The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has urged the industry to update its views on online metrics and work collaboratively to develop standard measurement metrics across the industry.
The absence of a standard way of measuring website “hits”, which is currently an adhoc process of collecting tag data from cookies and panels, is impeding the growth of online as advertisers remain sceptical of their bang for buck.
Speaking at AIMIA's 6th Future of Digital Advertising conference in Sydney this week , Paul Fisher, CEO of the IAB Australia, called for an end to online metrics like “unique browser” in place of a more accountable and truthful metric.
“I’d like to see the death of ‘unique browsers,'” Fisher said.
“We can no longer hold our heads up high and say unique browser is the metric we use to measure. Let’s find a metric that works, that people believe in.”
He added that the inaccuracies surrounding cookie deletion and multiple IP addresses, with consumers accessing the same sites from home and office computers, has bred a lack of confidence among advertisers.
“Advertisers are interested in reach but they want a people figure not a cookie figure,” he said.
The launch of Nielsen Online’s hybrid measurement system, a combination of panel-based and tag-based by mid year, is expected to lift the industry’s credibility. And a focus on “research, research, research”, Fisher said, will aim to prove the benefits of online advertising beyond reach and frequency to brand building and effectiveness. A combination of faster and cheaper broadband, more wireless coverage and the launch of a National Broadband Network in Australia this year will also boost the industry.
In anticipation of the new online advertising expenditure report by PricewaterhouseCoopers released in two weeks, Fisher said fourth quarter numbers will inevitably show how the industry has been stung by the recent downturn but will still result in overall growth for 2008. He said expenditure will be up 19% for the 2008 calendar year to $1.6 billion. Growth is expected to increase by 20% to $1.8 billion in the 2008-2009 financial year and reach $1.9 billion in the 2009 calendar year.
In the mobile space, Jennifer Wilson, principal of consultancy firm Lean Forward, addressed the conference on the host of opportunities the device presents to advertisers.
She said: “There are 21 million Australian mobile users and the personal highly nature of the device sees 96% if SMS messages responded to within 20 minutes. That’s very different to email.”
She warned, however, that the intimate nature of mobile means marketers and advertisers need to be wary of sending content that is irrelevant or not targeted, adding: “engaging with consumers on mobiles means having less pages, not more, having mobile enabled websites and recognising that consumers may be paying to get your message, so make it worth their while.” Remembering where the mobile market is, is also vital, Wilson said.
“Out of a market of 21.5 million handsets, less than 2% are iPhones and five million are 3G handsets.”
However mobile advertising is growing, making up 10% or between $200 million to $250 million of total online expenditure. Advertisers should be increasingly thinking about how mobile fits into the advertising mix, with the potential to offer a secondary experience for consumers in conjunction with other mediums, Wilson said.
Meanwhile, the IAB has appointed Annik Skelton, formerly of the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA), as manager, industry services, and MCN’s Tim Johnson has been r-elected by IAB Australia members to the rotating IAB Australia Board seat for 2009. Three new industry councils have been formed by the IAB Australia including Research, Standards and Guidelines and Measurement.
