Biddable World 2014View Through Conversions – Not Worth The Paper They Aren’t Printed On?

Digital Advertising EvolutionUnderstanding Where We’ve Come From

Advertising is Everywhere

• Digital marketing sold on the last click

• Last click is now an “old” model, but still predominant

• Attribution difficult & expensive to do properly

• Attribution is very much an all or nothing activity

• Advertisers happy to run PR, Print & TV with an assumed brand uplift

• For Display additional value is not always obvious

Digital Demands Accountability

View Through Conversions

User Sees Ad, But Does Not

Click

User Visits Site Using Another

Channel & Converts

Ad Platform Ties Up

Conversion To Initial

Impression

• Not to be mistaken with click assisted conversions

• VTCs are essentially an uplift metric

• Primarily associated with Display, but Adwords also has impressions assists

• Not visible in Google Analytics or most other analytics packages

• Use of ad tracking software such as Doubleclick/Atlas/MediaMind will show impression assisted conversions across ad channels

View Through Conversions

The VTC Arguments

For• Brand exposure has a

lingering value• Display advertising

creates an intent rather than answering it

• Observable effect from TV and offline campaigns

• Large brands still engage in pure branding advertising

Against• Banner blindness• Digital advertising is so

noisy brand effects must be negligible

• Performance data shows low engagement

• Unseen impressions cannot affect the conversion, but are still counted

Ad Exposure Effects

• Mere exposure effect – repeated exposure to something leads to more favourable reaction

• Study* tested reader reactions to banners in a 5 page article where the ad was outside the focal area

• Findings were an increased ability to identify the brand (perceptual fluency)

• Increased fluency = increased positive evaluation of the ad/brand which can affect subsequent cognitive actions

Exposure Increases Affinity

*An Examination of Different Explanations for the Mere Exposure Effect - Fang, Singh, Ahluwalia, 2007.

Exposure Affects Other Channels

Source: The Silent Click: Building Brands Online

Exposure Affects Other Channels

Source: The Silent Click: Building Brands Online

Exposure Affects Site Engagement

Source: The Silent Click: Building Brands Online

Exposure Affects Site Engagement

Source: The Silent Click: Building Brands Online

• Improved targeting & audience identification

• RTB purchasing enables granular placement of ads

• Google taking steps to ensure ads only paid for if actually seen

• Can already tell whether an ad position is viewed within the browser

• Integrated use of advertising channels further increases effectiveness

Efficiencies Enhance The Effect

Forecasting & Measuring VTCsNeedles & Haystacks

Forecasting VTC Is Impossible

VTC Performance

Creative

Inventory

Immediacy

Budget

Season

Other marketing

• Need some understanding of previous VTC performance

• Uplift is dependent on activity within other channels

• Identifying uplift is difficult, but not impossible

• Extrapolation & correlation

• Correlation is not necessarily causation, but it’s a start

• Uplift could be in different metrics each time

Measuring VTC

• Client running a display campaign between 25th October and 16th December

• PPC is main driver of traffic, so looking at visitor number is self-serving

• Adwords display campaign, contextual targeting, no demographic preference, no managed placements

• Adwords reports 357 VTC delivered during period, 486 last click conversions (uploaded from GA)

Real Example

Real Example

Testing VTCs In Your Ad PlatformTesting The Concept

Simple A/B Ad Testing

Actual Ad

Secondary, Non-Branded Ad

100 Reported VTCs

0 Reported VTCs

Conclusion & TakeawaysThoughts for Future Planning

• VTCs are exactly what TV, Print, Outdoor, PR would like to report

• VTCs aren’t for everyone, but I recommend everyone assesses them

• Effects can be hard to find, harder to quantify

• Positive and negative testing is recommended

In Conclusion

Takeaway Suggestions

Keep an open mind

Don’t knee-jerk react – give the effects time

Test, test, and test again – scientific method as much as possible & don’t stagnate

Look in unexpected places & interrogate the data to find effects

Test your display platform

Takeaway Suggestions

Understand brand engagement value

Separate last click, assisted and VTC

Do not be afraid to reject VTCs or to accept them

Get buy-in from everywhere in your business

Always sanity check cost against value

Thank You For Listening!Questions:@natewoodwoodn@freshegg.com

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