Screenvision Media Attention Study Proves The Value of Cinema

The holy grail of advertising effectiveness is capturing viewer attention and by doing so, facilitating the consumer journey outcome. For Screenvision Media, attention measurement in cinema has resulted in a recently released Media Attention study that offers fascinating insights. Jen Friedlander, Screenvision’s Senior Vice President of Insights and Measurement, explained that, “We've been laser focused on proving out attention in the cinema space. Since 2023 attention became a buzzword and an emerging metric to measure the quality of an impression.”

The Media Attention study had two goals, according to Friedlander.  “One was to conduct and prove out attention in the in the cinema space. And two was to make sure that the cinema data was available.” It is vital to capturing data in such a way that there is not only the ability to compare to other datasets but also to make it digestible for industry usage. As such, “we wanted to make sure that we had that cinema data available both for ourselves for comparison and also for agencies that are starting to actually plan and optimize against attention,” she shared.

To that end, Screenvision partnered with Amplified Intelligence on two out of the three study phases, capturing movie goers in the natural cinema environment rather than in a lab. “We recruited movie goers to come to our theaters, pick their films, bring their friends and get their concessions,” she explained. Amplified Intelligence then brought DSLR cameras into the venues and placed them on either side of the screen to map facial expressions for over 500 data points that measure attention level at the eye level.

This seamless approach proved, “Undisruptive to the movie going experience. Movie goers, of course, had to give their consent to be filmed. But most movie goers thought they were being filmed for the duration of the movie and not just the pre-show so everyone was doing their normal movie going behaviors,” she noted. Moviegoers were tested twice in New York, in April and December, and in Milwaukee in partnership with Magna Global.

The biggest takeaway from the study, according to Friedlander, was that cinema delivers the highest active attention of any media platform and twice that of TV. They compared the three market cinema data to TVision data, which, she explained, “is the gold standard of attention measurement on the TV side.” This comparison showed that cinema averages an, “84 active attention to ads versus TV, or even CTV, where that number is about 30. That's a difference of 25 seconds of a 30 second ad being viewed in the cinema environment versus only about 9 or 10 seconds of a 30 second ad being viewed on linear or CTV.”

And this deep attention is consistent across advertising categories, implying no need for special creative for cinema. “Sometimes people think they need something special to really stand out on screen. We tested a variety of creative that were made for TV, we tested across categories and we did not see significant differences between ads,” she shared. The big takeaway here is that it is the cinema environment is less about the creative and more about the environment.

Capturing attention for ads from any age cohort is impressive but especially so for younger viewers. A surprising takeaway from the study was that the youngest demographic group had the highest attention scores. “The 18-24 and 18-34 active attention to the ads were even higher than the over 35. That's a demographic that's highly distracted with an attention span of 8 seconds as they double and triple screen all the time. But I think they really value that time away to check out and immerse themselves in the cinema experience,” she marveled. She added that the study showed that younger cinema attendees in the study actually put their phone away during the pre-show. “Is there any other time you can find an 18-24 year old that wants to put their phone away?” she posited. “In the cinema environment I think they value that time to really immerse themselves and engage in the experience that they've planned and paid for.”

The biggest challenge in measuring attention is standardization of measurement. “There's a variety of companies measuring attention. It could be via camera, via eyeglasses, some are using neuro-technology and so there are nuances how each company is collecting and interpreting the data,” she noted. But she added that the ARF and IAB are focused on providing best practices on advancing measurement beyond legacy metrics and reaching an Omni Channel attention metric. For Screenvision, comparing their results to TVision attention and viewability data at home for TV viewing makes the most sense at this time because, “it's a very similar methodology.”

When it comes to engagement compared to attention, Friedlander stated that, “Engagement is the mindset of the consumer in the moment that you're reaching them. How leaned in are they? What is their mental availability in that moment?” Within the cinema world, she sees that, since moviegoers have planned and paid to be there, “they've opted into the shared experience with friends and other fans for this completely undistracted experience.” To her, that's the height of engagement, “that ideal mix of social passion, emotion, content, anticipation, all of those factors culminate and driving attention. So to me, engagement drives attention, and engagement is really about sort of the mindset and that moment that you're reaching them.”

The next steps in this journey focus on educating the industry. “Not only getting in front of agencies and brands, but also being active participants in the ARF panels and getting on various panels sharing those results,” and connecting the dots between attention and outcomes.

For Friedlander, “moviegoers are the most passionate content fans but also the hardest to reach. They are younger compared to linear which has 80% of their primetime audience over age 50. The majority of our audience, about 80%, is under age 50.” She added that cinema also reaches an audience that doesn’t watch linear TV because they are cord cutters and cord nevers. “Cinema provides incrementality, reaching a young demo in a highly efficient way and one that you can't reach elsewhere. We call them the Elusives because they truly are elusive. It’s another way that brands can connect with a highly desirable audience on the biggest screen in the world in a moment that matters,” she concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

Matched Audiences Maximize Digital Audio Ad Performance. Engaging Results From a MAGNA SXM Study

A majority of Americans now are digital audio listeners according to Melissa Paris, Vice President of Sales Research and Analytics at SXM Media. To better understand this important population, MAGNA and SXM Media division of SiriusXM partnered on a research study, “Matched Audiences for Unmatched Audio Performance” that looks at the value of using advanced data to better target and reach digital audio listeners.

This study is the first of its kind for audio but it incorporates knowledge gained from previous studies on digital video, Kara Manatt, Executive Vice President of Intelligence Solutions at MAGNA explained. “We've never done anything like this with digital audio testing how the same ad is going to perform with matched versus demographic targeting.” But, she added, “It's not the first of its kind in the sense that we've done similar types of testing with digital video to understand how using these different methods of reaching people can affect ad effectiveness.”

The study used a combination of first party data from participating brands matched against a panel in a clean room and third party data curated by Axiom. Manett noted that brand customers within the first party data were those who have a high propensity to buy in that category, thus going beyond standard demographics. “To me that underscores the uniqueness of the study. The whole purpose of the study is to go beyond demographics and the fact that we are not just the age range we are in. There's much more nuance to groups and individuals than the age range.” Any skew was strictly brand and customer base related.

Among the key findings, Paris explained, was that, “People of all ages are receptive to digital audio ads in general. That was a baseline finding.” The study also found that digital audio ads have, “higher memorability and higher aided recall among matched audiences holistically when we compared them to demographic audiences,” noted Manett.

“When we break it down by audience types, we saw that both first party and third party data sets we used beat out demographics alone. When we looked at unaided and aided recall in both of those metrics, first party drove the highest lifts in general, followed by third party audiences, followed by demographic audiences. This underscores the finding that memorability is much stronger among match audiences,” Manett added.

In measuring the purchase phase, “We saw some interesting nuances. When we looked at people who were specifically new to the category, we saw that matched audiences showed a 3 times higher impact on purchase intent.” For her and of particular interest to advertisers, “We were able to prove that matched audiences are not only more effective, they're also more cost efficient. With their ability to drive purchase intent, we saw that on a cost per person basis that the match to audiences is actually cheaper or more cost efficient than using demographic audiences,” Manett stated.

“This is one of those studies where we saw a confirmation about things we had anticipated and that we were proven right in in terms of the hypothesis we set out to prove,” explained Paris. “But from an external perspective, I think the biggest surprise is the cost efficiency.”

For Manett, creative also impacted the study findings. When measuring audience reactions to the ads themselves, “and people are asked how they feel about those ads, we found if we can make some tweaks on what we know about these audiences, the ads perform much, much better. Even small tweaks in the creative based on the data used to reach these audiences help make the ads work harder. The big finding is making sure that we do our best to customize the creative based on who we're reaching.”

“There's a lot of evidence here for brands to do more exploration when it comes to digital audio. If they're buying digital audio and they're only using demographics this study will hopefully encourage them to try out first party or third party match audiences, and if they are already using matched audiences, this will encourage them to think more about the creative approach. Maybe it's time to start messaging these audiences uniquely more through customized creative if they aren't already,” Paris concluded.

 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

MAGNA Global Ad Forecast Recommends Continued Innovation and Spending Going Forward

While forecasting has always been a mixture of art and science, predicting global ad spend following the pandemic has been particularly tricky. Has behavior reverted back to the old pre-pandemic normal or are we evolving into a new normal? How does traditional media compare with digital spend? Which countries are poised for growth?

These questions and more are answered in the latest Global Ad Forecast Study authored by MAGNA’s Vincent Letang, Executive Vice President, Global Market Intelligence. Fielded four times a year in the U.S. and twice a year globally, the study forecasts global ad spend across 84 markets using historical ad revenue from media owners’ financial reports or local media trade organizations such as the OAAA and TVB. These forecasts of ad spend projections are based on a macro-economic outlook and the competitiveness of each media format.

According to Letang, media owners advertising revenue is predicted to reach $842 billion, representing +4.6% growth compared to $805 billion in 2022 which had a very weak second half. “2022 started strong but the second half was very weak. The first half of 2023 was flat year to year generally speaking (+1.4%) but improved globally due to China (+6%), Spain and Italy (both +3%). The U.S. was essentially flat at +1%, while Germany and the U.K. were -0.5%,” he explained. In terms of industry verticals and media types, “Retail and Social helped drive 2023 growth.”

For the U.S. specifically, 2022 was an unusual year with greater Midterms political spending and the Olympics adding incremental spending. If you take those two factors out of the equation, the U.S. is projected to grow +4.2% in 2023 compared to +2.5% with those special events included in the totals, according to Letang.

Globally, “the largest growth market is India for the third consecutive year at +12%. India is consistently the fastest growing economy and the fastest growing advertising market globally ahead of China which slowed down considerably last year because of Zero Covid public policy. The moment Zero Covid was removed in November December 2022 the economy instantly re-accelerated. We expect China to grow +8%,” he asserted.

Letang shared that digital remains the fastest growing media format, spurred by Search Commerce (+10%) and strong growth from the Retailers. Amazon accounts for much of this growth but other retailers such as Walmart are improving their digital offerings as well. Yet, for traditional media, global ad revenue is projected to shrink by -3% with traditional television off -5% and publishing off -4%. The bright spots are Out-of-Home, up +5% and Cinema +23% which are benefitting from a consumer surge post-Covid.

For Publishers that are lagging in growth, Letang recommended that, “they continue to innovate … and they do, to be fair. For Television, for example, a portion of their revenue comes from traditional 30 second spots and a portion comes from AVOD and Addressable. We find that, depending on the market, the average growth is about +10% for Television for these new and alternative ad formats served on CTV, for example. But currently this growth is not enough to offset the traditional ad formats as linear TV continues to decline.”

For Letang, “there is not much that media owners can do in the short term when the economy is tough. They must, however, continue to innovate because in the long term it will pay off.” A great example of the positive impact of innovation is Out-Of-Home, “which has been and still is the most dynamic media format,” as they continue to develop their digital capabilities, dynamic insertions and improvement in data collection. “About 30% of Out-Of-Home revenue is generated by digital units – digital billboards in airports or train stations and subways, up from 10% maybe ten years ago,” he posited. In addition both Out-Of-Home and Cinema are benefitting from a return to pre-Covid behaviors as more people are on the street exposed to billboards and returning to movie theaters. “It’s not back to pre-Covid levels but, depending on the country, it is back 50-70%,” he noted regarding Cinema.

What can advertisers do to spur growth at a time when future budgets might be constrained? “Sometimes there is a tendency for marketers with flat or lower budgets to invest in low funnel because that is where you can best measure campaigns. It feels safer. But it is very risky to de-prioritize upper funnel channels like television or radio because you lose share of voice to competitors and ultimately you lose market share. In the long term, it costs you more to rebuild your share of voice. Don’t be silent. Continue communicating to customers,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

Revealing the Value of Social Commerce for Brands and Marketers A Groundbreaking Global Study Advances New Technology

How can retailers better understand and harness the power of social commerce to better track the consumer journey? A recent study by MAGNA, Reprise and SNAP offers great insights and some advice.

Social commerce refers to those online activities that facilitate transactions. According to Glen Conybeare, Global President, Reprise Commerce, a  “post-pandemic new normal” has fueled greater participation in social commerce, so much so that it can now account for as much as 20% of sales. He noted that, “Brands are realizing that a significant double digit percentage of their sales are likely to be through e-commerce channels. That makes their life more complicated because most brands are very adept at selling through physical retail that has been structured for many years to optimize sales.” This poses a challenge to some retailers who are still grappling with how to best structure their online offerings to maximize profitability.

For Kara Manatt, EVP Intelligence Solutions at MAGNA, the study addresses what retailers must do to meet the needs of consumers. “What do consumers really want and need and what is their experience like on social media? We wanted to tap into what is currently happening with consumers on social media and the technologies they are using,” she explained.

This global study of 8,000 respondents spanned four countries - U.S., UK, Germany and Saudi Arabia – and is the first of its kind for MAGNA. It revealed the following insights:

Social media is vitally important to consumers in making purchasing decisions. Manatt noted that she was surprised at, “how many people use social media to make purchases and use it as a tool to discover products. There's a really strong foundation of people using social media in that way across all the markets, especially Saudi Arabia.”

AR and VR are emerging as one of the important centerpieces in social commerce. For Conybeare, it enables consumers to better curate their purchases and reduce returns that increase costs to retailers. He explained that, “Consumers don't want twelve items and send ten back. It’s a hassle. They want to order something that works for them and not have to send anything back. AR and VR technology help with that.”

There is an enthusiasm for these new technologies. Manatt explained that, “People are really excited and leaning in to try new technologies. They use AR to try on clothes (for example). Brands need to make sure that we're meeting consumers where they are and taking advantage of those observations and behaviors that already exist.”

There is a great deal of disconnect in the current consumer journey to purchase. “It's about reducing the friction in the journey. We think is e-commerce is easy but actually from a consumer's point of view it's full of friction. It's a lot easier to walk into a physical store, try on a pair of jeans, buy the pair of jeans and it is unlikely to take those jeans back,” Conybeare explained.  Conversely, he noted, “When you buy a pair of jeans online, you’ll probably buy two. Maybe one fits. Maybe none fits. It’s the same with style. Technology reduces friction in the online consumer journey. That's why we've seen such a positive reaction to AR and VR in the study.”

Consumer appetite for new technology spans all age groups. “It's not a generational thing,” noted Manatt, “It's not just younger people who realize that doing things through social media is going to help alleviate some of that friction. It's all ages.”

Profitability drives retailer decisions and new technology helps. “e-commerce is not as profitable as physical retail for the vast majority of retailers,” Conybeare stated. Generous return policies eat into profitability. “If implementing AR or VR technology on your site means your returns go from 30% to 20%, that pays off very quickly. Increasingly, retailers are realizing that they can’t continue to offer amazing customer service with free returns free delivery for long because shareholders will not stand for it,” he added.

For brands and advertisers, the road to profitability lies in AR and VR. “This study shows the consumers really want it. If brands and marketers were thinking, ‘It's not going to move the needle. It's not required. We're selling our stuff today without it.’ That's true. But you have to ask yourself what are you potentially missing out on? Changing your onsite conversion rate from 3 to 3.5% is the equivalent of spending millions on media. It's huge. And it's just one way of reducing friction for online customers,” Conybeare replied.

All of this emphasis on social commerce begs the question – What happens to brick and mortar? “There's got to be a place for physical retail. We'd be in a very sad, lonely world if there weren't.  Physical retail just needs to reinvent itself and part of that is bringing back more entertainment to shopping that makes it fun,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

Ensuring Equity in Media Buys. The Partnership Between IPG and Gracenote.

With all of new reserves of data coming into the media marketplace, one of the more fascinating sets is offered through Gracenote which has recently announced a partnership with IPG. 

I must confess, I always think of Gracenote as a traffic log service but I found out, by talking with MAGNA Global’s, Brian Hughes, Executive Vice President, Audience Intelligence and Strategy, that there are great reserves of important audience data contained in their logs that can be applied in a myriad of ways.

Why Gracenote?

One of the major reasons why Gracenote is important to IPG is, according to Hughes, its ability to reveal how certain programs perform with under-represented groups. “We've made commitments to invest in Black owned media in the next several years. Part of those efforts and one of the things that we've seen in our own research in the past is that representation is very important. If we want to connect with very important audiences, then it's important that we are aware of that. Gracenote data allows us to be able to see a relationship to the population,” he explained.

Gracenote parses data in a way that shows, “how different programs stack up in terms of representation, giving us good information to us to strategically use our dollars to connect with those audiences,” he said.

Gracenote Data

Nielsen, which owns Gracenote, has been analyzing the data and has created a product that can register all content whether it is on streaming, broadcast or cable. “They've identified some very key metrics that I think will come in very handy for us,” he began and added, “It's a pretty simple comparison of the most visible cast members on a given show and how that compares to the general population.” Knowing how the percentage of the cast of a particular under-represented group matches up with the population will enable IPG to connect more authentically with that audience.

Gracenote, offered Hughes, “has a lot of metadata around TV programming whether it's the production crew, the staff, similar to IMDb. They have a lot of that information behind the scenes and then what Nielsen does is match that up with the viewing data that they already have so that we can do comparisons.” What can be revealed through this confluence of data is the degree of connection between the program’s attributes and the target audience so the agency can, “put our messaging in front of those audiences and get our brand messaging out to them,” he explained.

The theory behind this is that people are more responsive to content when there are characters that remind viewers of themselves. “We feel that also extends to advertising,” Hughes noted, “So what we'll be able to do is identify programs that are resonating  with a particular audience and ultimately place advertising creative that aligns with that messaging to make it contextually relevant and have that connection for the audience.”

Next Steps

This approach is in the early stages. For now, more research is being conducted. “We are really digging into it now and figuring out the best kind of wholesale way to apply it. It is still early days,” he explained. “But we've definitely looked at, in a general sense, where the video landscape is in terms of this representation and this is where we see the need for improvement.”

As far as Hughes’ clients are concerned, “They have been very supportive of all the other equity work we're doing and I think they will definitely want to lean into this as a component and they're definitely interested in our efforts around spend. This can be an element, a way to do that better and be more effective.”

Equity Upfront

Ultimately, this approach fits in well with IPG’s overall commitment to outreach. “We made commitments to spend with Black owned media partners. We're going to do 5% in over the next three years and we've held the Equity Up front in the spring. The Equity Upfront was designed to focus on minority owned and Black owned specifically media companies to build awareness for them and help them. We've been doing monthly equity sessions to allow different minority owned media companies to come in and present to our colleagues and clients to share what they're doing and put their products out in front of us in order to encourage that spend,” he stated.

While currently specifically within IPG, the plan is to eventually make this an industry-wide effort. “I definitely would like to see the Equity Upfront become an industry wide thing. That is a goal of ours. We would definitely like to see minority owned businesses that are just starting out and that might be underserved right now have an opportunity to be successful. We can put this data to good use in terms of making the video industry in general more equitable,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

The Business of Esports

Where can you find a highly engaged young audience? The answer is, not surprisingly, in gaming and esports. But the business of gaming and esports is more surprising as this content form is growing in acceptance and value for marketers. BIA sponsored a panel discussion, moderated by Zach Oscar, Consultant for Hocus Focus, on the State of Esports and Gaming in 2021.

Esports Landscape

In the Video Game ecosystem, there are Publishers who develop the game itself and the strategies to take the game to market. These companies include Tencent, Apple, and Sony Interactive. There are the Games themselves which is a $180billion worldwide revenue industry and growing. Currently 68% of all U.S. persons 2+ play video games. There are Game Franchises such as Mario and Game Streaming and Streamers who compose the participants and viewers and the overall bucket of esports within gaming which, according to Oscar, are organized live events and streamed digitally showcasing multiple teams and players that are akin to traditional sports, with Leagues, and have reached revenue levels of $1.1billion. For advertisers, these industries offer a rich opportunity to reach a highly engaged audience through sponsorships, native video and product placement.

Esports Audience

Nicole Pike, Global Sector Head of Esports and Gaming at YouGov, noted that, “most people are gamers,” today and that they constitute, “a broad group with lots of nuance.” From her perspective gamers represent the trends that indicate where media is heading. These gamers are, “super-passionate and traditional forms of media are not reaching them,” she added.

For David Tucker, Senior Vice President, Managing Director, US Strategy, MAGNA, gaming and esports is the place to, “reach a vital audience.” He explained that, “There has been a -54% decline in 18-49 in linear TV viewing. Look at the magnitude of figures. Amazon has seen a 73% growth in ad revenue from Twitch.” It is there, he added, where you can find a valuable audience. But advertisers are lagging, he admitted. “There is a big gap in what today’s advertisers think about (gaming) and the amount of spend,” they attach to it.

Covid’s Impact on Gaming & Esports

The pandemic, which has impacted and initially limited the amount of general sports content available to viewers, might have fueled this dramatic increase in gaming viewership. Pike believes that while there has been some impact because of Covid, especially on gaming use hours, growth would have happened anyway. “There will likely be a slowing speed of acceleration,” she explained, but added that this growth was part of an overall trend.  “Covid was the accelerant of a trend that was already in place,” which ramped up what might have been three years of growth into one year. She also believes that, “trends have stickiness,” inferring that the end of the pandemic may slow but not stop this growth.

Nick Barrionuevo, Gaming Partnerships Lead for Samsung Ads, saw a, “footprint spike at the beginning of the pandemic,” then the spike came down to a new plateau and incremental rise.

Gaming & Esports Business

For Barrionuevo, the audience shift to gaming is causing a business shift. Currently, he reported, there is more viewing on streaming than viewing to linear on Samsung TVs. “OTT content is the way to reach gamers,” he stated and added that he is working on ways to serve this audience and reach them where they are.

According to Dave Madden, Executive Vice President, Gaming and OTT, Simulmedia, “Brands have to figure out how to turn these (gaming) environments into marketing opportunities,” because Covid has created a new social structure for young consumers. To that end, he recommended co-marketing partnerships, more like major league sports.

Ultimately, for esports, gaming, and game streaming to fully compete with other media like TV, there have to be a common viewership metric that can be easily comparable. “What is the opportunity cost of moving money to gaming & esports. We need a comparative metric,” Pike stated.

For Oscar, the future of gaming and esports looks very bright. “As a young millennial myself, I can tell you that I have never owned a cable subscription and I don’t really plan on it. However, I can tell you I’ve banked hundreds if not thousands of hours online with my friends in some of my favorite games, watching some of my favorite streamers, and cheering for my favorite esports teams. For me and many others, gaming isn’t a solo activity - it’s how we stay in touch with our social networks. Marketers who are willing to put in the effort and not just stick to the status quo of advertising in traditional formats have an incredible opportunity to reach a great audience and build unique and exciting ways to connect with them,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

 

The Big Push to Impressions for Local TV is (Finally) Reaching Critical Mass

As an NBC affiliate researcher many years ago, nothing disappointed me more than opening up a local market sweeps book and seeing hashmarks instead of ratings.  That meant that the ratings performance fell below minimum reporting standards. But we all knew that there were some impressions there that could be reported… if we reported on impressions.

Local TV has traditionally relied on ratings for transactions, understanding that the reliance on ratings obscured some of the valuable yet smaller audiences delivered in certain markets. This is why I am happy to report that, finally, there is a cogent industry movement afoot to change the transactional measurement from ratings to impressions in Local TV. The TVB recently announced their commitment to the cause along with support and advocacy from Nielsen. 

For Catherine Herkovic, Executive Vice President, Managing Director Local TV, Nielsen, a movement to impressions based transactions is not only common sense but also part of Nielsen’s value as a measurement company. “Nielsen has always done impressions based measurement. Impressions are the foundation of all of the calculations of everything we do. The raw materials we send out is impressions and always has been,” she explained.

Why Then Ratings? Why Now Impressions?

“National has always transacted on impressions and some ask, so why hasn’t Local?” Herkovic queried. “That’s because ratings percentages provide a relative understanding of performance across different size markets. And that will still be used for planning purposes. Ratings won’t disappear but impressions will be used for transactions,” she stated.

A move to impressions will facilitate the easy inclusion of Local TV into multiplatform buys and offer proof of performance. Currently most media, such as National TV and Digital, transact on impressions. Local TV is one of the few still using ratings. Local Radio is another. In addition, “Given the fragmentation of audiences, when you round ratings you are losing audience and so impressions allow us to capture the total audience,” Herkovic concluded.

While a move to impressions makes sense, Nielsen must remain measurement agnostic. “Advertisers and agencies want to buy engagement with people, not households, not devices,” noted Dave Hohman, Executive Vice President, Demand Side Media, Nielsen, who added, “Even though the measurement exists, it is up to the buyers and sellers to agree what the transaction currency is going to be. Nielsen can develop it and make it available but the industry has to adopt it.” 

The Agencies’ Position

So where is the industry at this point in time regarding Local TV impressions-based transactions? Many agencies are already using impressions. Kathy Doyle, Executive Vice President Investment and her team at Magna Global, “buy all of our local television and radio off impressions. We’ve been doing it for a few years.” She noted that Magna has been ahead of other agencies in this effort. “Yes,” she affirmed, “This has been our baby.”

Other early movers include, Jenifer Weldon, Owner and President, whose company Fat Free Media, “has utilized impressions in planning and buying for our client, Morgan & Morgan, for 15 years,” and Jennifer Hungerbuhler, Executive Vice President Managing Director, Local Video and Audio Investment, Dentsu Aegis Network who changed over in January 2017. “We primarily use it for buying and research,” she noted.

For Kevin Gallagher, Executive Vice President Managing Director, Spark Foundry, the move to impressions for Local TV has not yet occurred in his agency. “I would say that we are in the preparation stage. We are not currently using impressions specifically to spot TV but we use it in other media channels. National TV, Digital. It is the common currency in every channel except Local TV and Radio right now,” he noted. His team is working on capturing impressions data for all four quarters of 2020 in all of their systems and tools before they make the switch. 

Advantages and Disadvantages in Local TV Impressions

When asked about the pros and cons of moving to impressions, the general response was that it was advantageous to do so. “I really do not see any disadvantages at all (in moving to impressions),” noted Doyle. “There are areas (of the country) that don’t deliver ratings. Now there are impressions that we can buy that help with reach and pricing.” And she added, entre nous, “if nobody else is buying on impressions, we can buy it and nobody else can.” But the main reason why Doyle pushed for impressions was because she saw the need early on to adapt to a cross platform media world. She wanted her buyers to, “get used to the vernacular of buying off of impressions rather than ratings. Getting to a world where we are buying video, audio, cross device and screen,” she explained

An advantage for Gallagher is that, “It puts spot TV and radio on a common currency with all of the other media channels. It will be easier from a planning standpoint and in aggregating all audiences across channels.” But, “the downside is the conversion process moving from traditional pricing benchmarks for our planning teams and clients. Right now those (benchmarks) are on a cost per point basis.”

For Weldon, “The main advantage is the ability to compare costs across all media forms based on the cost-per-thousand, or CPM.  All media is brought to a level playing field for cost analysis.” But she also sees that, “GRP-based planning and buying (needs) to adapt and adjust to impression-level buying” is a challenge. “Broadcast television impressions are not the same as digital impressions,” she explained. “Nor should agencies be lulled into thinking they are - either from complacency, urgency or lack of understanding.  There could be a disservice to clients if agency acceptance of impression-based buying leads to a lack of understanding of what type of impressions are being purchased, where those impressions will run and the guarantees against those impressions,” she warned.

“I certainly see far more advantages than I see disadvantages,” stated Hungerbuhler. “Impressions give us a common currency that allows us to take a more holistic approach to tracking audiences within a market across screens, allowing for easier cross platform executions. Impressions also give better insight into the actual number of people viewing, instead of a percentage of people viewing, and in this day and age of fragmentation, every eyeball counts.” For her, “Capturing more viewers will ultimately increase inventory, also increasing the potential for rates to decline. Lastly, impressions make it easier for local buyers to combine multiple markets into one buy, such as an unwired regional buy, or to report metrics across multiple markets. Impressions are added up with simple addition, as opposed to ratings which are weighted by audience populations and are not easily comparable to each other.”

What can Nielsen Do to Facilitate the Conversion?

All agreed that Nielsen should play a major role in navigating the industry towards impressions based transactions. “I think what Nielsen can do to help in this conversion is to advocate,” suggested Gallagher, “to anyone in this ecosystem who uses Nielsen ratings to make the move into impressions.”

Nielsen must get involved, explained Weldon, and “work closely with agencies to provide education and support in the process of transitioning from GRP to impression universes via in-house training or online webinars.” In addition, she continued, Nielsen should also, “Engage leading software providers to ensure they are providing training tools or quick step guides on defining the new universe specific to their software and encourage stations to lead the charge in education of sales teams.”  This sentiment was echoed by Hungerbuhler, who added, “NSI can send out thought leadership, educating clients, planners and buyers (by) explaining the difference between ratings and impressions and showcase the benefits of cross platform and what more precise measurement can mean to advertisers.”

The overall feeling was that the move to impressions could reach critical mass at the agencies sooner than later, perhaps by 2021. But the most important thing is to, “Keep the conversation going among clients,” advised Doyle to Nielsen, “And I think there is some work that can be done to show the benefit and stability,” of using impressions.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com