms the results they produce. But often, these insights reveal results that are totally surprising and unexpected.

Of Principles, Solutions And Pilots (No, We Are Not Creating PSPs)

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:03:00 -0500

The ecosystem-wide initiative, Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS) is now moving from guiding principles and recommended solutions to testing, which is the first phase of implementation. This is the stage where we will learn what we don't know. Moreover, after acquiring information, we will be able to course-correct together.

Enabling the Measurement of Mobile

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:01:00 -0500

Mobile measurement continues to be a hot topic in digital media. We need three things to enable mobile measurement: 1) Develop a measurement framework; 2) centralized data collection; 3) provide an integrated reporting view.

Why The Cross-Channel Measurement Problem Is A Software Problem

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:54:20 -0500

Pandora founder Tim Westergren recently made a pointed observation about digital radio. Pandora might own 4% of U.S. radio listenership, Westergren observes, but it doesn't yet command 4% of the $17 billion U.S. radio budget. Westergren argues that measurement is to blame: since Nielsen and Arbitron, the leading radio measurement services, look at terrestrial radio alone, digital media planners don't have the apples-to-apples comparisons they need to consider Pandora as part of radio budgets.

Making Sense Of Mobile Measurement

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:14:12 -0400

Much has been written about the challenges facing mobile measurement. For example, the IAB's Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence (MMCoE) released an overview in early October. Somewhat less has been written about industry efforts to address those challenges, and so I would like to review briefly the IAB's game plan for improving one aspect of the nascent mobile measurement universe.

Attribution Science: Blondes, Brunettes & Non-Converters

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:58:33 -0400

When any marketing attribution management solution is developed, a decision must be made right upfront on which available data is going to feed the attribution process. Obviously the mathematical science that's employed to calculate the amount of credit to be attributed to every channel, campaign and tactic used by marketers can only utilize the data that's made available. So if certain data within an organization is excluded and deemed unimportant -- such as the "non-converter" data in the example above, before that data has been mathematically proven to be unimportant -- then that solution is inherently suspect.

Measure Your Media's Impact On Social By Using Targeted Social Listening

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Targeted social listening: We use this technique to pinpoint how our media impacts social, and how social affects overall ROI. Measuring social media alongside other online channels is not new. What is new is the complex approach to uncover the delicate statistical relationships between paid media and online social conversations. There's a wealth of data in every social interaction, but it takes constant selective monitoring (social listening) and analysis to tease out real insights attributed to media which in turn may help inform future media planning, optimizations and creative.

First Rule Of Advertising: They Need To See The Ad

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:47:03 -0400

On one consulting assignment, I got to learn a lot about the outdoor advertising business. One thing I learned was that the then-prevailing audience metric was the Daily Effective Circulation, or DEC. Now, see if any of this sounds familiar... the DEC was based on empirical site-centric traffic counts, but did not provide information at the persons level, and did not disentangle reach from frequency, and advertisers and agencies believed that these counts dramatically overstated actual audience delivery. I remember meeting with the leading out-of-home shops, and having media directors tell us that they routinely discounted the DEC metric by 50%. This lack of trust in the raw traffic metric was a limiter on advertiser confidence in the medium.

Will Hulu Ever Beat Youtube? It Comes Down To Metrics

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:29:06 -0400

With Google's Q3 just behind us and a Hulu IPO on the horizon, it seems worthwhile to ask which one of these two companies will own the future of prime video inventory. That's still an open question; and of course, any number of third players could come and take the reins. But what's important to understand is that Hulu and YouTube represent not just an epic battle of networks, but a fundamental conundrum in digital media buying. And that conundrum is about metrics.

The Data Management Conundrum

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:15:33 -0400

There's a lot of information out there. And the industry has done a remarkable job of providing "point solutions" that solve very specific data problems -- whether you're talking about DSPs for display, regionally specific media management technologies, or businesses that help advertisers dynamically generate audience-targeted creatives.

That's the good news. The bad news is that it's very difficult to roll the data points together into a holistic view. That's why we're still stuck in a conundrum of last-click attribution that views display advertising in a vacuum. That's why global CMOs are almost universally frustrated over the difficulties of rolling worldwide regional data into a single, global view.

Online Piracy: How Big A Problem Is It?

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:45:37 -0400

The impact of online piracy is massive. According to a report from CNBC, online piracy results in a loss of $16 billion in lost revenue on an annual basis. Content owners not only want to quantify the impact of online piracy on their business performance, but also want to uncover trends in consumer behavior as it relates to this content. Who is most likely to engage with online content? Do they engage with legal content online?

Effective Drivers: Media Mix Modeling vs. Attribution Management

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:00:05 -0400

Media mix modeling is typically delivered as a distinct "snapshot in time" project, and not an ongoing, iterative process. It is, in effect, setting your direction by a compass and driving off the road the first time the pavement turns. This method, of course, is not the best scenario for arriving safely to your destination.

Demo R& Fs: Back to the Future?

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:15:59 -0400

As part of their joint initiative, "Making Measurement Make Sense," The ANA, the IAB and the 4As, have issued five Guiding Principles of Measurement -- and will soon announce how those are going to be implemented.

Attribution's Recommendation Engine: Windshield Vs. Rear-View Mirror

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:30:17 -0400

In "A Chevy Convertible & Attribution: Both Offer Top-Down Technology," I used the analogy of a convertible car to describe "top-down" attribution. This month let's extend the car analogy -- this time right from the driver's seat -- and discuss the need to be equally skilled at using both the rear-view mirror AND the windshield to be an effective driver.

Data With Benefits

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:15:48 -0400

Data has real monetary value. Many publishers are beginning to realize that their audience asset can be monetized beyond the few minutes a consumer spends on their site. However, wherever there is real monetary value, various forms of skimming and cheating may follow. As a result, many data users are trying very hard to get access to this data without having to pay for it In other words, it should be called "data with benefits." To help the industry stay vigilant, here are five of the more popular skimming scenarios to look out for:

Taking A Stand Against Standards

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:30:38 -0400

Every brand needs metrics that matter. It's a simple fact of modern marketing and the fast-paced, fact-based media culture we all live in. But just as every brand has its unique value proposition and even digital DNA, each has its own metrics that matter. It's a huge universe. And while digital marketing has some serious measurement issues to overcome in order to accelerate the brand dollars migrating online, standardizing the metrics that matter is not one of them.

Metrics Imitate Life -- Which Is Good For Art

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:15:45 -0400

If I had to grossly oversimplify the experience/metrics arguments in advertising, I'd sum it up this way: if you're concerned with experience, for you the most important thing is sharing a great story in an engaging way. If you're concerned with data, you're only interested in sharing stories that you can tie to sales. It's a familiar tale. But two news stories from last week underscore how metrics are changing -- and why the new metrics are building great experiences, not undermining them.