Connected TV is for marketers who value viewability: Dataxu

Advertisers have many viable options beyond the internet giants that can effectively use the power of analytics.

That's according to James Sampson, VP and general manager for APAC at Dataxu, who said new channels such as connected TV are already providing viable alternatives for supplementary media spend. And unlike the internet giants, Sampson asserted, connected TV comes with neutral, third-party analytics and measurement. 

"As the number of cord-cutting consumers grows, it's critical advertisers and their agencies leverage new types of television to get in front of younger consumers," said Sampson, adding that connected TV is a great alternative for marketers because it can bridge the gap between traditional and digital by enabling the reach and power of traditional TV.

When Facebook responded to the Cambridge Analytica scandal by banning third-party data providers from its ad targeting platform, it limited the information businesses have on purchases, affecting the way they target customers.

One of the key implications of the ban relates to its impact on viewability, which Sampson considers to be a limited measurement of campaign success. At present, the industry-wide consensus accepts 50% of ad pixels viewed on a display ad for at least one second. Sampson believes the ongoing debate on viewability, brand safety and quality is helping shine a light on a key concern of advertisers: are the ads they are paying for actually showing up in front of consumers? 

James Sampson

"While part of the onus of viewability falls on the publishers selling ad inventory on their pages, advertisers and their agencies can also ensure high viewability by including 100% viewable formats such as connected TV in their 2018 media plans," said Sampson. "If viewability is a key concern for your company, you might want to consider connected TV, rather than digital display, to ensure all eyes are on your ads."

As the industry searches for ways to concretely tie viewability to campaign performance, metrics beyond pure in-view rates will end up taking the front seat for campaign KPIs and optimisation. Examples of alternate metrics include average time in-view, viewable CPM, viewable video completions and viewable CPA.

For example, with performance-based campaigns, Sampson recommends classifying viewability as a supplement to other business outcome-related KPIs, while applying pre-bid viewability solutions to ensure higher viewability for creatives for brand awareness campaigns.

"Higher viewability in addition to deeper, more valuable actions will yield increased ROI overall," said Sampson. "But a campaign can still be highly successful even with less than 100% viewability."

Discrepancies between third-party viewability measurement providers and the lack of data integrity and consistency across platforms are part of the wider problem due to which viewability remains a challenge in the media and digital space.

"Viewability is still a work in progress, but it and the industry are moving in the right direction when it comes to raising the standard on inventory quality and consumer experience," said Sampson. "In order to truly provide value, third-party measurement providers need to start expanding their technologies to also cover formats such as connected TV."