Missed Web impressions

In the vast world of digital marketing, advertisers and agencies alike now have access to millions of online display impressions from the click of a mouse. The advent of Real Time Bidding Platforms and Demand Side Platforms has not only broken down the access to media by advertisers and their agencies, but seemingly endless amounts of digital display impressions are now available to buy programmatically.

But what really is an impression and what are advertisers paying for?

An impression is when a display advertisement is served to a user while they are viewing a Web page. But one must dig deeper and analyze what a “viewable impression” is in order to determine its value.

Platforms and Web publishers are selling “viewable impressions” in cost-per-thousand metrics when “at least 50 percent of the ad is viewable for at least one second,” according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. That means that a user who is scrolling through a Web page and sees half a display ad for at least one second is a qualified viewable impression. As an advertiser, agency or anyone buying digital display banners, would you pay for advertising that is seen for one second with only half the ad viewable? But this is exactly what the IAB mandates as the minimum standard impression and is for the most part unbeknownst to advertisers.

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In comparison to other media, this certainly doesn’t pass the sniff test. TV is produced in 30-second units, radio in 60, 30 or 15 intervals, and print in full-, half- or quarter-page sizes.

One could certainly argue to increase the size of what must be seen for an online display ad and the duration that ad is seen. So it seems like a simple fix, right? Not so fast. By increasing the minimum viewable impression area and time that it is seen, one major detrimental effect occurs: The supply of qualified viewable impressions decreases dramatically.

And with a sizable decrease in available display impressions it intuitively follows that CPM prices will increase with less supply available. This will have a negative short-run effect on ad dollars flowing into the digital space and that strikes squarely against the IAB’s mission. No longer will CPM rates hover in the affordable ranges of today and will most likely increase at least twofold to threefold.

But as the efficiency for placing online display ads decreases, the effectiveness of each ad will certainly increase. Why? It’s only logical that an entire ad that is seen for say at least three to four seconds would be more successful than the current minimum standard.

But it is undoubtedly clear why the IAB has been dragging its feet on increasing the minimum impression standards. It’s not because the IAB can’t implement change. It’s because it fears the initial revenue fallout from doing the right thing for the advertisers that are the very lifeblood of online advertising. It is therefore no surprise that the wrangling between the IAB, the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies is a huge factor in this issue. With less impressions available to serve to advertisers, the IAB has the most to lose.

So as the percentage of digital advertising increases for advertisers, we all must collectively demand a change in the minimal impression standards to increase the effectiveness for advertisers.

Advertisers and their agencies alike must continue to question the IAB and pressure them into doing what’s right.

Advertiser conversation and dialogue is the key to keeping the IAB honest. Once the minimal impression standards increase, the online marketplace will correct itself and lead to a more expensive online medium, but certainly a more effective one. •

Blair Fish is CEO and president of Fish Advertising in East Greenwich.

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