Commentary
GfK Media Measurement Newsletter Q4
December 2022
Introduction
Author: Dr. Roland Abold
It was fantastic for our team to finally be able to meet many of you in person at the ASI Conference this November. If anyone needed a reminder of how valuable it is to meet face-to-face, this event provided it. To have time to chat over a coffee, to discuss and debate important topics with friends and colleagues – old and new – and just to be with some of the most influential people in our industry.
For those of you who made it to Nice, thank you again and for those who missed it, I do recommend to read our article about the event by Rolf Müller.
We’ve just published our annual media measurement white paper. This year’s edition asks a fundamental question: What will tomorrow’s media industry need from audience measurement? To get a balanced discussion we posed this question to both the sell side and the buy side. I’ve highlighted three of the big issues that I consider to be the most pressing: the importance of real-time data; the role of context in media measurement and whether panels should be consigned to the past. These are just top line summaries so for more information, be sure to download the full paper to read at your leisure.
It’s always a pleasure to hear from you. Do keep in touch.
How vital is real-time data?
Author: Dominique Vancraeynest
Everyone seems obsessed with getting data faster. But what about quality? In our discussion, there was a feeling of being bombarded with these instant metrics which can give a superficial belief that a campaign is working.
AI and algorithms can bear the burden of the sophisticated analysis required – but it’s also important to temper their influence on what advertising is served to which audiences. The most obvious examples of this are programmatic ‘on-the-fly’ ad systems, that bid and react in real-time to give advertisers the in-flight optimization they demand.
The challenge for us in delivering real-time data is that measurement systems are increasingly hybrid and complex which does not lend itself to the ‘instant’ provision of currency data. Read what our panelists had to say and where the debate is going.
The role of context in media measurement
Author: Dominique Vancraeynest
One of the more contentious topics we debated was how the advent of programmatic is breaking the link between content and advertising. Our participants had differing view and concerns depending on their sector.
Media owners make extensive use of the currencies for content measurement, to assist in commissioning, scheduling, audience retention, marketing and long-term content and platform strategy. Media agencies want quality viewing environments. Advertisers need viewer demographics.
Without context, our industry experts were concerned that granular targeting will be left to the world of self-reported big data from ad servers and DMPs, already used by many of their agency colleagues in the absence of more transparent or reliable alternatives.
This is an important debate and one we don’t want you to miss. Read it all.
Should media measurement panels be consigned to the past?
Author: Dominique Vancraeynest
With the rise of ‘big data’, panel-based currencies were in danger of being seen as old-fashioned. Based on our expert discussions, this view seems to have been turned around. This is partly because of the growth of hybrid measurement systems that use ‘big data’ to calibrate panel measurement and partly due to privacy legislation limiting the availability and usage of first party data.
This leaves consented panels uniquely placed to provide a ‘source of truth’ for reach and frequency across platforms and of demographics.
So, if panels are back in fashion, the new challenge is how to best use them within hybrid systems and, in particular, how they can measure online advertising at a granular level. At GfK we are committed to leading the way. Through our continued dialogue with stakeholders in our fascinating industry to our investment in great thinkers and data scientists, GfK is at the forefront of today’s – and tomorrow’s – media measurement.