Media Buys Are Still Based on Eyes, but Demand for Measured Ad Results Is Growing: Ad Age

In the article “So Much for Engagement, Buys Are Still Based on Eyes,” Ad Age writes that ‘ for all the talk about engagement, top marketers and their media buyers still consider reach the No.1 criteria when they are framing their media plans and making their purchases.” This finding comes from Advertiser Perceptions’ “Wave Eight” survey of 2,047 top marketers and media buyers. Less than half of those surveyed ranked engagement among their top five criteria when buying media.

The author seems surprised, but I wonder how engagement can possibly be ranked any higher if no one really knows what engagement is and how to measure it? The same article quotes Steve Lanzano, COO at Havas media agency as saying: “… a lack of consensus about how to define engagement as well as the need for varying engagement metrics for different brands still makes it difficult to make deals on…” I think engagement is one of those buzz words that sound good, but are hard to apply to everyday reality.

Eyeballs are still the predominant goal for media planners at the moment, but only because reach is the most accepted legacy yardstick that originated at the height of TV reign, around which media research giants like Nielsen built their ratings industries. The demand for something more results-oriented is on the rise, the survey confirms: ” … the big media spenders plan to pour more dollars into digital in the next six months, which could be construed as a vote for a medium that allows targeting and a high level of measurability … … in online buys, it is the ad results (defined as accountability, effectiveness, return on investment and impact on awareness) that count,” writes Ad Age’s Megan MCilroy.

The survey data suggests that buys of broadcast TV, ’still the primary reach vehicle in most marketers’ minds’, will be close to flat, while online, cable TV and mobile marketing will see an increase in spending. National and local newspapers and radio will be the ‘big losers’ in the advertising pie battle, based on the study.

According to the charts illustrating the article, spending on Outdoor will remain largely the same following a rise last year. I don’t know if the study factored in the new legislation permitting digital billboards in the US, which definitely gave the industry a jolt at the end of 2007.

Add comment January 27th, 2008