As we have learned in both business and politics, “declaring” victory and actually earning one can represent two different positions on the continuum of success. That said, the news on Friday is that the ANA, 4A’s and IAB have agreed that viewable impressions will ultimately be the method for assessing digital media efficacy… not click-through.
Clearly, this is a positive first step toward reform in digital ad campaign measurement. However, much work remains to be done in addressing concerns over the variety of measurement services and the accuracy of their respective methods for assessing viewable impressions.
Several years ago, the aforementioned trade associations formed the “Making Measurement Make Sense” (3Ms) task force to work toward a multilateral solution to this measurement challenge. Of late, the task force has been working closely with the Media Ratings Council (MRC) to assist in establishing measurement standards that will smooth out some of the counting discrepancies between publishers and digital ad measurement providers which currently exist when it comes to viewable impressions.
Interested in learning more? Check out the Ad Age article regarding this announcement.