According to the IABNZ’s 2018 Interactive Advertising Spend Report, digital advertising spend per annum has grown from just under $200m in 2008 to over $900m in 2018 – an increase of over 350 percent. Not surprisingly, this is a result of advertisers following increasing digital consumption by New Zealanders. Nielsen research has found that over the course of an average week, 47 percent of Kiwis access the internet from four or more different locations, with one-third of people accessing the internet from three or more different devices.
Furthermore, New Zealanders aged 15 years and above spend on average nearly 18 hours a week online; an increase of more than three hours a week online compared to 2015. But what does this increasingly digital consumer mean for advertisers? When it comes to weekly time spent watching video content, the television screen is still the most watched by a country mile with New Zealanders spending on average close to 23 hours watching video on the TV screen.
While coming from a smaller base, we continue to see double digit growth in the weekly time spent watching video content on PCs (19 percent), mobile phones (23 percent) and tablets (28 percent). This makes it increasingly important to invest in digital campaign audience measurement making it comparable with what is available for television.
Metric Mania
Parallel to the rise of digital media is the availability of multiple metrics available for measuring campaign effectiveness: from clicks and likes to cost per click and dwell time. Many advertisers, marketers and media buyers assume that every digital campaign is reaching its target audience, however this is not always the case. And the various tools available have led to confusion in the marketplace about the validity and ability to cross-compare.
In a joint study of 500 marketers by Nielsen and the Association of National Advertisers, 70 percent of marketers currently use a variety of metrics specific to individual screens, but nearly 80 percent would prefer to use a consistent, comparable set across all screens.
Comparable Metrics
It’s vital that advertisers be able to measure digital campaign performance across all platforms and devices using comparable metrics to TV campaigns. Nielsen created Digital Ad Ratings (DAR) to meet this need.
Depending on the demographic target and the category, a campaign’s benchmarks can range significantly. DAR can measure the results effectively, so advertisers know when their campaigns are reaching their intended audience and when they’re not.
The service provides overnight reporting of the campaign’s de-duplicated reach, frequency, GRPs, impressions and on-target percent across devices. The service was developed to be a true cross-platform view of digital audiences through a dynamic, intuitive user interface. This means that marketers can ensure brand messages reach their desired audiences most effectively to maximise return on media investment.
The New Digital Marketer
Reliable audience measurement is critical. The ability to view precise measurements that validate your audience reach, while building benchmarks to more strategically plan for future digital campaigns. By understanding and quantifying the audience, advertisers can optimise campaigns in-flight. These key components allow for better return on investment as you are monetising based on people rather than simply impressions.
Transparency in Digital Measurement
Digital advertising spend has recently come under more scrutiny from many major advertisers, which a shift in transparency can combat. Utilising robust measurement tools such as Digital Ad Ratings, that deliver results that are comparable to other media, will separate your brand from the rest of the pack.
- Tony Boyte, director: [email protected]
