Brussels, 7th September 2017 - IAB Europe’s new Digital Measurement Priorities Report demonstrates that the priorities for driving brand investment into digital still lie in cross-media measurement and quality metrics.
The Report draws on a survey of 700+ buy and sell-side stakeholders from across Europe1. The results echo the findings of the first IAB Europe Digital Measurement Priorities Report2 highlighting that industry-wide solutions are to be found across these areas. This is particularly important in the context of the fact that digital ad spend now leads TV by over €7bn3 and investments in programmatic advertising continue to increase. The top three priorities coming out of the 2017 survey are:
Cross-media measurement
Both buy and sell-side stakeholders indicate that cross-media evaluation and a better understanding of how digital works in combination with other channels are important to drive more digital investment. In this context and as large advertisers continue to shift their brand advertising money into digital, stakeholders want to be able to measure TV and digital more than any other media combination.
IAB Europe’s efforts to drive effective cross-media measurement are focused on enabling cross-industry discussions and facilitating the development of common best practices and standards across Europe's borders via our Measurement Organisations Forum.
Integration with programmatic tools
Programmatic advertising has continued strong growth over the past few years and is now a €5.7bn market. More than 90% of stakeholders state that is it important for industry-agreed digital audience and effectiveness studies to be available in programmatic trading tools alongside measurement and trading data.
IAB Europe’s efforts in advancing programmatic trading across Europe are focused on enhancing transparency and education in key areas such as mobile and data.
Viewability and brand safety for underpinning quality digital advertising
As per ongoing industry discussions, viewability and brand safety are top of mind when it comes to determining contact or environment quality. All stakeholders agree that a move towards viewable rather than served impressions is important and in terms of contact quality, measuring the length of time an ad is in view, particularly for video, is top.
IAB Europe is working with EACA and WFA in a cross-industry European Viewability Initiative4 which aims to address improving the accuracy and consistency of measuring the viewability of delivered impressions which will be a vital step towards identifying realistic brand exposure levels and will help to make digital advertising more directly comparable with TV where ‘opportunity for the consumer to view’ or ‘opportunity to see’ an advertisement is the accepted tenet for brand advertising.
Townsend Feehan, CEO, IAB Europe, said: “It is now more critical than ever to reinforce the quality of the digital advertising environment to ensure that advertisers have strong confidence, and underpin the delivery of free content. Ensuring that viewable impressions are measured correctly and consistently across all markets in Europe is a key first step and the aim of the cross-industry European Viewability initiative.”
Bethan Crockett, Digital Risk Director, GroupM, said: “GroupM welcomes IAB Europe’s research which validates the need for ongoing industry focus on digital measurement and, in particular, full alignment and integration of independent measurement across all digital advertising technology and platforms.”
Ben Ward, Commercial Director, Mothercare Ireland, commented: “Mothercare Ireland warmly welcomes the research results from IAB Europe, the need for group studies and measurement is a key tool in assisting retailers, publishers and advertisers alike in better understanding the market and where best to focus their attention and budget. We find huge benefits in such collaborative studies and the learnings around their results form a key part of our digital decision making process.”
Daniel Bischoff, Marketing Director, RTL AdConnect said: “The IAB Europe research shows that we need to better understand, evaluate and present the real impact of ‘Total Video’. In order to unlock the vast potential of the ‘Total Video’ ecosystem for advertisers, the key tasks for our industry will be to enhance understanding of the effects of combining TV and digital video, to find smart ways of using data in digital purchasing processes and to realise that quality matters in digital as much as in any other media.
The report can be downloaded here.
To find out more about IAB Europe’s work in these key areas join the following events:
For more information, please contact:
Marie-Clare Puffett, IAB Europe (puffett@iabeurope.eu)
1About the IAB Europe Digital Measurement Priorities survey
In order to understand stakeholder priorities for digital measurement, IAB Europe has undertaken the second Digital Measurement Priorities survey. The first survey was undertaken in 2014 and so the report shows how some of the priorities have shifted.
The survey asked about the following areas:
2IAB Europe 2014 Digital Measurement Priorities Report
3IAB Europe AdEx Benchmark 2016 Report
4European Viewability Initiative
About IAB Europe
IAB Europe is the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising ecosystem. Its mission is to promote the development of this innovative sector and ensure its sustainability by shaping the regulatory environment, demonstrating the value digital advertising brings to Europe’s economy, to consumers and to the market, and developing and facilitating the uptake of harmonised business practices that take account of changing user expectations and enable digital brand advertising to scale in Europe.
Brussels, 7 September 2017 – Obstructing the collection and use of data in digital advertising would have serious and unintended consequences for the EU economy, for Europe’s independent media, and for the accessibility of the internet itself. These are the findings of new research exploring the likely impact of the ePrivacy Regulation proposed earlier this year by the European Commission as the next iteration of the infamous cookie law (Directive 2002/58/EC).
Digital advertising’s disappearing economic contribution
New analysis from the independent financial research company IHS Markit shows digital advertising contributing to €526 billion of the EU’s annual GDP, both directly and through the growth it enables for EU businesses[1]. However, up to half of the digital advertising market could disappear if proposed restrictions on the use of data in advertising came into force.
The IHS Markit analysis reveals that 66% of current digital advertising spend depends on data, and that the use of data drives 90% of annual growth in the digital advertising market. Data-driven advertising is over 500% more effective than advertising without data and is crucial for providing advertisers with transparency on who sees their ads. Because of this, advertisers will slash their investment in digital advertising if data can no longer be used.
Impoverishment of the media landscape
A halving of digital advertising spend would have serious consequences for the EU economy, and equally serious consequences for Europe’s media. Data-driven advertising increases the value of online advertising units by 300%, and the increase in value is particularly significant for smaller publishers, which would otherwise struggle to access digital advertising revenues[2]. IHS Markit’s econometric analysis predicts that the impact of restricting data in advertising would be 5x greater on smaller, independent publishers.
In its survey of 11,000 internet users in 11 EU countries, the market research company GfK explored attitudes to digital advertising, to sharing data, and to the prospect of paying for content[3]. It found that only 30% of Europeans are prepared to pay for content to replace digital advertising revenues, and the average amount they are prepared to pay (€3.8 per month) is far below the amount that news sites need to fund their journalism. With digital advertising spend plummeting and audiences refusing to pay, the outlook for publishers looks bleak. Restrictions on collection of data crucial for generating advertising revenues that fund journalism would reduce the ability of media organisations to deliver high quality content and services, which could have serious unintended consequences for the social and political landscape in Europe.
An internet that’s no longer accessible to all
The GfK study also revealed the likely impact of a decline in digital advertising revenues on the accessibility of the internet itself. More than two-thirds of Europeans (68%) have never paid for any of the online content or services that they use. When asked how their internet use would change if required to pay, 88% said that they would significantly reduce the amount of time that they spend online. In contrast, 69% said they were willing for their browsing data to be used in advertising, in order to access free content. Overall, 80% said that they prefer free content with advertising to paid-for content.
The unintended consequences of restricting data-driven advertising
“These findings should give MEPs very significant cause for concern as they consider the proposed ePrivacy Regulation,” said Townsend Feehan, CEO of IAB Europe. “The alternative to data-driven advertising isn’t just less targeted advertising – it’s a digital ad industry half the size that it is today. That has huge consequences for Europeans’ experience of the internet, for the EU economy and for the existence of a free and balanced media. The latest research shows that the appetite for paying for online content simply doesn’t exist to a viable degree amongst EU citizens. Ignoring this fact is a recipe for economic, social and political disaster.”
Full reports are available online: www.datadrivenadvertising.eu
Research co-funded by the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (IAB Europe).
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[1] The Economic Contribution of Digital Advertising in Europe – IHS Markit Study – published 2017.
[2] The Economic Value of Behavioural Targeting in Digital Advertising – IHS Markit Study – published 2017.
[3] Europe Online: An Experience Driven by Advertising – GfK Study – published 2017.
About IAB Europe
IAB Europe is the leading European-level industry association for the online advertising ecosystem. Its mission is to promote the development of this innovative sector and ensure its sustainability by shaping the regulatory environment, demonstrating the value digital advertising brings to Europe’s economy, to consumers and to the market, and developing and facilitating the uptake of harmonised business practices that take account of changing user expectations and enable digital brand advertising to scale in Europe.
Contacts:
Greg Mroczkowski
IAB Europe, Public Policy Manager
mroczkowski@iabeurope.eu
+32 (0) 4830 58 203
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Colombe Michaud
IAB Europe, Senior Communications Manager
michaud@iabeurope.eu
+32 (0) 495 193 830
The research company GfK conducted online surveys with over 11,000 internet users across 11 EU countries. They explored the types of content they access online, their attitudes to data-driven advertising, and their willingness to pay for content as an alternative to advertising.
Key findings include:
The research agency IHS Markit used interviews with advertisers, publishers and technology companies to help identify the role of data in digital advertising. With its proprietary database of advertising trends and econometric modeling techniques, it predicted the likely impact of the proposed ePrivacy Regulation, which in the current form will effectively to prevent the use of behavioural data for ads.
Key findings include:
IHS Markit updated its analysis of the economic contribution that digital advertising as a whole makes to the EU. This provides important context for the analysis of data-driven advertising’s value. This analysis used publicly available data, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment data. It includes digital advertising’s direct contribution through Gross Value Added, as well as its indirect, induced and wider effects. IHS Markit identified the contribution that digital advertising makes to revenue growth for advertisers, and also explored how different digital industries depend on advertising.
Key findings include:
Skin-based advertising company, Sublime Skinz, will reveal an enhanced mobile ad format at dmexco 2017 that delivers seamless video advertising to users
London, UK, 7 September 2017: Sublime Skinz, the leading solution for high-impact non-intrusive digital advertising, today announced it will launch a video update to its mobile ad format – M-Skinz – at this year’s dmexco exhibition. The enhanced format boasts vertical video display that fits seamlessly with the user’s browsing experience, fuelling the demand for premium video advertising on mobile.
M-Skinz is an intelligent format specifically designed for mobile web campaigns and consists of two banners positioned at the top and bottom of the screen, with a panel displaying the video campaign which appears when the user swipes to see it. The format has been developed in line with Sublime Skinz’s dedication to provide non-invasive advertising to advertisers and agencies, while taking steps to empower multi-device campaigns. The launch comes following recent reports predicting mobile video advertising spend to reach $6.82 billion a year by 2019.
Andrew Buckman, Managing Director EMEA at Sublime Skinz said: “We are delighted to launch the enhanced M-Skinz format, which meets the growing need for video content on mobile but – as with our other formats – continues to place the user first, delivering seamless advertising that is non-intrusive. It’s an exciting new area of development in digital advertising, and the new format has been optimised for vertical display, aligned with how users generally consume content on mobile. We have also developed another version for advertisers who may not yet have vertical capabilities, to allow them to perfectly integrate more traditional video assets.”
He added: “Positive ad experiences are essential for campaign efficiencies and are a fundamental element of all our product developments. The enhanced formats will be available on Sublime Skinz’s mobile inventory, which already includes mobile sites such as Macworld, sofeminine, Johnston Press, Netmums, and PC Advisor.”
To find out more about the new format visit Sublime Skinz at dmexco in Hall 6 / C071 – D078
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Sublime Skinz is a leading ad tech company specialising in the distribution and optimisation of skin-based advertising. It is the first platform of its kind to provide skin-based advertising on multiple devices, working with advertisers, publishers, media agencies, trading desks to drive efficient campaigns at scale.
Sublime Skinz provides actionable statistics and transparent insights in real time, allowing brands to capitalise on the most impactful format with the greatest coverage across multiple websites. Sublime Skinz works with a clear objective to maximise revenues and optimise return on ad investments.
Founded in 2012, the Paris-based company has developed an international reach with offices in London, San Francisco and New York, and boasts an impressive network integrated with more than 3,500 websites worldwide. Sublime Skinz was honoured as the ‘audience favourite’ winner of the Launch: Silicon Valley World Cup Tech in 2014, and in 2016 was awarded Ernst & Young’s ‘Born Global’ prize and Business France’s ‘International Trophy of Digital Business.’
For more information, please visit www.sublimeskinz.com.
Kay Seago, Senior Account Executive
Tel: +44 (0)203 642 1124
Description of the event
Evolution Lab 2017 is an advertising agency gathering where national agency associations’ directors, international advertising and media agency networks, academics, top agency executives and advertisers meet to network and to discuss burning industry issues and future needs. It is organised by the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA).
On 17 October 2017, there will be a full-day conference on ‘Advertising in the age of artificial intelligence’. It will gather players from across the ad industry to debate how artificial intelligence will change the ad industry, how agencies can accommodate these changes and lead them, and how to ensure that graduates have the skills needed to thrive in the changing market. The conference will feature speakers from different industry players, communications agencies and the European Parliament.
The highlight of #EvoLab is the Euro Effies Awards Gala, which takes place in the evening of the same day. It is the only internationally credible marketing communications effectiveness awards for multi-national European campaigns.
Join the event find out more! For more information, please click here
In a matter as important as our privacy in the digital environment, it is my hope that we begin to move beyond simplistic platitudes, and dive deeper into the actual and foreseeable consequences of the proposed ePrivacy Regulation. Far too often the debate doesn’t get beyond clichés like: "The right to privacy is fundamental and cannot be questioned"; "Consumer trust is the basis for growth," or "consent requirements will strengthen the market position of legacy media." These may be great slogans, but the severe consequences of the proposed ePrivacy Regulation do not seem to be properly understood.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU states that “Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, home and communications”. However, that right does not exist in a legal vacuum, and needs to be balanced against other fundamental rights and considerations. Respect for private life does not mean the right to absolute anonymity in either public spaces or on the domain of others. For example, you would not question not being allowed to enter a drug store wearing a mask. Actually, you would probably find it very discomforting if you suddenly were surrounded by masked people. Yet on the internet, it’s often considered a violation of your privacy if you’re given a cookie ID, the online equivalent of unmasking a customer. When we implement the respect for privacy in a digital context, we have to take a hard look at the actual consequences of those implementations.
Another problem in the debate is the constant tendentious interpretations of biased surveys. It’s the oldest trick in the propaganda book: You ask people if they think something obvious is important and most will naturally agree, and then you present the prominent level of support as if there is an urgent demand for imposing new regulation. Here you ask people if they want personal information on their computers to be protected or their e-mail to be confidential, and of course the overwhelming majority answers “yes”. This outcome is now being used to justify a new prohibitive ePrivacy Regulation. Ignoring the fact, that it is already illegal to conduct secret tracking and there is a very strict regulation for processing personal information.
There is also the common misconception that prohibiting targeted advertising would strengthen the market position of legacy media. The reasoning is that Google and Facebook have conquered almost the entire growth of digital advertising revenue over the last 10 years by outperforming the rest of the market using their massive amount of user data for targeting – this much is true. But the theory seems to be, if the use of data for advertising is practically prohibited, advertisers would have to resort to old-fashioned contextual advertising again for the benefit of the news media. This wish to turn back time is more sentimental and naive than it is realistic. Advertisers would have many better alternatives.
The ePrivacy Regulation does not prohibit data in advertising - it only requires prior consent. Big successful players like Google and Facebook already have consent, and are in a prime position to obtain it where they don’t already have it. Legacy media do not have the same user relationship and login services, and they are the ones who are likely to be hurt the most by the added requirements and European news media will have their advertising product weakened considerably and their user experience hurt by well-intentioned privacy protection.
Data and privacy protection is a complex area that requires a nuanced regulative approach and not an over-simplistic blanket approach to technology and markets that only works on paper. So, let’s get past this tiresome push for a “consent-for-everything-quick-fix” and work on some real solutions that allow for transparent data-driven advertising, informed user control and really respects everyone’s digital private life.
