Marketing Math Blog

Oct 26
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Are We Missing the Real Issue with Ad Blockers?

By AdTech, Advertisers, Digital Media, Marketing, Media, Uncategorized No Comments

blocker

 

The advertising industry is rightly concerned about the financial impact related to consumers growing use of ad blockers, which can filter out ads before users ever see them. A recent study by OnAudience.com highlights the reasons why:

  • 26% of U.S. consumers now use ad blockers, resulting in lost publisher revenues of $15.8 billion in 2016, up from $11.0 billion in 2015. The U.S. represents approximately $45 billion of the $100 billion global display market.
  • Internationally, the loss of publisher revenue from ad blocking is projected to rise to $42 billion, up from $28 billion in 2016.

In addition, Google has announced that the 2018 version of its Chrome web browser will allow consumers to automatically block “annoying, intrusive” ads, which will accelerate the financial impact of this trend given that Chrome represents approximately 60% of the desktop/mobile/tablet browser market (source: NETMARKETSHARE, September 2017). Google’s motivation, it claims, is that they are simply introducing the Coalition for Better Ads recently announced best practices standards to enhance the consumer’s web browsing experience.

It is no surprise how we got where we are. Advertisers wanted to improve consumer engagement and publishers wanted to drive revenues. This, in turn, led to publishers placing more ads on a web page, including higher paying video units, making ads larger or forcing visitors to somehow interact with these ads to get to the content. This involves video ads that automatically refresh or blast audio automatically or force consumers to wait for :05 to :10 seconds before they can access the content they seek.

In the end, advertisers and publishers have not realized greater levels of engagement, but rather helped to fuel greater levels of consumer irritation and therefore ad blocker usage.

Thus far, the industry has been focused on blocking the ad blockers. It is true that many publishers believe that being exposed to ads is a user’s obligation if they want their content to be free. Others, however, share the consumer’s disdain for obnoxious, intrusive ads, and would like to see them banned from their sites. The problem is that ad blockers tend to block all ads.

So what is the ad industry to do? Busting the use of ad blockers or implementing web browser workarounds would appear to be somewhat short-sighted. Consumers have clearly signaled that they find the level, number, positioning and type of online ads served to them on a regular basis to be discordant with their intended browsing habits. Pursuing a more measured approach on the part of the industry is warranted. As Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg intoned:

“Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one’s ability to persuade.”

The challenge is clear, finding a mechanism for publishers to fund their content creation at least in part through the use of online advertising. The answer, however, is not so readily apparent.

Let’s face it, by in large, consumers do not want to view online advertising. This can be evidenced by plummeting open and click-through rates, reductions in conversion rates and declines in average viewing times. Advertisers and publishers want “engagement” and sadly, consumers want nothing to do with most of the advertising foisted on them.

Is the answer better creative that informs, educates and entertains in the hope that users will both notice the ads and choose to interact with them? Or is it fewer, less intrusive ads that can take away from a user’s web browsing experience? Or will publishers finally have to solve the “pay to view” content dilemma, which consumers have largely been resistant to thus far?

If consumer engagement is the goal, the answer is likely “Yes” to all of the above.

 

Oct 24
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Media Agency Estimated Billing Should Be Eliminated

By 3rd Party Vendor Billing Management, Advertisers, Billing Reconciliation, Media No Comments

accounts payableLet me start by saying that Advertising Agencies are not banks and should never be asked to settle vendor obligations, made on behalf of clients, with their own funds. That said, the long-standing practice of “estimated billing” is a relic of a bygone era and one which should be abandoned.

In a day and age where the electronic transfer of funds is commonplace and where most media owners invoice agencies based upon “actual” activity, following the month of service, the notion of an advertiser being billed upfront on an estimated basis is no longer necessary for the vast majority of media being purchased. From an advertiser’s perspective, this antiquated system results in burdensome levels of paperwork, drives up accounts payable processing costs, needlessly extends the invoice reconciliation process, restricts client use of funds, results in lost interest income opportunities for the advertiser and perhaps one of the less apparent benefits, eliminating the apprehension/reliance on an agency to accurately track and timely reconcile such estimated billing.

Can anyone cite a single benefit that accrues to an advertiser from this approach? If an advertiser were to purchase inventory directly from the media seller they would pay based upon actual costs, so why should it be any different when purchasing media via a client-agent relationship?

The move to final billing has but one drawback, to one stakeholder… the loss of agency float income on pre-billed activity. While conceptually we don’t believe that it is appropriate for an agent to make money on the use of client funds, we do understand that eliminating this non-transparent source of revenue would have a negative impact on an agency’s bottom-line. This, however, should not be the concern of the advertiser community, as this was never the intent of the estimated billing process to begin with. After all, it is the advertiser’s money and as such, they should be the only stakeholder to benefit from access to and the use of those funds.

Transitioning to actual billing makes good sense from both a treasury management and a transparency accountability perspective. It is more efficient, can reduce payment processing costs and can potentially improve days payable outstanding performance for the media seller.

As it is, advertisers generally have little to no insight into the time gap between remittance of their funds to their agency and in turn the time it takes for the agency to reconcile media activity and remit payment to an advertiser’s third-party media vendors. If client-side CFO’s were aware, there would certainly be significant interest in reforming the estimated billing system and the stewardship of an advertiser’s media advertising investment.

When it comes to financial management within the advertising sector, we have always been cognizant of the words of Robert Sarnoff, past president of NBC and RCA in the mid-twentieth century:

“Finance is the art of passing currency from hand to hand until it finally disappears.”

Interested in learning more about improved financial management practices across your marketing agency network? Contact Cliff Campeau, Principal at AARM | Advertising Audit & Risk Management at ccampeau@aarmusa.com for a complimentary consultation on this topic.

Oct 05
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Has Programmatic Been Poisoned Beyond Repair

By Advertisers, Digital Media, Digital Trading Desk, Marketing Accountability, Programmatic Buying No Comments

gsk decision ignites firestormWhen it comes to programmatic digital the rush to employ new technology, without proper vetting or oversight combined with the number of layers between the advertiser and the content provider (i.e. agency, trading desk, DSP, exchange,SSP, publisher) was a recipe for disaster. Toss in a healthy dose of greed and the potential of programmatic was compromised from the onset.

Excellent piece from Tim Burrowes at Mumbrella on the fallout from Martin Cass’ panel discussion at Ad Week in NYC and professor Mark Ritson’s perspective on the future of programmatic  … Read More

Oct 03
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Scathing Review of Programmatic & Media Agency Standing

By AdTech, Advertisers, Advertising Agencies, Digital Media, Digital Trading Desk, Marketing Accountability, Media Transparency, Programmatic Buying, Rebates No Comments

cautionIn the recent edition of Marketing Week, writer Mark Ritson profiled a recent Advertising Week panel discussion featuring Martin Cass, CEO of MDC Media Partners and his stated view that clients simply do not have a “grasp of ad tech.”

He believes that: “They don’t understand it. We have become experts on the top of a pinhead and there are probably 1,000 people operating on the top of that pinhead. It’s so utterly bewildering and confusing. If you sat down with a CMO and asked him what most ad tech does he would not have a clue.” … Read More

Sep 30
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Agency Head Cites Client Trust as a Concern

By Advertisers, Advertising Agencies, Digital Media, Marketing Accountability, Media No Comments

digital media viewabilityIn a panel presentation at Ad Week in New York, Martin Cass, CEO of MDC Media Partners stated that; “The way major holding companies have been treating clients’ media money without their knowledge is the key factor in the loss of trust by marketers in their agencies, a senior industry executive has claimed.” Are agencies in fact taking advantage of clients’ “lack of understanding: regarding the complexities of digital media … Read more

Sep 27
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Financial Times Warns Advertisers of “Jaw-Dropping” Levels of Fraud

By Advertisers, Digital Media, Marketing Accountability, Media No Comments

fraudAn investigation by The Financial Times (FT) uncovered domain spoofing activity by fraudsters that it found to be “shocking.” The scale of the fraud was broad reaching with over 300 accounts selling inventory alleged to be FT.com’s totaling approximately $1.3 million per month. Anthony Hitchings, the FT’s digital advertising operations director shared his concern; “The industry continues to waste marketing budgets on what is essentially organized crime.” … Read More

 

Sep 26
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Trust is Causing Issues Across the Advertising Landscape

By Advertisers, Marketing No Comments

questionThe Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council just released a study, which suggests that a lack of trust is causing issues for marketers that reach beyond their relationship with agencies and publishers.

The study, which surveyed 300 senior marketers and which was profiled in Mediapost.com, found that “63% of consumers said they respond more positively to the same ads when they find them in more established and trusted media environments.” Thus the perceived risks to marketers emanating from today’s programmatic media buying and automated digital media are more pervasive than … Read More

Sep 25
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Lawsuits Expose the Seemly Underbelly of Programmatic Digital

By AdTech, Advertisers, advertising legal, AVBs, Digital Media, Digital Trading Desk, Marketing Accountability, Media, Media Rebates, Media Transparency, Rebates, Trading Desk No Comments

fraudsterAt the rate things are progressing in digital media and programmatic trading, the tenuous relationships between advertisers, agencies, ad tech providers, exchanges and publishers are about to come unglued.

While many in the ad industry have had their doubts about programmatic digital, this sector has grown unabated for the last several years. According to eMarketer in 2014 advertisers invested 28.3% of their ad budget in digital media. Their projection is that this will grow to 44.9% in 2020, likely topping $100 billion in total spend. eMarketer estimates that 80% of U.S. digital display activity in 2017 will be transacted programmatically. 

Interestingly, since 2014 the industry has become much more attuned to the risks encountered by advertisers when it comes to optimizing (or should we say safeguarding) their digital media investment. Yet in spite of the findings regarding unsavory practices emanating from the ANA’s seminal 2016 study on “Media Transparency” advertisers continue to pour an increasing share of their advertising spend into this media channel.

However, not all advertisers are continuing to embrace digital media quite as readily as they once did. A handful of progressives, namely Procter & Gamble, have begun to rethink the share of wallet being allocated to digital media and programmatic trading. Marc Pritchard, P&G’s Chief Marketing Officer, has been very outspoken in summing up his company’s position quite succinctly; “The reality is that in 2017 the bloom came off the rose for digital media. We had substantial waste in a fraudulent media supply chain. As little as 25% of the money spent in digital media actually made it to consumers.”

Given Mr. Pritchard’s comments it has been quite intriguing to monitor the legal developments in two high profile lawsuits that have recently been filed.

In the first case, Uber is suing Fetch Media, its digital agency suggesting that it had “squandered” tens of millions of dollars to “purchase non-existent, non-viewable and/ or fraudulent advertising” on its behalf. Uber has further alleged that the agency “nurtured an environment of obfuscation and fraud for its own personal benefit” and that of its parent company, Dentsu Aegis Network. To be fair, Fetch Media has denied what it says are “unsubstantiated” claims by Uber which it claims is designed to draw attention away from their “failure to pay suppliers.”  Allegations include that the agency acted as agent for Uber in some markets and executed principal-based buys in others and that they earned and retained undisclosed rebates tied to Uber’s media spend.

The second case involves RhythmOne, a technology enabled media company and its partner dataxu, a programmatic buy-side platform/ applications provider. RhythmOne originally filed suit regarding $1.9 million worth of unpaid invoices. Dataxu filed a counterclaim alleging that RhythmOne “used a fake auction to consistently overcharge” them and suggested that RhythmOne also “procured inventory from other exchanges, and then marked it up,” both violations of their partnership agreement. As an aside, for the $1.9 million in payments that dataxu admittedly and intentionally withheld from RhythmOne, going back to January, 2017, it is likely that dataxu’s clients had been billed and remitted payment to them. Which raises questions as to how and when their clients will be made whole.

Of note, both of these lawsuits delve into a range of topical issues that pose risks to most programmatic digital advertisers:

  • Agencies executing principal-based buys, rather than acting as agent for the advertiser.
  • The retention of undisclosed rebates tied to an agency’s use of advertiser funds.
  • Non-transparent fees and mark-ups being tacked on to the actual cost of media inventory by multiple middlemen (i.e. agencies, DSPs, exchanges).

These are issues that advertisers should familiarize themselves with and address through the development of a comprehensive client/ agency contract. In addition, advertisers must vigilantly monitor supplier compliance with the terms of those agreements to insure full transparency and, importantly, accountability when it comes to the stewardship of their digital media investment.

As these two cases highlight it is dam difficult for an advertiser to accurately assess the value of digital inventory that is being proffered on their behalf by their agency and adtech partners. Beyond establishing what percentage of an advertiser’s digital dollar actually goes toward media inventory, these separate, but related legal actions demonstrate that it is not just a lack of transparency that advertisers must worry about, but a lack of ethics. When it comes to programmatic digital media the American artist, John Knoll, may have said it best;

“Any tool can be used for good or bad. It’s really the ethics of the artist using it.”

There are steps that advertisers can take to both safeguard and optimize their digital media investment. If you are interested in learning more, contact Cliff Campeau, Principal of AARM | Advertising Audit & Risk Management at ccampeau@aarmusa.com for a complimentary consultation.

Sep 19
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Media Agency Contract Framework

By Advertisers, advertising legal, Contract Compliance Auditing, Letter of Agreement Best Practices, Marketing Accountability, Media No Comments

ISBA | The Practice – A Creative Digital And Marketing AgencyGlad to see the ISBA contract framework being more universally utilized. The terms and conditions recommended within this document absolutely provide media advertisers with the necessary legal and financial safeguards to protect their interests. This is, without question, the best “first line of defense” when it comes to transparency accountability … Read More

Sep 14
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Beginning of Agency Brand Consolidation Movement?

By Advertising Agencies, Marketing Agencies No Comments

full service advertisingMediaPost reported that WPP consolidated 5 different brand consultancy/ design firms into one larger, global brand agency. This continues a trend for WPP, having consolidated e-commerce agency Salmon under Wunderman in June and and ad buying firm, Maxus under MEC.

There are many good reasons for the agency holding companies to considering brand consolidation … Read More