Banner Blindness

Seen, Unseen, And Still Billed

This week, I was on a seminar that discussed the state of the nation in Banner Land, that troubled world of digital display advertising where viewability, ad fraud and getting what you paid for is far from assured.

And there was good news! Viewability is up, all the way to nearly half of the banners sold. Fraud is as low as 3%, or as high as 37%, which is in no way indicative of a massive problem that no one really has a handle on. And the fact that this might be the easiest and most prevalent way for criminals to operate, with opportunity all over the world, means that the presenter said, and I am quoting, "fraud will not disappear overnight." Good thing I was sitting down for that.

Now, none of this is especially new or novel, and the plain and simple fact of the matter is that Web ads still matter and still work, because when you A/B test search and email results without them, the banner audience shows a lift, assuming that the ads are, well, seen. But with the Internet Advertising Bureau still holding on to the plainly absurd standard of 50% pixels shown for just one second as a viewable ad, and viewability billing treating 70% as 100%...

Well, just what part of this should convince anyone that there's real improvement afoot? Or that if you aren't currently in the banner business, that it's one that you really should prioritize, moving forward?

Here's the crux of the problem for me. You've got an unloved ad unit that has never really worked for the consumer, especially in mobile, which is where the majority of traffic is going these days (and that trend isn't stopping). To get the same results as previous, you have to constantly scale up, which technology will easily allow you to do... but only at the cost of oversight, because no one has the time to monitor the untold number of Web sites that get in the mix for programmatic and retargeting campaigns.

So where we get to is an ad unit that can only work for brands with low concerns or market standing, for billing that has to be either so low that it can survive the low viewability, or in contracts that only pay off on rare events. It's just a perfect blueprint, honestly, for fraud.

And a few more points of viewability, or a greater focus on fraud, or a little more give back for the banners that were never seen, and honestly, should never be part of any billing moment?

Isn't really changing much...

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the RFP boxes at top right. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.

The Internet Of (Consequential) Things

For about 10 hours a week, I play one of the most boring video games ever. That game is measured by the gauges in my hybrid hatchback, which tells me how I'm doing with my efforts to go farther on a tank of gas. The game has no great prize or winner; just moments of small victory when the rates go up, and I've taken to dialing back the air conditioning, taking corners at drifting speed, and using the cruise control more and more on highways to better my score. (Mostly while driving alone.)

All of this has likely made me a safer driver, since I'm more attentive. That's all to the good, since driving might be the only activity that I engage in that could cause me serious injury. (Wondering how we're going to get this into marketing and advertising? Don't worry, it's coming.)

Currently, this habit  has very limited impact on anything beyond, well, how much I pay for gas. I don't have an IoT device on my car, so my habits aren't communicated to my insurance company. Even if they were (Progressive has a device), driving isn't in a feedback loop with your credit rating. But I do have a smartphone in my pocket, and a toll booth transponder on the windshield, so it's not as if these activities couldn't be tracked. The potential for this exists, and so does the infrastructure. It's just the last mile of consumer acceptance that needs to be navigated. Which is were marketing and advertising comes in. (See? We got here eventually. Just took the scenic route.)

This is, However, a pretty serious last mile. If the way you drive is tracked and monitored in a way that cuts your insurance payments, many consumers will accept it as a benefit. But there's a stick that comes with that carrot, and it's this: what if you could get traffic tickets without ever having a conversation with a police officer?

Well, you can already. Just drive through an automated toll booth without a transponder. But for things like speeding, failing to come to a full stop on signals, and so on... this all seems like a new and significant tax burden. And how these devices and convenience have consequences.

Now, let's go further, into the realm of wearables.

Currently, individuals self-report their habits to their insurance companies and healthcare providers, with points like their smoking habits, alcohol consumption, fitness, diet and sleeping all subject to personal bias and inaccuracy. We all know that we should be completely honest about these habits to receive the best care, but when honestly might cost you more in premiums, it's easy to shade those points. And in a time of increasing pressure on employment and rising health care premiums, the occasional cigar or other choice coming back to bite you in the workplace is a serious point.

That's why, in a recent survey of workers in the UK, "free" wearables provided by an employer were seen as a non-starter, because the data would be used against the individual. It's also why, despite decades of "cyber slacking" at the job, many employers turn a blind eye to on the clock usage of social media or viewing non-work Web sites, so long as the usage doesn't become disruptive.

Selling the benefits of the IoT was never going to be that easy. After all, it's new tech, and as such, has a high barrier to entry for bleeding edge technology. But when it's served with a side of fear -- inevitably stoked by mass media -- that's going to be a real challenge.

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the RFP boxes at top right. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.

What's Deserved

Such as a champion...

Tonight in Oakland, the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a 52-year drought among professional sports teams in that city, by completing a 3-1 comeback against Golden State, who had the best regular season record in NBA history.

And I was struck, in the post-game comments, over the use of the word "deserved", as in how the fans of that city deserved a championship.

Now, perhaps I'm just being a little too doctrinaire on definitions here, and if you are going for splitting linguistic hairs from post-game athletes, you are probably going to be very disappointed routinely.

But fans don't actually deserve championships.

Being a good fan doesn't mean that you get to have a title passed down to you in equal allotments, because that's not how the game works. The good people of Cleveland may have been overdue for some good fortune, in that they were close a number of times, but that's far from deserving something.

It's kind of like how companies don't deserve good marketing or advertising, or business success. Hard work isn't enough; neither is a good product. Timing, strategy, personnel, an effective story in the marketplace... all are essential. But unlike sports, you can have more than one ultimate winner.

Oh, and one final point about this?

If the only time that you can be happy about your team is when they win a championship... you probably shouldn't be watching sports.

The Warriors made history this year, played beautiful basketball, and came within a couple of plays of repeating as NBA champions. Their fans might be disappointed tonight, and may be for some time to come, but in terms of memories, amazing play and entertainment, they got more than just about any team's fans ever.

And that Game Seven?

An utterly amazing game. One that neither team deserved to lose.

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the RFP boxes at top right. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.