Measuring the performance of an online video campaign can seem like a Las Vegas buffet; so much to choose from, that you are more than likely to end up with more on your plate than you can digest. But fear not! Not every metric is equally important, and only a few are critical to gauge the performance of your campaign.

In a new report “Measuring Video Ads: Metrics for Brand Advertisers”, eMarketer’s David Hallerman quotes a survey that asked advertisers which metrics they would consider most important for measuring online video. Not surprisingly, ‘user interaction’ came in first.

The majority of advertisers have hit the nail on its head; interaction is the most important metric that they should be measuring. The MediaMind equivalent, Dwell Rate, which measures mouse roll-overs lasting more than one second, indicates how many users have actually noticed the video, and was linked in previous research to a lift in brand metrics. Average Dwell Time, which is the MediaMind equivalent for ‘time spent’, was also rated by advertisers in the top three metrics.

While nearly all metrics on this list come as a standard from your campaign management platform, ‘increase in brand awareness’, which was rated as the second most important metric for online video, comes at a steep price. While there is no doubt that it may be the best measure for the branding effect of the video, it can only be obtained through expansive market research. When considering the accessibility of all other metrics, advertisers and marketers should consider whether ‘increase in brand awareness’ is worth the considerable extra cost.

‘Purchase’, typically used to measure direct response, was selected as the fourth most important metric. This shows that many advertisers and marketers still think about online video as a direct response medium, and not as a branding tool – equivalent to TV ads. ‘Completion Rate’ may pose a challenge for measuring online video as most users do not click stop, and the ad keeps playing as long as they are still on the page even if they are not watching.

Thus ‘Completion Rate’ may not be a sign that people watched the full video. Dwell Rate and Dwell Time may give a better indication of that. ‘Impact on search behavior’ is one of the most interesting metrics on the list. It enables advertisers to see whether users have retained the message from the video and what keywords they subsequently searched for. While it may require some work to drive insights from the overlap between search and display, it is one of the most powerful metrics for branding.

Last, the ‘number of times forwarded’ is a powerful metric to measure the viral effect of a video ad. However, the vast majority of users are not going to forward your video to their friends, and therefore this metric should complement the others, not replace them.

Ariel Geifman

Principal Analyst, MediaMind Research

The Holiday Season is approaching fast, and retailers are already planning their campaigns for the most important buying season of the year. One out of every three retail impressions is delivered in November and December, and the competition for every customer is fierce.

Yet, this year more consumers are going to make their purchase decision while browsing and before even setting foot in the store or the mall. 22% of consumers told Forrester that they use search engines and comparison shopping sites to get the best deal, while 13% compare products online to reduce the number of stores that they visit. Therefore, online display plays even a greater role in bringing consumers to the store.

New research by MediaMind outlines straightforward and valuable insights to help retail advertisers achieve higher performance for every dollar that they spend on online display. It draws on MediaMind’s proprietary data accumulated from billions of impressions and thousands of campaigns. The research addresses the following challenges facing retailers:

• How many impressions are needed to bring a prospect to your site and how many to generate a sale?

• What type of online ads are eRetailers and brick and mortar retailers using?

• What online environments and sites deliver the best results?

• What is the optimal exposure frequency, and when does performance start declining?

• What performance threshold should you expect for your regional market?


Find answers to these issues and many more valuable insights in MediaMind’s exclusive retail research. To download the research, click here.




Ariel Geifman, Principal Analyst

Targeting data appears as one of the great promises of online advertising. There are many benefiters: advertisers can find the users who are most likely to respond to their message and avoid waste of marketing dollars, publishers can better monetize their content and keep providing it free to users, and users can get more relevant advertising on new products and services that they are interested in.
However, as the data is becoming more robust, user privacy advocacy groups and legislators raised concerns that some of the data maybe personally identifiable. Some groups are lobbying for legislation placing limitations on targeting. Nevertheless, even as the use of data is facing more scrutiny by legislators, advertisers do not seem to be concerned.

(more…)

When Hyundai decided to run a cross channel search and display campaign, they wanted to get visibility to the entire journey that users take. Hyundai wanted to follow users from viewing their Rich Media ad on a homepage or on an automotive site, through searching for the brand until scheduling a test drive on their site.

This was easy with Channel Connect for Search. CC4S provided integrated reporting and analytics at the user level for every touch point with the campaign and demonstrated how each channel contributed to the overall results of the campaign.

Leveraging data, Hyundai was able to increase campaign performance dramatically. “We were able to boost Hyundai’s return on investment by increasing test drives by 14%,” said David Fernandez, Managing Director at Reprise Media.
“Using MediaMind’s advanced technology; we were able to completely understand the consumer journey through multiple display channels and their relationship with search engines. Ultimately, we delivered 22% more traffic by reducing click costs through an integrated online campaign”.

For the full case study, click here.




Ariel Geifman | Principal Analyst, MediaMind Research

Already at 11:30 am I started feeling the thrill.  At 11:55 I went on Gilt.com and started refreshing the page.  Finally it happened.  Exactly at noon, the site started another sale of luxury brands. 

I immediately went browsing with full force—my chance of owning an Ermenegildo Zegna, for 70% off, or just for a few hundred bucks.  Apparently, however, I wasn’t the only one there, and within minutes all that was left was empty online shelves.


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Gilt Groupe is an invitation only site that sells designer brands in up to 70% off their retail price.  Each sale lasts for 36 hours and is then removed from the site.  The sales are first come first served, and the number of items is limited, so typically many items are sold out a short time after the sale begins.


What has made a calculated guy like me go wild and be willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a whim on items that I am not even sure that I am going to wear?  What is that spell that Gilt casts on its members that pushes them to spend?  Gilt is using three powerful techniques that can help any advertiser get better performance and increase sales on his or her campaign:

• Perceived value – As the famous phrase of many infomercials go:  “you’re not spending, you’re saving.  Gilt provides their members the sense that they are getting a great deal that they cannot get anywhere else.
•  Time limit – Buy now or be silent forever.  As each sale is for a limited time, you are constantly under pressure to make the purchase immediately.
• Value of scarcity – There is limited stock from every item.  Items are also sold out pretty quickly.  Therefore, start practicing the art of browsing without blinking.  If you like a specific item, you need to make a decision on the spot, or it’s gone.

When combined, all of these techniques push even the most astute consumer to an online shopping spree.  Try any combination of these techniques in the message of your ads to push users to action now, and you too should be able to get users to pull out their credit card.



 

Ariel Geifman | Principal Analyst, MediaMind Research






 

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