Big Push to Impressions for Local TV Is (Finally) Reaching Critical Mass

Local TV has traditionally relied on ratings for transactions even though that reliance obscured some of the valuable yet smaller audiences delivered in certain markets This is why I39m happy to report that finally there is a cogent industry movement afoot to change the transactional measurement from ratings to impressions in local TV The TVB recently announced its commitment to the cause along with support and advocacy from NielsenFor Catherine Herkovic executive vice president and managing director local TV for Nielsen this movement to impressionsbased transactions is not only common sense but also part of Nielsen39s value as a measurement company quotNielsen has always done impressionsbased measurementquot she says quotImpressions are the foundation of all of the calculations of everything we doquotWhy Shift From Ratings to ImpressionsWhile national TV and digital advertisers have always transacted based on impressions why hasn39t local quotIt39s because ratings percentages provide a relative understanding of performance across different size markets And that will still be used for planning purposesquot Herkovic explains quotRatings won39t disappear but impressions will be used for transactionsquot Yet local TV is one of the few still using ratings Local radio is anotherA move to impressions will facilitate the easy inclusion of local TV into multiplatform buys and offer proof of performance quotGiven the fragmentation of audiences when you round ratings you are losing audience impressions allow us to capture the total audiencequot Herkovic says quotAdvertisers and agencies want to buy engagement with people amp8212 not households not devicesquot says David Hohman executive vice president demandside media at Nielsen quotEven though the measurement exists it is up to the buyers and sellers to agree on what the transaction currency is going to be Nielsen can develop it and make it available but the industry has to adopt itquotAgencies39 Position on MeasurementMany agencies are already using impressionsbased measurement for local TV Kathy Doyle Magna Global39s executive vice president investment has been doing so since 2015 Doyle says she and her team quotbuy all of our local television and radio based on impressionsquot She adds that Magna has been ahead of other agencies in this effort quotThis has been our babyquotIt is not just the larger agencies moving in this direction Other early movers include Jenifer Weldon owner and president of Fat Free Media quotWe39ve utilized impressions in planning and buying for our client Morgan ampamp Morgan for 15 yearsquot Weldon says And Jennifer Hungerbuhler executive vice president and managing director local video and audio investment for Dentsu Aegis Network DAN switched over to impressionsbased advertising in January 2017 quotWe primarily use it for buying and researchquot she notesSpark Foundry is quotpreparing to move to impressions as buying currency for local broadcast TVquot says Kevin Gallagher the agency39s executive vice president and managing director local investment quotImpressions are the common currency in every media channel except local TV and radio right nowquot His team is working on capturing four quarters of impressions data before they make the switch And he says quotTruth be told we already use impressions and CPM when buying OTT locallyquotAdvantages and Disadvantages of Local TV ImpressionsWhen asked about the pros and cons of moving to impressions the general response was that it was advantageous to do so quotI really do not see any disadvantages at all in moving to impressionsquot says Magna Global39s Doyle noting however that some areas of the country don39t currently deliver ratings quotThere are impressions that we can buy that help with reach and pricingquot she says adding entre nous quotif nobody else is buying on impressions we can buy it and nobody else canquotBut the main reason Doyle pushed for impressions was that she saw the need early on to adapt to a crossplatform media world She wanted her buyers to quotget used to the vernacular of buying based on impressions rather than ratings amp8212 getting to a world where we are buying video audio crossdevice and screenquot she explainsAn advantage for Gallagher is that quotit puts spot TV and radio on a common currency with all of the other media channels It will be easier from a planning standpoint and in aggregating all audiences across channelsquot But he adds quotthe downside is the conversion process moving from traditional pricing benchmarks for our planning teams and clients Right now those benchmarks are on a costperpoint basisquotFor Weldon the main advantage is the ability to compare costs across all media based on costperthousand CPM quotAll media is brought to a level playing field for cost analysisquot she says noting that quotGRPbased planning and buying needs to adapt and adjust to impressionlevel buyingquot which is a challenge One reason quotBroadcast television impressions are not the same as digital impressionsquot she explainedWeldon warns that agencies shouldn39t be lulled amp8212 based on complacency lack of understanding or urgency amp8212 into thinking they are the same quotIt could be a disservice to clients if agency acceptance of impressionbased buying leads to a lack of understanding of what type of impressions are being purchased where those impressions will run and the guarantees against those impressionsquot she saysquotI certainly see far more advantages than I see disadvantagesquot DAN39s Hungerbuhler says quotImpressions give us a common currency that allows us to take a more holistic approach to tracking audiences within a market across screens allowing for easier crossplatform executions Impressions also give better insight into the actual number of people viewing instead of a percentage of people viewing amp8212 and in this day and age of fragmentation every eyeball countsquotHungerbuhler points out that capturing more viewers leads to an increase in inventory which also increases the likelihood that rates will decline quotImpressions make it easier for local buyers to combine multiple markets into one buy such as an unwired regional buy or to report metrics across multiple marketsquot she explains quotImpressions are added up with simple addition as opposed to ratings that are weighted by audience populations and are not easily comparable to each otherquotFacilitating the ConversionAll of these experts agree that Nielsen should play a major role in navigating the industry towards impressionsbased transactions Spark Foundry39s Gallagher thinks Nielsen can serve as an advocate quotto anyone in this ecosystem that uses Nielsen ratings to make the move into impressionsquotNielsen must get involved Weldon asserts working closely with agencies to provide education support and training for the transition from GRP to impressions Nielsen should also encourage relevant software providers to offer guides and other training tools Hungerbuhler echoed this sentiment quotNielsen can send out thought leadership educating clients planners and buyers by explaining the difference between ratings and impressions the benefits of crossplatform and what more precise measurement can mean to advertisersquotThe overall feeling was that the move to impressions could reach critical mass at the agencies sooner than later perhaps by 2021 But the most important action Nielsen can take is to quotkeep the conversation going among clientsquot Doyle suggests quotAnd I think there is some work that can be done to show the benefit and stability of using impressionsquotClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Big Push to Impressions for Local TV Is (Finally) Reaching Critical Mass

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Charlene Weisler

Tomorrow Will Be Televised: “Buy It Now”, ZipWave TV & Quincy Jones Tribute Episode - Listen Live Today at 2pm - By Simon Applebaum

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Big Push to Impressions for Local TV Is (Finally) Reaching Critical Mass

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Charlene Weisler

Tomorrow Will Be Televised: “Buy It Now”, ZipWave TV & Quincy Jones Tribute Episode - Listen Live Today at 2pm - By Simon Applebaum

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