CANNES – Within the current digital media ecosystem, it’s too easy to “mask over the blemishes of core data.” It’s this aspect of transparency in particular that marketers should be questioning, according to Matt O’Grady, CEO Nielsen Catalina Solutions.
“Transparency is unquestionably the table stakes at this point,” O’Grady says in this interview with Beet.TV at the recent Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
“It’s a lot more than viewability, it’s a lot more than preventing fraud. Everybody along the supply chain is responsible for transparency. I really think we’ve hit a tipping point where everybody is acknowledging that we’re all collectively responsible.”
He feels that Nielsen is in a unique position because its data offerings combine television ratings, digital ad ratings and purchase insights from consumer shopping panels. For marketers, everything should add up to top quality in both data and match rates.
“If it isn’t, you just have to acknowledge and be transparent with what can work and what does work. The responsibility is across the whole supply chain,” O’Grady says.
Cross-screen measurement and cross-screen access to advertisers has changed dramatically, he adds.
“I really think we’re at an inflection point for TV or TV content, premium video content, we can measure it. We have a holistic means to measure the impact across all these different channels and then add it up.”
O’Grady considers blockchain technology for advertising and media to “potentially be a very valuable tool” whose true utility remains to be proven. “It’s just not known yet.”
One key promise of blockchain is the security of data that blockchain participants agree to share. “I think there’s great promise there. But it’s very early stages.”
O’Grady likens the industry’s interest in blockchain to artificial intelligence and virtual reality “and I’ve yet to see an application for the advertising ecosystem that’s truly made an impact. Maybe on the creative side it has.
“But if blockchain’s really going to manage or improve that work stream, particularly in the programmatic space, there’s great need for improvement.”
This video is part of a series produced by Beet.TV at Cannes Lions 2018 about advertising accountability presented by Mediaocean. Please find more videos from this series here.
