Viewability Blurs The Picture In Ad Campaign Measurement

Over half of the “Viewability and Brand Metrics” survey participants believe the single measure has undermined other brand engagement criteria and is distorting the industry’s perception.

“No view, no deal,” has become the unwavering mantra of digital marketers since viewability started to dominate ad campaign measurement. But such heavy reliance on a single metric appears to be stifling creativity and putting the brakes on innovation.

Since Facebook and Google introduced 100% guarantees last year, the industry has set its sights almost exclusively on obtaining absolute viewability at a global scale. In the U.K, publishers are under pressure to raise their viewability rates to the levels achieved across France and Germany, and in the U.S. more than half of both brands and publishers are now reliant on the metric as a basis for ad trading.

But while viewability is undoubtedly a vital marketing measure—ads must at the very least be in view to stand a chance of making an impact—there is a risk such heavy focus on a single metric may be narrowing the industry’s perception of ad performance.

In a bid to sort truth from the hype, our study, “Viewability and Brand Metrics,” conducted in partnership with Theorem, looked at establishing the current views on the effectiveness of viewability as an engagement metric. The panel included U.S. executives, representing both agencies and publishers.

So what did it uncover? Here are some hard facts it revealed:

Limited Standards Restrict Creativity

Amid calls for more stringent standards, the industry has embraced a tougher performance metric—the viewable cost-per-thousand impressions (vCPM) model—wherein marketers only pay for ads that are considered viewable. Over seven in 10 (71%) of the study panellists believe all brand advertising will be purchased on a vCPM within the next two years. But while firmer guidelines are a step in the right direction, there is a major flaw with the current system.

The viewability of non-standard ad units—which include videos, home-page takeovers, and content-rich native ads—cannot be accurately determined using the current viewability standard. This is because the basis of the standard is pixels in relation to screen size, meaning it is most effective for non-expandable formats that fit within the confines of the page—such as standard display ads.

Despite formats that go beyond the page getting more than their fair share of eyeballs and scoring highly against brand metrics such as brand recall, exposure, and brand lift, they are rated poorly for viewability against the current standard. The net result is publishers are reluctant to embrace non-standard—and more creative—executions for fear of not delivering on vCPM; brands are missing out on these brand-focused units; creativity and innovation in the industry are stifled; and the user experience is negatively impacted.

There are various steps marketers can take to rectify this situation. First, they can find their own way to review and assess high-impact non-standard executions to determine whether they are in-view, even if they cannot be measured using the current standard. Second, they can put pressure on industry bodies and viewability vendors to create standards that work for all ad formats. When asked how important they felt addressing the challenge of measuring non-standard formats was, participants in the survey ranked the issue at 7.5 out of 10.

Viewability Is Just A Baseline

While viewability is a prerequisite for engagement and provides a good starting point for campaign measurement, it is not the ultimate metric on which to build a digital advertising strategy. Over half of survey participants (57%) believe viewability has stolen some of the focus from other brand engagement metrics that could paint a more in-depth picture of campaign performance.

To really understand how viewability impacts performance, it must be viewed in combination with a broader blend of metrics that are aligned with brand KPIs such as engagement, brand lift, brand recall, exposure, and time spent with an ad—which was the most highly valued marker of campaign success according to our survey panel. The high-impact formats that deliver on these metrics are precisely those non-standard units that can’t be measured effectively using the current viewability standards. Marketers must remove the blinkers that have so far kept them focused on viewability and take a look at a far wider range of metrics.

As the industry moves towards a future where all ads are traded against viewability metrics, more work needs to be done to ensure these standards can be applied to all formats—encouraging creativity and innovation—and that viewability is combined with other performance metrics that reflect brand KPIs.

The hard truth is viewability is only a starting point in understanding campaign performance and should not be the sole focus for determining success.