An Existential Threat

That is not to suggest that the JICs should have carte blanche to stagnate not that they are doing so well done to BARB for adding Netflix but it does mean that we should not take for granted the benefits that come from all sides of the industry sitting down together to solve common problemsThe phrase amp8216an existential threatamp8217 is not one I use lightly but the largest most influential media players on the planet amp8211 the online platforms amp8211 no longer have common causeThis is simply a reality The arguments around Google trying to join BARB if only BARB would bend to Googleamp8217s will have long goneThe notion of creating an online JIC to which Google Facebook et al could all sign up to an agreed set of measurement standards looks a way off at best although the fact that many of the major online players have signed up to ISBAamp8217s Origin programme is undoubtably a sign of progressMeantime advertisers and their agencies still need to plan still need to buy and still need to evaluate effectMeasurement of audiences is a cornerstone of these activities It is not the whole edifice despite what some may believe but it is vitalEdifices without cornerstones tend not to stand up for longIf the industry cannot find solutions then the various players will find their own The endpoint of which is multiple currencies a concept that we have lived through before that wastes time and focuses effort and money in the wrong placeA famous UK Media Director Rodney Harris once said amp8220Media research is not designed to find out the truth It is a treaty between interested partiesamp8221If you cannot sign a treaty the consequences that follow are not appealingNatural tensions between buyer and seller buyer and planner planner and advertiser have historically always been solved peacefully Techniques were found systems improved compromises madeBut now we are into what is much more a political and financial discussion with technique and measurement standards pushed to one sideThere remains one faction of the media industry focused on accuracy and doing things right but unfortunately this is the faction from whom ad revenue is drifting awayThe new giants could not give a fig for accuracy amp8211 if you doubt me how come Facebook manages and not just once to amp8216reachamp8217 more people in a particular demographic than exist in living breathing form And then to try to explain that this is perfectly normal and justifiableOnline consensus groups do occasionally pop up I am grateful to Bob Hoffman whose new book Adscamamp160points out the followingquotIn April 2017 amp8230 a group of bigtime advertisers publishers agencies and media announced a coalition The Coalition for Better Ads to 39rid the Internet of annoying ads39quotquotIn 2011 amp8230 the IAB the ANA and the 4A39s announced an initiative called 39Making Measurement Make Sense39quotI may very well read the wrong trades but I heard little either at the time or more recently from eitherAs Bob puts it quotIt is now five years since the establishment of the Coalition for Better Ads Have they rid the Internet of annoying ads Try not to laughquotIt may seem angelsontheheadofapinamp160stuff to be concerned about arcane audience measurement techniques but remember that the most effective way to drive eventual change is by starting a topic far away from the frontlineAs the Chinese proverb has it quotThe flapping of the wings of a butterfly can be felt on the other side of the worldquotDismiss the technical experts ignore their advice their worriesamp160and their concerns and before you know it we all have a problemNo common standards of measurementamp160means less accuracy in evaluating true effect leading on to no justifiable business reason to build brandsamp160and every reason to focus 100 on performance metricsThis is not a happy place for the industry to be headedClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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An Existential Threat

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Brian Jacobs

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