A new era of accountability + Facebook?

AMAA

Josanne Ryan asks:

Are Facebook’s measurement issues heralding a new era of accountability in metrics?

Traditional media is being acknowledged as delivering what certain digital metrics are increasingly being seen to not deliver - accuracy and transparency.

They have long been held to account by the advertising industry and marketers demanding accuracy and transparency in the metrics that support ad trading. 

Print audits have been undertaken for more than 80 years, in addition to third party audience metrics and TV data has also been independently audited for decades.

As a result of the investment they make in third-party verification, marketers know they are safe effective channels for their dollars.

(The 2016 AMAA Media Channel Trust Report confirmed print and TV rated as the most-trusted channels in terms of being transparent and safe.)

Digital media delivered a new era of data and campaign measurement but it has also meant we moved into an era of ‘the server is truth’. If it’s digitally generated via world-class tech in real time, how could it be wrong?  

Unfortunately, there are many ways of setting the ‘measurement dial’.

But since the technology behemoths garnered the lion share of consumer’s eyeballs, the industry has acquiesced to the belief that all is well so long as they deliver data telling us how it all works.

It seems we are now being reminded that marking your own scorecard is inherently flawed and potentially misleading, with billions of dollars at stake. Traditional media channels have lost a significant share of the advertising pie. So are they losing out due to flawed measurement?

The playing field is far from even.

Along with the AANA, we will continue to push for transparent, open, audited, third-party, impartial measurement of online advertising, as should the entire media industry.

I hope that marketers can lead the charge for a more rigorous approach to digital media as they are the ones footing the bill at the end of the day.

Date: 05 Dec 2016