The viewability debate // What is good incremental reach?
There is a real debate to be had over online ad viewability that has, up until now you could argue, largely been ignored.
Things do appear to be changing, however. Last week the IAB announced a new viewability standard - that ensures that half of one online ad must be seen for one second for it to count as viewable - so progress is being made, even if the steps are modest.
However, the real issue at the heart of this is the worrying news that somewhere between 40% and 50% of all ads served up are not 'viewable'.
As Dominic Mills notes in this week's excellent opinion article, the effect this is having is significant: advertisers are paying for stuff that isn't seen, publishers are making money off "false pretences" and media buyers are pumping out billions of ads without much knowledge of where exactly they are going.
And as more advertisers use digital for brand-building and move to different payment models - for instance CPM - it matters big time, Mills argues (whilst others, such as Adloox's Marco Ricci, argue that the real issue remains transparency, not viewability.)
So who is best placed to help resolve these issues? Mills reckons it's the trading desks given they sit between the advertisers and the media owners, but he encourages more debate in this area...feel free to add to it in the comments section.
Reaching for answers
Phil Sumner, Nielsen's UK media director, is often asked by advertisers and agencies what he thinks good incremental reach is. 2%? 15%? Anywhere in-between?
It's something no one has really been able to answer because there hasn't been any data to support it, but things are beginning to change.
In an article published on Newsline today, Sumner extracts the learnings from new Nielsen data that, as Sumner notes, have "significantly progressed our thinking around what is good incremental reach for any given campaign."
Yes, this is only the start of a longer journey, and there is plenty more to research and discover - but advertisers now have an early benchmark and we can finally answer the wider question of whether a campaign received 'good' incremental reach or not. More here.
David Pidgeon
Newsline Editor
mediatel-newsline.co.uk
Press
The online presence of the UK's free press saw the largest declines in March, according to the latest ABC report into the performance of digital newsbrands.
MailOnline has come out on top in the IPA's latest Online Media Owner survey, with over 84% of respondents either agreeing or agreeing strongly that their overall experience of dealing with the platform is good.
Opinion
As Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon all report earnings, Simon Andrews, founder of Addictive!, takes a look at how the tech giants are shaping the market - and what marketers need to watch out for.
The electronic programme guide is a powerful tool for broadcasters looking to drive live tune-in, says Rovi's Jon Hewson. So why is not taking off in the UK?
Phil Sumner, Nielsen's UK media director, uses new research insights to answer a question often asked by the industry but has, until now, largely gone unanswered...
David Moyes' sacking as manager of Manchester United demonstrates the power of the press, writes Raymond Snoddy - and particularly the potency of social media in a new era of impatience.
Are the days of linear TV really numbered? Sky IQ's Emma Holden is not so sure - and argues that traditional TV has actually adapted incredibly well to the increasing disruption in the media landscape...
Advertisers are paying for stuff that isn't seen, publishers are making money off false pretences and media buyers are pumping out billions of ads without much knowledge of where they are going. It's time for a serious debate.
This month, Torin Douglas speaks with Emma Scott, managing director of Freesat, about consumer data, competing with the likes of Sky and Virgin and the changing role of TV platforms in building customer relationships...
A viewablity standard does little to improve the odds of a client's ad actually being seen, and it does even less to effectively tackle the more serious problems of fraud and campaign inefficiency, says Marco Ricci, CEO of Adloox.
Connected Consumer
75% of connected TV app users say video apps are 'extremely' or 'very important', according to the new NPD Connected Intelligence report.
The electronic programme guide is a powerful tool for broadcasters looking to drive live tune-in, says Rovi's Jon Hewson. So why is not taking off in the UK?
Netflix is to increase its pricing for new members, as it looks to "acquire more content and deliver an even better streaming experience."
New figures from Decipher's MediaBug report have shown strong growth in Netflix membership over the past six months, with an increase from 10% to 14% of UK online users now with a subscription.
Digital & Online
Set to deliver "unique and bespoke football statistics and analysis" directly to users' desktops and mobiles for free, The Equaliser is pitched as a new and better way to serve football news and statistics.
The launch of #WatchOnSky marks the first time that a British broadcaster has created a service which lets users access live TV and set recordings via their Twitter timeline.
Advertising
Very sad news reached us this morning that Harry Torrance, who for the last seven years has headed up Adazzle, passed away suddenly yesterday of a heart attack.
Sony is set to appear in the new series of E4's Made in Chelsea, representing the show's first product placement partnership.
The social media giant saw mobile advertising revenue leap 30% over the last 12 months, representing around 59% of total ad revenue for the first quarter of 2014.
A new study from the IAB reveals that 36% of top 100 brands in the UK do not have sites optimised for mobile.
The fully-programmatic product, developed by Xaxis, will allow advertisers to deliver coordinated ads on viewers' mobile devices simultaneously with adverts on their TVs.
The Q1 2014 IPA Bellwether Report reveals the record largest single upwards revision to marketing budgets in 14 years of data collection, marking the sixth successive quarter that marketing budgets have been revised up.
The latest Bellwether Report reveals the largest single upwards revision to marketing budgets in 14 years. Here, Newsline presents industry analysis on the findings - with views from Zenith, Carat, Vizeum and ZAK Media Group.
New research from Google reveals that 58% of UK users tell others about the brands that they love, compared to 33% of non-users.
The Internet Advertising Bureau has today lifted its advisory on viewable impressions for the display advertising market, giving a green light to trade against viewability for the first time.
Television
Amazon Prime customers in the US will soon be able to view the likes of The Sopranos, The Wire and the early seasons of Boardwalk Empire following a new licensing deal with HBO.
This month saw viewers flock to BBC One's charity sporting telethon and wave goodbye to Dancing on Ice.
March was a poor month for commercial TV, with all channels reporting declines in revenue.
Despite reports earlier this week that Discovery Communications, in partnership with BSkyB, had made a deal to buy the UK's Channel 5, fresh reports today say the US firm has dropped out of the bidding process altogether.
All six episodes of Jonah From Tonga, the new series from the writer and star of Summer Heights High and Ja'mie: Private School Girl, will be made available on BBC iPlayer from 2 May for 48 hours.
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