You can’t invest in what you can’t measure. And in TV advertising, rarely has there been a more dynamic time for measurement.
New currencies—agreed-upon units of value with which media buyers and sellers transact—are gaining traction in the market. On the heels of TV upfront season, here are three key questions marketers should ask to make sure they are getting the most out of new audience currencies.
Does your big data start with identity?
Measurement outputs are only as good as their inputs. As the industry converges on big data for cross-screen measurement, we need to ensure big data starts with a direct consumer relationship. This means prioritizing data from real people in a privacy-centric way. However, today many big data sets lack a tie to actual identity data. They rely heavily on second-hand identifiers like IP addresses and modeled device graphs, limiting their accuracy and life span. If there is no connection to the customer, it will be difficult to accurately identify customer consumption habits.
Accurate data collection requires trust, privacy and verification. Consumers must see the merit in sharing information—a reason to complete profiles accurately, an understanding of opt-ins and privacy policies, and respect for the data value exchange. Consumers deserve to know who to call with a concern or to request an update on their information. Without a direct consumer relationship, big data breaks down when attempting to measure audience reach for our industry. New currency solutions should be grounded in consumer trust.
How does panel data represent cordless homes?
For many new audience currencies, big data is married to panel data as a grounding source of truth. But are today’s panels still truth sets of an increasingly fragmented audience? A decade ago, 82% of American homes had pay TV—today, it is less than half. This rapid acceleration of cord cutting requires a reassessment of panel response biases.
All demographics equal, are cordless homes less likely to agree to join panels than their peers? We don’t yet know. A thorough research agenda across the industry to understand data quality will help increase trust in panel-backed audience measurement.