IAB: Nielsen’s Digital Content Ratings video views metric not robust enough

IAB disagrees with Nielsen counting off-platform video views immediately

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is refusing to endorse secondary crediting for video within Nielsen’s Digital Content Ratings (DCR) product until qualifiers are introduced that meet agreed measurement standards. 

Currently, Nielsen counts off-platform video views as soon as a video commences playing, rather than at two seconds, which is the accepted metric. The research firm was expected to introduce time qualifiers to DCR this year, but recently announced it would not do so until February 2019.

IAB Australia has stipulated for someone to be included in video audience reach for a website or app, they must have been qualified as having a minimum viewing time of two seconds in both on and off platform activity. This is in line with the recommendations published by the Media Ratings Council (MRC) Digital Audience-Based Measurement Standards in December 2017.

IAB credits a drive for higher standards for digital video audience measurement as its reason it has chosen not to endorse Nielsen’s DCR product until such standards are met. IAB Australia will only endorse video audience data which excludes Facebook secondary crediting for off-platform video content, but will remain supportive of DCR including secondary crediting for text and static image.

IAB CEO, Gai Le Roy, said while many analytics tools and other audience measurement tools count people from video start, IAB Australia believes this is not robust enough to calculate the audience reach data that is needed for media buyers and advertisers to make accurate decisions.

“Audiences continue to increase their consumption of digital video and advertisers rightly continue to reinvest in this highly effective advertising option, so it is our responsibility to provide the market with the most accurate data possible,” she said.

“The IAB continues to support Digital Content Ratings’ independent third-party measurement for digital audience measurement as it offers world’s best practice for online audience measurement and is more inclusive of both long- and short-form video formats. However, there will be times when we will challenge and choose not to endorse particular metrics within the system. This is one of those times.

"A minimum standard is a necessary starting point and that is why we are insisting on a two second viewing threshold. This matches the minimum standard for video ad viewability. A 30-second qualifier will also be added in for video content viewing in 2019 as a filter for buyers who want to look for audiences with higher engagement. 

"As happens with video ad buying, some agencies and clients will set higher bespoke requirements which may depend a number of factors, such as; if they are buying ads within long or short form content or their own research around effectiveness for their own brand/s."

Many publishers, some of whom had started to track their Facebook video activity on the understanding that qualifiers would be introduced in 2018 by Nielsen, have supported the IAB’s decision.

Seven West Media chief digital officer, Clive Dickens, said the media giant fully supports the DCR metric as the official currency for owned and operated and secondary credited digital audiences and digital content.

“It is critically important that we continue to strive to further improve digital measurement to provide better clarity for our digital clients and stakeholders. Part of this investment must include an industry alignment and MRC accredited definition of the qualifying threshold of actual reach by video, the solution provided by Nielsen does not currently meet those requirements,” he said.

News DNA managing director, Julian Delany, said News Corp Australia has chosen not to implement Facebook video secondary crediting and will not do so until a video qualifier is in place.

“We believe that as an industry we need to be providing advertisers and agencies with the most accurate audience figures that we can and look forward to reliable secondary video measurement as soon as possible."

Nine Entertainment director of product and audience, Roxanne Hoad, said Nine looks forward to working with Nielsen to align on measurement standards, but until that time it cannot endorse this new metric.

IAB Australia and Nielsen officially launched their DCR scorecard last year, aimed at giving publishers, agencies and marketers daily digital audience data across all devices.

The latest metric followed the launch of a monthly Digital Ratings solution in March 2016, and represented the third piece of a three-step plan aimed at overhauling the way digital content is measured. IAB’s first step in conjunction with Nielsen was to launch a measurement view of Australian mobile and tablet audience data.

Last week, the AANA, IAB and MFA joined forces on a collaboration aimed at improving knowledge around the digital advertising supply chain.

The Australian Digital Advertising Practices were developed via a working team including advertisers, media agencies and publishers, along with subject matter experts, and underwent industry consultation for months before being released this week.

Five key areas are covered in the first instance: Digital transparency, viewability, brand safety, ad fraud and data transparency. Underlying the practices are five principles: Championing the customer experience; educate to inspire change; shared ownership and responsibility; every value chain is unique; and fair value for outcomes delivered.

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+:google.com/+CmoAu

 

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in