Viewability isn’t just a digital problem, it’s an advertising problem
Be it switching channels, second screening, or simply getting up to go to the bathroom; advertising has had a viewability problem since long before digital entered the mix. Regardless of channel, our natural inclination is to avoid advertising, meaning marketers have got some work to do. VML’s Henry Innis explains.
Ask any marketer worth their salt to name the challenges they face, and you’re almost certain to find digital viewability as one of the big issues. Last year, for example, an audit of digital inventory found only 40% of local digital inventory was viewable.
Hearing that you only got 40% of the reach you paid for is concerning at best.
These problems all sound like they’re new. But truth is, they’re not. Viewability has been a growing issue for advertising over a number of years (starting with when we built the remote control).
Excellent piece. Going back to the apocryphal story of how the National Grid in the U.K. saw a surge during the ads on Coronation Street as the nation rose to put the kettle on, viewability isn’t a problem that started with digital.
But where we used to build in some slippage on traditional media, the problem is far worse in digital. Who knows anyone who chooses not to “skip ad” when they have the choice? And who pays any attention to a pre roll except to watch how long it lasts?
When information was scarce, media played a huge part in providing a medium for advertisers to sell beauty products, used cars, houses and jobs. Obviously all media owners would like that to still be the case in digital media.
I’m just not sure it is.
Step one is to address the content of the adds. I’m sure there are surveys about this to prove it…but I can’t be bothered looking so I will just give the anecdotal. Most people I know installed add blocker because they were getting pop-ups (rage inducing), borderline porn (nsfw) or viruses (actually criminal) from digital adds.
No-one, and I mean no-one, is going to be viewing your content when that’s the quality level.