Advancements in Cross Platform Measurement

CIMM, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement recently held its annual Cross-Platform Media Measurement and Data Summit. This year’s conference focused almost exclusively on cross platform which is the hot issue among both media buyers and sellers.

CEO and Managing Director, Jane Clarke, announced CIMM’s 7 criteria for cross platform measurement at the conference. She explained, "CIMM developed our 7 Criteria for measuring cross platform exposure of both content and ads in order to let research vendors know the solutions that the end users are seeking for measuring unduplicated reach."

During this time of media transformation, these seven criteria help to form a foundational consensus for the industry. 

CIMM’s Seven Criteria For Cross Platform Measurement

      1.       We need to go beyond panels. Panels alone are too small to be the only measurement solution for the cross platform world. Panels are also unable to account for out of home viewing - an issue for some networks, notably CNBC. Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Advertising Sales & Client Partnership is addressing this issue, as she explained, “CNBC Daytime is no longer relying on Nielsen for C3 ratings.”

      2.       We need passive measurement and solutions. The least amount of intrusion is optimal as a myriad of devices vie for viewers’ attention. Manish Bhatia, comScore’s Chief Revenue Officer, noted, “No matter what the media is, passive electronic measurement has been viewed by the industry as the most accurate approach to capturing and reporting media behavior accurately. That is what comScore is doing.”

      3.       Census data are needed across all platforms. As with the importance of going beyond panels, CIMM acknowledges that census level data is needed for all platforms. Clarke explained, "It's important that we point out the need for hybrid combinations of panel data with census-like data across all platforms, including TV Return Path Data." “The data is there to count every consumer“, noted Time Warner Cab le EVP & COO, Media Services, Joan Gillman, “We are only starting to scratch the surface.”

      4.       Measuring individuals is optimal but measuring households is also useful. Targeting households and their behavioral dynamics can also provide actionable insights for marketers. According to Eric Schmitt, EVP Communications and Media at Allant, “Standard household-level segments and ad impression counts across inventory pools, platforms and MVPDs are essential to keeping national TV advertising competitive with the scale and efficiency of online alternatives."

      5.       Measure ads and programming separately. The sooner we move to separate measurements of ads and programs, the better according to Jed Meyer, Global Research Director at Annalect who said, “We are moving from a world of content-based buying to audience-based buying and future measurement systems need to reflect this shift.” The reason, according to Schmitt is that, "Measuring ad audiences is different than programming measurement.  Advertisers have specific segments they want to reach, while programmers are usually looking for as many eyeballs as possible.

      6.       We need common units of analytics and metrics for reporting.  Tom Xenos, MediaVest’s Vice President, Audience & Measurement Solutions believes that, “If we’re ever to make sense of the new cross-media world, we need to adopt a common set of metrics for measuring and evaluating audiences.  Otherwise, we’ll just continue to have a media tower of Babel.” But the quest for common metrics is challenging. When asked which metrics are most important, there was a range of responses. Fernando Arriola, VP and Media Integration, ConAgra Foods, said, “Brand health and sales, how many unduplicated people see the message”, Yaccarino said, “Total audience delivery,’ and Erin Matts, Chief Marketing Officer, Annalect, averred, “The best proxy for sales varies by client. The more metrics are better. The access to a variety of metrics allows us to customize and makes our job easier.”

      7.       Implement an asset identification open standard. CIMM is in the process of crafting an open standard for media asset identification using EIDR and AD-ID, utilizing consultant Chris Lennon, President and CEO, MediAnswers, to help in SMPTE standardization. He explains, “We sent out an RFP and are now gathering test content and refining our test plan to best assess respondent technologies. (We are) also developing a SMPTE Recommended Practice that we will publish along with the eventual Standards document(s) that come out of this effort.”

With these criteria in place, the pace of cross platform measurement solutions should accelerate. An industry-based solution could be close at hand. Let’s hope soon.

This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com

TV - Evolution or Revolution? A Look at B&C's MultiPlatform Conference

There is more chatter than usual about the future of the traditional TV model with hand wringing across all media disciplines from measurement, to technology, to consumer affinities, to platform usage and business silos. Can MVPDs keep up with the pace of change? Can content providers maximize the value of their offerings across platforms? What is the future of TVE, OTT, TV programmatic on the core business? 

There are no pan-industry experts (that I know of) but there are astute minds in specific areas. So when one attends a conference that places experts across the spectrum in one venue, it is a cornucopia of ideas and revelations. Such was the recent B&C MultiChannel Content Show which included panels on MultiPlatform and Addressable Advertising.

There were so many great panels and speakers that the following takeaways are from the MulitPlaform conference. Addressable Advertising takeaways will follow in a future column:

Authentication is Still Not Where It Should Be
OTT, it was generally agreed, was a good thing for consumers, MVPDs and content providers. But authentication remains a roadblock for many consumers. Marty Roberts from The Platform admitted that "as a technologist, there is still more to do (with authentication).  Authentication is now at about 55%. That is not good enough. Consumers want to login and just watch their show. The problem is that consumers don't know their credentials. "

Measurement is Improving But is Not There Yet. And Stubborn Silos Remain
Cross platform measurement has seen some recent improvements but there is still much to be done including breaking down the measurement silos by combining measurement platforms, evolving the business model away from proxy measures and forming common metrics across platforms.

TWC's Joan Gillman explained that "We have trained the consumers to consume media whenever and wherever they want but what hasn't caught up is the measurement. Long tails don't get credit." That is because TV buying continues to be bought by age gender proxy. However Big Data is slowly moving the measurement needle. AT&T 's Kristyn Clement noted that "We are moving away from the Nielsen panel. We might use Rentrak or Nielsen or both and we will continue to see that evolve. The days of a single currency has past us."

Jane Clarke of CIMM believes that “We will probably end up with two (measurement) layers; A planning layer with a holistic measurement and a system that gets to unduplicated content and ad measurement in single system. But actual trading currency probably needs a trading platform. Advertisers want purchaser targets. They no longer want w25-54. So we will also need a transactional layer to get the right ad to right person at right time.”

Some believe that measurement challenges will be solved over time as older viewers give way to younger who have very different consumption preferences. Ian Greenblatt of ARRIS noted that “The under-measurement of OTT is generational. Younger viewers will actively search out quality content in whichever silo it is living.”

Content Truisms Remain Truisms ... Until They Don’t
How many times have we heard that content is king? That is still true; Without good, compelling, engaging content, our quest for better measurement and monetization is quixotic. The interesting nuance to this is how different forms of content succeed in different ways depending on the technology. Fewer television series are viewed live with viewers preferring to watch on their own schedules, on a variety of devices and via other content aggregators. News and Sports, however, continue to be viewed live, albeit on a wider range of platforms. Obviously, consumers will decide the TV model. Penthera’s Michael Willner says, “I admit I am getting more into watching programs on my iPad. Though it will be the consumers who will decide how TV evolves.”

Better Technology is Always on the Horizon - Keep on Top of It
Technology is advancing faster than it can be accommodated into the media business but many of these new innovations can result in greater profitability for savvy companies. Optimization of ad avail pricing is essentially here. Greenblatt says that “Ad tech is one of the hottest areas. There are lots of new players there. (It will soon be possible to) price upcoming avails in a stream leading to pricing in real time. You can digitally insert specific ad for specific audience in specific time and dynamically re- price.”

In the area of content, the sophistication of new viewing platforms may require more careful integration of technology to maximize the viewer experience. Jens Loeffler of Adobe noted that “Sports is challenging technically in cross platform. There is a need for higher resolution and frame rates for fast moving content. We need to focus on good compression and capacity.” In fact technological needs vary by sport. According to Eric Black of NBC sports, “In golf and swimming, compression is critically important. We need to differentiate tuning for a specific sport.”

Don't Fear Change
The only way to succeed today is to embrace change. Some companies are immersed in advancement but there are still too many that are mired in inaction - preferring to stick to the traditional way of doing business until forced to react. Rentrak’s Bruce Goerlich noted that "Inertia is our biggest challenge." Taking a chance is risky but change-paralysis is riskier. According to Willner, "By far the most successful businesses are ones who understand consumers’ behaviors and how they change.  If we spend time protecting the status quo someone else will come along with the best new widget. So we need to change or perish."

Fostering this atmosphere of rapid change are the accelerating announcements of mergers, acquisitions and new inventions / methodologies whether it is TWC and Cablevision or CBS or HBO. Where is your company in the discussion?

First published, in abbreviated form, on MediaPost.com

The Future of Television May Only Be One Screen

You know that the definition of television is changing when a Future of Television conference is hosted by a company called Digital Media Wire. This event was part of the NY Games conference indicating to me that all content, no matter how it is delivered and used by the consumer, is part of the new and complex television ecosystem.

What is television today? I have explored this question in previous articles. But the Future of Television conference further expanded the definition in terms of content, distribution, monetization and venue viewing opportunities. The big takeaway for me was that television seems to have finally crossed the digital Rubicon, transitioning from the “delivery box” to a veritable state of mind, a programming option where no screen is primary. What is television today and what are the challenges to the current business model? Here are my ten top takeaways, not in any particular order:

1.   Marked Generational Differences in Television Usage

For Time Warner’s Joan Gilman, the definition of television has two answers - a professional and a personal one. At work it is program content – the creative. At home with her kids it is hardware based where they spend less time on the primary household screen but consume large amounts of content on second screens.

2.  Don’t Talk About the “Second Screen”. There is only One Screen

Among Millennials, the first screen of choice may not be the television set. It might be the tablet or mobile. Is there really a “second screen” anymore? Isn’t just “The Screen”? For Meredith’s Laura Rowley, her kids say that all you need for television is wifi. And according to Craig Palmer of Wikia, “If you use the second screen it is the first screen for you.”

3. More Programming Sources Expand Consumption - Time is Flexible and Expandable

Will there be more competition for viewers’ time as all of this new content – from Netflix, Yahoo, AOL, YouTube and other sources – needs to fit within the time that the average viewer allots for television entertainment? Not necessarily. “Video is invading other spheres of life.” Says Rowley. “Our site All Recipes .. can be downloaded via mobile in the grocery store. So we are expanding the hours used for entertainment. We offer a solution for consumers and insert a video in their day that didn't have a video before. In this way we are redefining TV with consumers consuming video in new places and in new ways.” 

4. Measurement is (Still) the Big Challenge

No matter how you define television, new sources of content make no impact unless you can measure it all properly and completely. Measurement has not kept up with the way content is being delivered and the concept of rating may not be as relevant today as it was in previous years. CPM may be less of an issue if they measure actual behavior in terms of reach and frequency. Anthony Wood of Roku explained that there are many sources of viewership that is not currently measured by Nielsen including Hulu Plus. How can you monetize it if you can’t measure it? A big step forward is asset identification coding that facilitates automatic content recognition across all screens. But it is still in process with no industry standard as of yet.

Joan Gillman of TWC talks about measurement:
 

5. The Borders May Soon Be Shifting

While the virtual MSO may still be in development, it does have the potential to upend the business model and change the viewing landscape. Think of TV without Borders.

6. Storytelling Trumps Technology But Give Technology It’s Due

Even with all the new and ever expanding range of viewing platforms, nothing is as important as being able to offer great and compelling content, as long as it is in context. Shane Rahmani of Electus says that the core of success is great storytelling but “what works on linear might not work on YouTube and it should be form factor appropriate.”

7. New Programming (and Advertising) Experimentations

Nick Demartino of Theatrics summed it up. “We are at the beginning of an unprecedented time of programming experimentation. We are evolving from the tyranny of the 22 minute sitcom.” But predicting the end of the 22 minute sitcom and 30 a second spot may be premature. Much of it is predicated on specific content. Some formats are better for digital and can be adapted from linear. Rich Cusick of Yahoo offered this insight: “Buzzy moments have resonance and can be inexpensive to produce. We took a (longer) program segment and found users only wanted to viewed the buzzy moments that they cared about. We edited it down to 3 minutes and increased viewing.”

8. But Old Programming Has a Great Value Too

Magisto’s Reid Genauer spoke of “decades worth of content with no place to live today.” In his company, they are experimenting to bring that content back into the social dialogue. He says, “Our videos get the same number of views per month as an episode of Breaking Bad.”

Shane Rahmani (Electus) and Rich Cusick (Yahoo) talk about the Impact of Data on Content

9. TV Everywhere is A Temporary Advantage for MSOs, At Best

When asked if TVE is working for MSOs, Steve Ronson of A+E equivocated. I would answer that question as, “it depends, not so much and maybe. It may help MVPDs to some extent but the problem is in its execution.” Karen Cahn of AOL called TVE “A band aid solution” since consumers want content and don’t really care about the delivery provider. But Craig Palmer of Wikia feels that the “traditional model will go away since kids don’t feel the need to be subscribers.” And what about delivery via IPTV?

10. Celebrity Participation Helps Drive Appeal

It was agreed that celebrity involvement helps in attracting audience and attention. But while celebrity participation helps drive content, the definition of celebrity is fungible. AOL’s Cahn said, “Influencers don't have to be a household name but they can influence popularity.”  Will everyone be able to get their 15 minutes of fame more easily?