LAS VEGAS – With almost 75% of YouTube viewing happening on mobile devices, it’s no surprise that tech giant Google wants to be part of the quest for uniform metrics for cross-platform measurement. Because while it is quick to point out the challenges facing traditional television, the company also benefits from helping advertisers straddle digital and TV for their ad campaigns.
In an interview at the annual Nielsen Consumer 360 event, Google’s VP of Global Brand Solutions & Innovations discussed the success of programs like Google Preferred and Ad Blitz. Lucas Watson says it’s “been a good year” for Google before making an observation of his TV brethren.
“Obviously I think the TV market continues to push price increases across successfully but they’re also challenged for total volume,” Watson says. “Ratings continue to be challenged particularly with the younger demos.” Nonetheless, he adds, “TV also is in great demand as people continue to watch it.”
Google Preferred aggregates YouTube’s top content (think Marques Brownlee and The Verge) into easy-to-buy packages for advertisers. “We continue to see great demand for Google Preferred,” Watson says. Around the Super Bowl, Google sells a program called Ad Blitz, which helps amplify brands’ investments in their Super Bowl spots “because a lot of the passion for the game and the advertising actually happens on YouTube,” Watson explains. TV stars like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel “are selling quite successfully across the two platforms to allow advertisers to work both sides.”
Watson mentions a recent blog post by GroupM’s Rob Norman detailing the “spectrum of video experiences” and contrasts videos running “a couple of seconds” on Facebook and 30-second videos on YouTube that consumers have chosen to watch. The industry needs solutions that will allow advertisers to understand the “spectrum of engagement they got from the consumer and they’ll have to make a price-value equation on each one of those investment choices,” Watson says.
“Certainly we’d love to be well represented in the digital ad rating and we’re working hard with Nielsen to get there,” he says.
This video is part of series produced at Consumer 360. The series is sponsored by Nielsen. Please visit this page for additional segments.
