NYU, ARF Set Second Year Of Marketing Insights Certificate Program

One of the biggest challenges in management today is finding the best candidate for any job opening and nurturing that talent as the job and the industry evolve. This seems especially true in the area of media and market research, where educational opportunities to train the next generation are rare and the impact of data analytics on traditional research protocols is upending the field.

To fill this void, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF)  launched the NYU/ARF Certificate in Marketing Optimization and Insights program in 2021. Virtual classes enable students to learn on their own time and at their own pace.

According to the ARF’s president and CEO, Scott McDonald, “On the job training is, unfortunately, not what it used to be. This certificate program upskills people and fills the training gap with instructors and guest lecturers who are anchored in the media/advertising field.”

The partnership with NYU provides the best academic approaches combined with industry expertise to offer companies an inexpensive yet highly unique opportunity to train and retain valuable employees.

McDonald noted that, “The program reinforces best practices, especially in areas where there is fuzziness. We establish a stake in the ground, developed by practitioners who are respected in their field.” In addition, the coursework is very practical and pragmatic. “All exercises assigned in each course occur in every job. It is designed that way so as to have real-world applications -- practical with pedagogical oversight,” he added.

The program has just completed its first year with 88 students from around the world. Twenty-two of the students have already graduated, having completed the required Foundations of Advertising Research course, along with three electives.

The students come from a range of top companies -- including Google, Chobani, Levi’s, CBS, Kellogg’s and The New York Times -- and from a range of job levels, from analysts to senior vice presidents.

Feedback from the first graduates has been very encouraging. .

"It was great to have instructors who are seasoned working professionals and so many accomplished guest speakers to add new dimensions and perspectives to each course," one graduate noted. "There’s always more to learn, but this program definitely helped me close some gaps in my knowledge and gain deeper understanding across a broad range of marketing research and insights subjects."

For McDonald, “the launch of this program in 2021 is arguably one of the good things that have come out of the pandemic. There has been a historical lack of good training programs and as people found themselves confined to their homes, this has been an effective way for them to keep their skill set up to date and expand their knowledge.”

Year two of the certificate program begins in February.

This article first appeared in Mediapost.

The ARF Reveals Their Plans for 2020

With research, data and insights commanding media attention today, an organization such as the ARF must keep pace and help their membership understand and navigate the impact. The ARF is well prepared for this task. Its mission is, according to Scott McDonald, CEO and President, “To further, through research, the scientific practice of advertising and marketing.” 

The ARF recently revealed their plans for 2020 to strengthen, “All of the industry C’s – Content, Credibility, Creativity, Consumer and Community,” explained Deborah Kim, Director of Sponsorship and Business Development. The meeting, held in the NYC offices, showcased the full range of 2020 initiatives including new and expanded ways of funding research projects, clarifying and prioritizing initiatives, detailing upcoming projects and revealing a full roster of upcoming events for 2020.

With 400 corporate members ranging from advertisers, agencies, media and research companies, the expectation is that the ARF must be, “The standard bearer for unbiased quality in research,” stated Michael Heitner, Executive Vice President, Member Needs and Value. 

ARF Focus for 2020

McDonald explained that, based on feedback from the membership, the focus in 2020 revolves around content – how it is consumed, tracked, measured, made more effective and valued in the consumer journey.

One of the most important improvements from 2019 is the increased financial effort to support such an all-encompassing initiative. “We are here to help members make smarter decisions and to let us know how they want the funds to be allocated,” he noted. To that end, he established a member driven agenda to drive thought leadership. Now, 10% of the larger corporate membership dues in 2020 will be committed to fund original research, up from 8% in 2019. In addition, smaller companies, once priced out of participation, can now also affordably contribute to the effort.

But how does one start to map out the priorities? “We asked what kept people up at night,” McDonald said and they came up with the following seven areas of need:

    >  Data, Analytics to Insights. How we can leverage data for insights.

    >  Ad Creative

    >  Media Measurement

    >  Marketing Measurement and ROI

    >  Future Methods and the Evolution of Technology

    > Teams, Talent, Training and Organization including how to blend small and big data and how to hire and train new talent

    > Consumer Science and the issues of Privacy. The choices of platforms to source content.

Overseeing these priorities is a Leadership Committee made up of a dozen member companies from across the media spectrum from networks to brands to research companies that, “reflects the diversity of stakeholders in the ARF,” and, added McDonald, “will have a direct hand in setting the research agenda.”

ARF Research Priorities for 2020

For Chief Research Officer, Paul Donato, the ARF’s seven councils will help to focus and drive the overall agenda. The councils relate specifically to the ARF-identified seven areas of need and include:

    >  Analytics - the emerging issues related to the integration and analysis of big data.

    >  Cognition – how advertising works from both neurological and survey based perspectives.

    >  Creative – tools for creative and research.

    >  Cross platform measurement – supporting better cross platform planning and MRC efforts.

    >  Cultural effectiveness – effective marketing strategies that target diverse multicultural and generational groups.

    >  LA Council/TV and Video Content- better measurement to track viewers changing video consumption, recommendation engines, promoting content and program resting.

    > Social – A guide for social metrics and a better understanding of measurement and effectiveness.

ARF Outreach for 2020

But all of these efforts would have a limited range were it not for the many conferences, webinars, salons and outreach efforts to encourage participation, solicit feedback and showcase the results.

The ARF offers a range of sponsorable events throughout the year including one of my favorites, AudiencexScience, to be held on April 19-21, 2020 in Jersey City. There are also more targeted conferences planned including ShopperxScience, SportsMarketingxScience, OTTxScience and DataxScience, all held in locations across the U.S. The ARF also integrates within other conferences such as ARFatAWNY and SXSW while also awarding exceptional research and researchers with the Great Minds Awards, the Erwin Ephron Demystification Award and the David Ogilvy Award. 

In 2020 Kim noted that the ARF is introducing Ogilvy 360, a year-long effort to highlight the findings of the award winners with a Young Pros Event, ARF Salons, Webcasts, regional events and website case studies. “There are benefits of partnerships with the ARF,” Kim concluded, including, “raising the presence among influential thinkers, enabling members to differentiate themselves as a forward thinking company, build on trust by supporting an organization that is appreciated for unbiased quality, enforcing rigorous  standards, methodology and transparency and fostering connections and community.”

It looks like the ARF will be very busy in 2020!

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Scott McDonald Reveals What to Expect at the Next ARF AUDIENCExSCIENCE Conference

Scott McDonald is optimistic about cross-platform measurement. “I see solid signs of progress,” he stated, with “better use of projectable samples and panels for calibration, better integration of statistical adjustments to correct for known biases in behavioral data streams (that previously were venerated simply because they were large) and better automated content recognition.” 

He is also fairly bullish about attribution measurement, though he admits that there still needs to be better inputs and a more expansive ability to calculate across all media and marketing. 

I sat down with him to find out what we might expect to see and hear at the next annual ARF AUDIENCExSCIENCE event scheduled for April 15-16, 2019. 

Progress in Cross Platform Measurement …

The overall theme of the conference will be the vectors of progress in cross-platform audience measurement. According to McDonald, the industry is “making progress in coverage, in integrating audience data from different streams and in automating content recognition.”  But, he averred, “We still need to build better consensus on the core metrics to use for reporting and trading.”

The obstacles seem to be more political and economic than technical, he noted while adding that “there is compelling evidence from the UK around how it is a costly mistake to under-invest in upper-funnel brand support and over-invest in lower-funnel activation but,” he added, “it is rarely fatal if recognized and remedied.”

There have been milestones in these areas since last year’s conference. “The MRC’s proposed duration-weighted standard for cross-platform video measurement represents an important milestone in the long-running effort to get consensus on the underlying metric,” stated McDonald. “That standard will be hotly debated at this next AUDIENCExSCIENCE, but I consider it a significant step forward to be having that debate now about a very specific proposal.”

Progress in Attribution …

McDonald sees some signs of progress in integrating digital attribution with market mix modeling approaches, but, “there still a need for better inputs (ad exposure data) and greater transparency about underlying models.”

He believes that, “when properly executed, attribution efforts premised upon true, randomized control tests have the strongest causal claims.” However, attribution models are still operating under very limited spheres that don’t apply across all elements of the media and marketing spectrum, “so they don’t have as much practical utility for many marketers.” 

Plus, they are often siloed, only working within one complete end-to-end platform, resulting in limited scope and of potential conflict of interest, he noted. “So when we go beyond these methodologically pure randomized control panel (RCT) exercises, the most meaningful attribution studies are those that reflect a bit of modesty and humility about their own limitations.”

Time Table for Measurement?

I asked McDonald, how soon did he think it will take for us to get to an industry standard cross platform measurement? “To some degree, it will always be a work in progress,” he admitted, “So I don’t think that we will ever be at a place where we can just go on auto-pilot.” But, looking forward, he saw that, “5G will have all kinds of knock-on effects on how we consume media and advertising, and the whole field is so ripe with innovation that the goalpost will constantly be moving.”

He believes that there has been a lot of progress so far through the efforts of individual companies and of industry organizations. “To some extent we are on the threshold of a new era if the MRC standard survives the inevitable scrutiny and goes on to win the support of marketers,” he stated.

In terms of actual metrics, McDonald ranks the following as the most important:

Ø  Exposure metrics (impressions, reach, frequency),

Ø  Attention metrics (duration, cognitive measures),

Ø  Affiliation metrics (often reflected in social media), and

Ø  Market metrics (sales, pricing power, brand equity).

“Looking ahead to the next five years where do you see the media ecosystem in terms of measurement, data, analytics, privacy and attribution?” I asked. His response was swift. “Five years is an eternity in this business.  We will be farther along – powered more by AI and 5G – but still with plenty of work to do solving the problems that will be frustrating us in 2023.”

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Cross-Platform Measurement Insights from the ARF’s Scott McDonald

Scott McDonald, CEO and President of the ARF, believes that cross-platform measurement still has a way to go before a standardize-able system is in place. Talking at the recent SXSW conference, he explained his view on cross-platform advertising trends. “There still is no consistent definition and tracking of cross-platform advertising that would allow us to say that it has grown by X percent since last year,” he stated. “When people talk about cross-platform, they really mean TV + Digital, though the media mix is often a lot more complex than that.”  But there is hope that, “advertisers have taken to heart the admonition that cross-platform campaigns need to be integrated with common themes, copy and images – but tailored to the specific context in which they are presented to consumers.”
 
Among some of the major challenges to rolling out cross-platform advertising, McDonald lists the following:

1. Exposure measurement – specifically measurement of unduplicated audience reach for specific targets.
2. Cross-device identity – many of the identifiers don’t cross the platforms, contributing to the persistent “walled garden” problem.
3. Because of this, it is difficult to manage campaign frequency and to get accurate results in back-end attribution models.

But there has been some measurement progress, he averred, with the industry moving toward a possible duration-weighted exposure measurement standard, “that would bridge the gap between linear TV and digital video – though the debate about the next ‘currency’ will continue to be hotly contested.”  Another positive trend is the improvement in automated content recognition and watermarking technologies that enable cross-platform measurement.

When it comes to 1-1 marketing, McDonald stated that, “It only works when there is a high level of REAL permission by the consumer because it requires so much personal information that it is prone to abuse.” And while we talk about efficiencies, there is still some value in some of the inefficiencies, by “letting people who are not current prospects know about your brand and build a favorable impression of it for later reference and action.”

Ultimately, for McDonald, there is no competition between the need for transparency for advertisers versus privacy for consumers. “Consumers need privacy and advertisers need to be transparent about what data they collect, what they do with it and how that benefits the consumer,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in Cynopsis.

ARF Acquires CIMM and Creates a Measurement Powerhouse

The ARF on Tuesday announced that it had acquired CIMM.  For researchers and data analysts, this is huge. 

According to the press release, CIMM will become a subsidiary of the ARF and will focus on the advancement of media measurement.  The new division, which retains the CIMM name and logo, will be headed by current CIMM CEO and Managing Director Jane Clarke.  ARF President and CEO Scott McDonald spoke with MediaVillage about the acquisition and what lies ahead.

Charlene Weisler:  What was the reasoning behind acquiring CIMM?

Scott McDonald:  We think that the industry benefits from more consolidated focus on sorting out the challenges of cross-platform/cross-device measurement, better assessment of marketing and advertising ROI and attribution, and better ways of leveraging data for business insight and impact.

Weisler:  What does the ARF hope to accomplish by acquiring CIMM?  What can be done through CIMM that could not be done strictly through the ARF?

McDonald:  The ARF has always focused on addressing big-picture questions, using the discipline and objectivity of science to improve the practice of marketing and advertising.  CIMM has focused more on the development of practical tools and innovations.  By joining forces, the ARF gains its own innovation incubator -- akin in some ways to the way that the IAB Tech Lab enhanced the capabilities of the IAB.  Through closer coordination of efforts, we think we can accelerate progress on the big measurement challenges beyond what each organization might have done on its own.

Weisler:  Is there any overlap and if so how will it be handled?

McDonald:  The ARF is much broader in that it has many marketer companies -- ad tech companies, data companies and research companies -- none of whom were part of CIMM under its previous structure.  By coming into the ARF, CIMM becomes open to all of these broader constituencies.

Weisler:  What are the first initiatives for this acquisition?  What do you hope to accomplish in the first year?

McDonald:  CIMM will operate as a member-driven organization, so the first-year R&D priorities will be set by the Steering Committee -- which, as I said already, may be a bit broader now that CIMM membership is open to more companies.  Personally, I would hope to see significant expansion in the CIMM membership base during the first year.

Weisler:  What has the feedback been from the industry?

McDonald:  Feedback has been very enthusiastic.  I think there is a hunger out there for more consolidation and coordination, for more focused effort to solve methodological problems and to build industry-wide consensus.  This is a step in that direction.

This article first appeared on www.MediaVillage.com

Attribution Accelerator - What to Expect?

The annual Attribution Accelerator conference is gearing up for record attendance next week. What can we expect? What have been the advancements over the past twelve months? Sequent Partners who are the event organizers created the Attribution Accelerator three years ago because they realized that the industry lacked a forum that focused solely on attribution. Attribution has become a much bigger issue for cross-platform measurement. There is still a lack of transparency and, as of yet, no industry standard approach. 

“Our event helps the industry get smarter about attribution, by shedding light and providing guidance, as well as encouraging best practices and development in the necessary areas,” stated Jim Spaeth, Partner, Sequent Partners.

This year, the conference will discuss how attribution is impacting activation and helping marketers manage ROI rather than measure it.  Panels will address how brands are represented in attribution, technical innovations (such as AI), creating a unified model with marketing mix models and how attribution is impacting television optimization. 

Panels to Watch

The ARF is heading a panel called, “Innovation - What’s Next and Will We Love It?,” which will explore what they have learned on the innovation frontier and how the latest developments can drive greater business performance, with a look into the future. According to Scott McDonald, President and CEO, The ARF, “Some of the topics we will discuss include: how AI can be used effectively to solve attribution problems, how precision targeting and unified modeling can improve, and the move from the lab to broad implementation in the real world. We will also examine whether to build or buy when it comes to innovation and how to build an appetite for risky innovation in a risk-averse corporate culture.”

Leslie Wood, Chief Research Officer, Nielsen Catalina Solutions, explained that her panel will cover a recent Nielsen study titled, How to Build Brands which “is our most ambitious research project to date, generating 6 billion rows of data for 50 CPG brands. One of the key learnings is that there is often a  disconnect between the intent of the creative message and the resulting purchase behavior of the audience. Advertising to consumers who don’t respond, wastes your media dollars. Advertising to the right consumers drives sales and growth.”

The importance of attribution cannot be underestimated. David Ernst, Vice President, Advanced Television and Digital Analytics, A+E, noted, “Most advertisers know that TV is a powerful, brand-building medium.  But now, through the use of large data sets and advanced analytics, we can demonstrate its true effectiveness by having a more precise understanding of how and where it works best.”  In his session, he discusses how attribution has the potential to change the dynamics of the television marketplace and why more clients are looking to attribution to get specifics about their goals, what they’re trying to accomplish, and make sure that campaigns deliver on their promise. He will also share his perspective on where attribution is headed going into the future and how they will approach the marketplace in exciting new ways.

“Attribution is continuing to gain traction in the marketing community, with new applications available to demonstrate the productivity of Television. It’s use is evolving from providing insights to delivering very specific analyses regarding the effectiveness of Networks, Dayparts and even programs. This is enabling us to have conversations with clients about productivity and expectations for individual campaigns on our networks,” he concluded.

 “Media companies like CBS are ready, willing and able to partner with their clients on measuring outcomes,” says Radha Subramanyam, Chief Research and Analytics Officer, CBS.  “At the same time, we are in a time of transition when it comes to attribution.  While there are lots of options today, TV attribution still remains an emerging and evolving field with no clear leader to date.  The good news is that early efforts by multiple companies all prove the same thing.  TV advertising works incredibly well.”

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com