In this week's Media Buying Briefing, available exclusively to Digiday+ members, senior media buying and planning editor Michael Bürgi explores attention metrics and the potential they are showing at the top and bottom of the marketing funnel.
In a recent Marketing Buying Briefing, another member exclusive, senior marketing editor Kristina Monllos looks at how marketers are communicating price increases due to inflation.
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Media Buying Briefing: Attention metrics show potential at top and bottom of marketing funnel
By Michael Bürgi
The media business — digital, linear, social, publisher, etc. — is in a limbo state of sorts when it comes to measurement and currency. Nielsen has just been acquired, and a host of other companies and measurement systems hope to make themselves invaluable to the buying and selling of media — starting with this year’s upfront. From engagement to viewability to loyalty to even business outcomes, this snarl of metrics options has created a tangle of confusion for brands and media agencies.
One subset of the measurement space is focused on attention metrics, where a few players are pushing for greater consideration in media planning and activation departments, including RealEyes, TVision and Adelaide. Attention metrics essentially tries to evaluate how much actual attention is paid to ad messages, going beyond viewability as a sufficient gauge of interest or value. Using passive eye-tracking technology, it aims to get to a holistic view expressed in a single metric, whether that’s behavioral- or outcome-based.
While the technology isn’t accredited by the Media Rating Council yet, several media agencies have experimented with it. Adelaide, a private company helmed by CEO Marc Guldimann, held a private event on March 31 with TVision, that Digiday attended, during which several media agencies using Adelaide’s AU metric tool talked about what they’re doing with it and how it’s impacted them.
Perhaps the biggest surprise to the media agency execs who kicked the tires on AU — including Sébastien Hernoux, chief data and technology officer for OMD, Caitlin Russell, director of marketing analytics and data consulting at Havas Media, and Ed McElvain, executive vp and director of P3 (digital platforms and data-driven media buying) at Mediahub — is its value as a measure of both brand and performance effectiveness.
“There was a strong correlation between attention and performance metrics,” said Hernoux. “We’re optimizing against attention — and now we’re working on how to fold it into our activation plans.” Hernoux noted that it’s harder to fold attention into the planning process as it is into activation because “it’s a bit harder to prove results that way.”
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By Kristina Monllos
As major companies raise prices many are pointing to inflation as the cause and culprit — whether or not that’s actually the case depends on the company. Some execs on recent earnings calls have reportedly bragged about being able to raise prices to boost profits with inflation as a convenient justifier. How long they will be able to increase prices and keep consumers spending is unclear.
Still, communicating price increases — whether or not they are truly due to inflation — is top of mind for some marketers, agency execs and industry observers. Some brands are taking a direct approach with consumers, making sure they are aware that prices will be raised soon and encouraging them to buy now before they do. Others are focusing on a more holistic approach and positioning.
“Right now, many of our clients are focused on brand building knowing that price elasticity is tied to brand value,” said Kari Shimmel, chief strategy officer at Campbell Ewald. “Companies realize they need to think about their story and market position in ways that connect to the values and culture of today’s America.”
Communicating to consumers that a brand is delivering some sort of necessary value despite price increases is crucial, according to agency execs, who say that without doing so brands may be dealing with consumers’ skepticism and ire on why they have to pay more. In recent years, there’s been an erosion of trust between consumers and brands with consumers now more likely to Google why a brand may be raising prices than trust that a brand is doing so because of inflation.
“Among those raising prices, more and more are doing it with complete transparency,” said David Burfeind, chief strategy officer at Via. “No stealth increases, no ‘shrinkflation’ tricks with reduced quantities, no clumsy euphemisms for price adjustments. They’re saying it straight and explaining why. Because consumer psychology research has consistently found that attempts to obfuscate bad news or sneak something past consumers rarely go well. Their BS detectors are just too good.”
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Further reading
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