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Market First Industry Benchmark
and Analysis
Point of View:
Programmatic Ad
Viewability in China
Presents
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Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
2
Introduction
In digital advertising, many marketers and agencies assume that ads are always visible and
therefore viewed by the audience. It has been believed that when an ad is viewed, the
audience is more likely to interact with the ad from clicking the ad to reading more about
the product and making a purchase. This belief leads marketers to pay for every single ad
exposure, although each ad exposure does not necessarily mean a viewable impression.
The definition and measurement of viewable impressions has been standardized in more
developed markets, such as US, UK and Australia, where marketers are more sophisticated
in measurement and programmatic trading is more widely adopted. In 2014, MRC (Media
Rating Council) collaborated with IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and developed
industry-wide guidelines on viewability measurement. (Read more: MRC Viewable Ad
Impression Measurement Guidelines, IAB State of Viewability Transaction 2015)
While China is enjoying rapid growth and evolution in programmatic trading in the past 4
years, many marketers are still seeking confidence in this field because of three concerns:
Inventory quality: Is programmatic advertising effective because real-time bidding
(RTB) buying method involves long-tail inventory?
Adoption best practices: How can I adopt programmatic trading in China which
seems to be a less transparent market?
Trust and integrity: How can viewability measurement help programmatic trading
become more mature and credible?
In this article, Accuen aims to address these concerns by the following:
Initiate China’s first programmatic ad viewability benchmark and compare
to regular buy
Re-look at effectiveness in creative response between programmatic and regular
buy
Propose directions for marketers to adopt programmatic trading in China
Predict how viewability will influence China’s programmatic trading and the
ecosystem
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
3
Methodology
For this initiative, Accuen works with Sizmek as the viewability
measurement partner to leverage their technology solution aligned
to MRC definition and standard of viewability.
From September to November, programmatic ad campaigns
representing three different industries (IT, cosmetics and
automobile) were tracked by Sizmek on media delivery over a
month and viewability on PC standard display banner bought on
open exchange via real-time bidding buy (RTB) model.
In this experiment, the mechanism of impression tracking is
explained as follows:
Viewability rate is the ratio of viewable impressions to
measured impressions.
There are limitations in this experiment however:
MRC guidance in viewability only applies to PC browser. Mobile
programmatic campaign in mobile app environment is excluded in
viewability measurement
Among all PC display ad placements in each campaign, only top
ad placements (by inventory volume) were tracked for viewability
Viewability
MRC guidance addresses viewability on PC browser environment currently. Definition remains consistent regardless of buying method (i.e. direct or programmatic).
PC display Of all measured impressions, the percentage of impressions with 50% of display ad in view for at least 1 second
PC video Of all measured impressions, the percentage of impressions with 50% of video ad in view for a minimum of 2 seconds
DO YOU KNOW?
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
4
Programmatic Advertising Effects on
Viewability and Creative Response
Many marketers in China see programmatic trading as buying low quality of media
inventory and hence are reluctant to adopt this new media buying methodology. Our
market-first analysis on viewability and what it means to programmatic trading may bust the
myth about buying inventory of low quality.
54% PC Programmatic Ad Viewability in China is Comparable to Worldwide Benchmarks
From our experiment of measuring viewable impressions in RTB campaigns across three
industries, an average viewability of 54% was seen.
To assess the credibility of 54% as the initial PC programmatic ad viewability benchmark in
China, we looked into global benchmark studies from Google and Sizmek based on
programmatic and regular buys combined. (Both companies use IAB standard for PC
display viewability)
In November 2014, Google reported US
benchmark of 50% (source: The
Importance of Being Seen by Google)
In October 2015, Sizmek reported
worldwide benchmark of 51% (source:
Viewability Benchmarks by Sizmek)
In the same Sizmek report, North America
and Asia Pacific saw respectively 49% and
53% as regional viewability benchmarks
In comparison to worldwide benchmarks, 54% viewability of PC programmatic ads in China
is believable. As a move to lead the programmatic industry in this market, we therefore
propose to set the first industry benchmark of PC programmatic ad viewability in China as
54%.
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
5
Within China, Inventory of Open Exchange is 28% More Viewable than Inventory of Direct Buy
Considering 54% is the PC programmatic ad viewability benchmark in China, our next step
was to compare against viewability of regular buy.
Sizmek’s China viewability report reported 42% as the viewability benchmark of direct buy.
This figure derived from analyzing 8 billion measured impressions of standard PC display
banners (across four placements – skyscraper, top, middle and bottom banners) covering
20% of digital media page views on mainstream portals, video sites, lifestyle sites and
finance news sites. (Source: Viewability – The First Step to Evaluate User Interaction by
Sizmek) Results from Sizmek’s study are believed to be representative and also the only
China regular buy benchmark we have observed at the time of writing.
When comparing to inventory of regular buy, inventory bought on open exchange
achieved 28% higher viewability. When programmatic ads are 28% more likely to be seen
than regular ads, it evidently shows that:
Inventory on open exchange may be long-tail
media inventory but it has better viewable value
because programmatic ads are delivered to the
right audience at the right time and offers real-
time optimization to maximize performance
Regular buy may offer premium media inventory
and is believed to be viewed by audience, but
inventory quality depends on the deal agreed
between publisher and marketer and has minimal
room for real-time optimization
This finding is not only a breakthrough in programmatic industry, but also a compelling
reason for brand marketers to include programmatic ads into brand awareness activity.
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
6
Creative Response in Click through Rate (CTR) Can Increase 20% With Above-average Viewability
Having proved the viewable value in programmatic, we now want to use click through rate
(CTR) to evaluate effectiveness in creative response.
For measurement consistency purpose, all three programmatic campaigns were evaluated
by CTR, regardless of final campaign objective. Also, CTR in this analysis takes measured
impressions into account (i.e. not all delivered impressions) and we used viewability rate of
each individual campaign as the baseline and indexed CTR above and below that
baseline.
We found that, by individual
campaign, CTR increment from
below-average viewability to
above-average viewability
varies from 13% to 56%, or 20%
on average. Influencing factors
include (but not limited to)
audience, frequency, targeting
tactics, creative assets and ad
placement.
Among these factors and based on the availability
of data, we looked into how ad placement may
play a role to influence viewability and CTR.
Positive correlation can be seen that, in one
campaign setting, higher viewability yields higher
CTR. These high-performing ad placements were
300x250 and 250x250, which are usually placed
closely adjacent to webpage content to bring as
much relevancy as possible.
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
7
How to Adopt Programmatic
Trading In Light of Viewability
For marketers that have been investing in programmatic ads, they are eager to apply best
practices of viewability to improve operational efficiency. In particular, brand marketers
with awareness and engagement goals may see more benefits from measuring and
optimizing towards viewable impressions than sales driven marketers. However,
programmatic trading is a fluid process and therefore programmatic tactics can influence
viewability outcome.
How Programmatic Tactics can Lead to Different Viewability Outcomes
When campaigns are set up differently (different audiences, different tactics), various levels
of viewability can be yielded.
Scenario 1
Target audience of clients A and B were
rather broad, but their different viewability
result could be due to the tactics used.
Client A using a tactic mix of contextual
targeting and run of category likely drove
more relevancy by delivering display banner
adjacent to the related content. Therefore, a
52% higher programmatic ad viewability was
seen in client A.
Scenario 2
Whitelist tactic is highly regarded among
marketers because they believe that this
tactic ensures ads served on desired media
list and hence achieves superior viewability. Client C using whitelist tactic achieved just a
moderate 13% above the benchmark however.
Client
Viewability
Index
(index
100=54%)
Audience Key Tactic
A 152
Geared towards
female with fashion
and skincare interests
Run of media category
Contextual targeting
B 98
Geared towards
people with 3C and
gaming interests
Run of media category
C 113
Geared towards male
with car racing, sports
and outdoor activity
interests
Whitelist
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
8
Strategic Best Practice: Directions to Take Programmatic Trading to Next Level with Viewability
There is an increasing an increasing number of industry publications about viewability, such
as Google US’s 5 Factors of Viewability. However, many publications talk about tactics from
executional perspective. To embrace viewability into programmatic trading, we
recommend the following strategic approaches for marketers and agencies in China:
Marketers add ad viewability into brand effectiveness measurement
Agencies and agency trading desks use viewability metric to optimize programmatic
campaigns, for instance, removing ad placement with low viewability
Agencies and agency trading desks develop, apply and benchmark CPvM (cost
per viewable thousand impressions) to evaluate effectiveness and efficiency of
media investment
Tactical Best Practice: Trial-and-error Approach on Programmatic Tactics to Maximize Viewability
As part of annual or quarterly planning, marketers and agencies together may exploit a
testing scheme with one or more of the following dimensions to deliver programmatic ad
viewability:
Buying model (open exchange RTB, private marketplace, programmatic direct buy)
Audience (1st party, 2nd party, 3rd party)
Affinity of media category
Interactivity of creative assets (flash, interactive e.g. HTML 5, rich media)
Ad size and placement
Page position (above the fold, below the fold)
Targeting tactics (run of category, contextual targeting, behavioral targeting,
retargeting, whitelist, look-alike modeling, dynamic creative)
Silver bullet of high viewability achievement is yet to come. Marketers and agencies are
advised to adopt a test-and-learn attitude when exploring the right formula in
programmatic ad viewability.
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
9
How Viewability Will Influence
Programmatic Trading in 2016
Having conducted the first viewability study in the context of programmatic buying in
China, although we still see challenges that need to be further addressed in the future,
viewability is certainly steering programmatic trading to a deeper level in China. We
believe many opportunities will arise and marketers and agencies will experience a more
mature programmatic ecosystem in China.
In 2016, we predict three areas of programmatic trading ecosystem being influenced by
viewability:
Marketers
Marketers should have a sound measurement strategy in place to define marketing
success. We reckon the following steps to be taken to enhance the existing measurement
framework:
Add viewability rate and CPvM as key metrics onto scorecard
Iterate measuring viewability and CPvM measurement to observe trending over time
and define a benchmark
Explore the extension to video and mobile ads via a systematic test approach
Agencies and Agency Trading Desks
Agencies and agency trading desks will strengthen programmatic trading practice and
operation to a more sophisticated level, as follows:
Apply CPvM as trading currency or viewable impressions for billing purpose
(however, the latter approach is subject to vendors’ acceptance)
Integrate trading desk platform and 3rd party viewability solution provider to enable
viewability as a standard option for programmatic trading and optimization
Consider the use of private marketplace (private auction) programmatic buying
model to increase the affinity of media and hence increase viewability outcome
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
10
Media Publishers
A healthy and trustworthy programmatic marketplace cannot be achieved only by
marketers’ and agencies’ desires. Support from the entire ecosystem, especially publishers,
is equally important to put viewability into action:
Redesign publishers’ websites to have more ads in view and/or even guarantee
viewable placements
Open up more inventory for programmatic trading
Conclusion A mature programmatic marketplace in China has a long way to go, but the measurement
and application of viewability in programmatic trading will take marketers and agencies
one step closer. Marketers will begin to measure viewability and analyze the relat ionship
between viewability and CTR to evaluate brand effectiveness at a granular level. Agencies
and agency trading desks will integrate viewability in programmatic trading and
optimization for a more comprehensive view.
Our finding of PC programmatic ad viewability benchmark in China is only the first step.
With more marketers, agencies and agency trading desks and publishers entering the
horizon of programmatic trading, we hope that our discovery will inspire deeper
acceptance, adoption and standardization of viewability in China’s programmatic
ecosystem.
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
11
Further Reading
MRC Viewable Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines
http://mediaratingcouncil.org/063014%20Viewable%20Ad%20Impression%20Guideline_Final.pdf
IAB State of Viewability Transaction 2015
http://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015_State_of_Viewability_Transaction.pdf
The Importance of Being Seen
https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/the-importance-of-being-seen_study.pdf
Viewability Benchmarks
http://go.sizmek.com/rs/dgfastchannel/images/Sizmek_Viewability_Benchmarks.pdf
Viewability – The First Step to Evaluate User Interaction
http://www.rtbchina.com/sizmek-publish-2015-china-digital-ads-viewability-report.html
5 Factors of Viewability
https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/5-factors-of-viewability_infographics.pdf
Point of View: Programmatic Ad Viewability in China
Market First Industry Benchmark and Analysis
12
About Us
Accuen
Accuen is Omnicom Media Group’s programmatic agency, operating the industry’s first
open and flexible platform for programmatic media buying for the world’s leading
marketers. With specialists in 60 countries, Accuen delivers market-leading solutions across
channels, transforming data into competitive media advantage. Accuen is a division of
Omnicom Media Group, the media services division of Omnicom Group Inc.
Omnicom Media Group and Omnicom
Omnicom Media Group is the media services division of Omnicom Group, Inc. (NYSE: OMC).
Omnicom Media Group is made up of several media specialist companies. Among them is
OMD Worldwide (www.omd.com), the largest and most innovative media communications
specialists in the world, and PHD Network (www.phdnetwork.com), a leading media
services company widely recognized for its pioneering and innovative work for clients.
Sizmek
Sizmek, formerly known as Eyeblaster and MediaMind, is the world's largest independent
third party ad server working with over 3,400 agencies, over 17,000 brand advertisers and
22,000 global web publishers, serving ads in 70 countries. An Open Ad Management
company, Sizmek gives online advertisers, agencies and publishers in China full end-to-end
capabilities in the areas of programmatic solutions, verification powered by Peer39,
dynamic creative optimizations, data & attribution services across multiple
devices/channels and enabled via ad serving technology. With 10 years of China
experience and a global network, marketers & partners have in the past and continue to
benefit from best-in-class online advertising tools, technology and strategic guidance as
Sizmek continues to evolve in an ever-changing China digital landscape. That’s the Sizmek
effect. For more information, please visit www.sizmek.com.