Robert Williams

Audience measurement and verification are a cornerstone of a properly functioning media market, helping buyers and sellers of advertising to negotiate prices fairly. After the Media Rating Council last year suspended its accreditation of Nielsen’s TV ratings services, trade group VAB renewed its call for changes to the way viewership is tabulated. “We had had […]

Advertisers and media companies have been pushing for improvements in the measurement of television viewing. After ratings stalwart Nielsen lost accreditation from the Media Rating Council, there is greater urgency to develop alternative methods of audience measurement – and the related currencies for ad transactions – as the upfront sales season approaches. “I’m extraordinarily excited […]

Households that have hooked up their TVs directly to the internet not only have more programming choices, but they also have more control over the viewing experience. As they stream their favorite content on demand, marketers can develop new strategies to reach audiences whose viewing isn’t limited to day parts. “Media owners today aren’t confined […]

Showing different commercials to different viewers during the same TV shows promises to make advertising much more efficient for marketers. With that incentive, addressable TV is forecast to grow as media companies continue to adopt technology to personalize the viewing experience for consumers. “As advanced targeting continues to become more standardized, it’s becoming easier to […]

Television viewership underwent a significant shift in the past couple of years, as consumers sought to keep themselves entertained and informed while stuck at home. While the pandemic helped to expose the deficiencies in audience measurement, it also has been a major catalyst in the drive to develop a wider variety of measurement currencies. Sean […]

Consumers are dividing their screentime among a wider variety of devices, challenging marketers to get a unified view of their target audiences. Media and entertainment giant NBCUniversal is working to provide those insights by aggregating data from its different businesses and their touchpoints with millions of consumers. “We need to consolidate in a privacy-first, transparent […]

The major shift in people’s television viewing habits between traditional linear television and streaming video has challenged advertisers and media companies to measure that activity more accurately. Marketers are demanding metrics that help them to avoid oversaturating some media channels while neglecting others. “It’s clear that advertisers are having a problem seeing this in their […]

The introduction of the smartphone extended the time that many consumers spend with media throughout the day. Still, advertisers have only so many moments to get people’s attention as they divide their time among a wider variety of media channels. Marketers also have more tools to help understand the quality and quantity of attention. “The […]

CHICAGO – The growth of the influencer industry is a sign of how people can emerge from obscurity to become celebrities almost overnight on global social media platforms. Whether it’s teenage girl Charli D’Amelio, the most followed person on TikTok, or Khaby Lame, who amassed a mass audience with his parodies of life hack videos […]

The audiences for ad-free streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ have coincided with significant investments in content. That programming includes scripted shows that generate buzz and win awards, but are expensive to produce. “We continue to think that viewing of professional video is going to roughly relate to spending on content,” Brian Wieser, global president […]

Livestreamed shopping videos that let viewers buy products in real time are becoming more popular as the ecommerce marketplace continues to evolve. Social media companies including Twitter are developing more tools to help merchants create a shopping livestream to convert viewers into paying customers. “Looking at the market overall, commerce on mobile is actually expected […]

Consumers have more ways than ever before to get news, information and entertainment, challenging marketers to stand out with their latest advertising campaigns. The pandemic added to this transformation of the media marketplace as millions of people spent more time at home, connecting with the outside world through television, computer and mobile screens. Media consumption […]

Wendy’s has carved out a distinct personality on social network Twitter, dishing out caustic wit along with the latest news about the burger chain’s new menu items or promotional offers. That content helped Wendy’s to become one of the most followed brands on social media, but it’s still only one part of its broader strategy […]

Social networks solidified their role as digital lifelines for millions of people when they were stuck at home during pandemic lockdowns. That dynamic included LinkedIn, the professional networking platform that Microsoft acquired five years ago. “We’ve seen communities come together in ways that we’ve never witnessed before. The community bonds have strengthened around the world,” […]

Marketers have sought to improve their audience targeting in such a way that viewers welcome advertising as much as quality content. Ad personalization vies with consumer privacy, while advancements in technology and data analysis aim to improve the customer experience. “Technology has advanced so much that now advertising itself has become the experience,” Amy McGovern, […]

Ecommerce has emerged as an enticing opportunity for media companies as advertisers seek to drive engagement and business outcomes through lower parts of the purchase funnel. Livestream shopping marks the next stage in the evolution of direct-response television amid as content and commerce intermix among a wider variety of media channels. “Livestream shopping is something […]

As much as marketers want to reach target audiences, they also want their advertising to appear within brand-safe content that engages viewers. Contextual advertising has regained some of its former luster as audience-buying strategies face greater challenges. “Over recent years, you’ve seen a real focus on audience buying, and there has been a shift where […]

Marketers will increase their spending on social media advertising by more than 21% this year, Dentsu forecast this week. The agency said ecommerce will be an important driver of this growth as brands seek sales conversions directly within social media apps. Twitter is among the social media platforms that seek to prolong consumer engagement with […]

Technology will keep changing the way marketers tell stories about their brands as they seek to engage consumers on digital platforms. Social commerce, metaverses and blockchain systems are three trends whose importance will become more apparent throughout 2022. “Social commerce is one of these massively growing areas of both engagement and brand interest, and we’ve […]

Brand storytelling is evolving as marketers engage consumers through a wider variety of media channels. Those engagements offer a richer set of data signals to help advertisers improve the performance of their campaigns throughout every stage of the purchase funnel. “We’ve been pushing very hard with our clients at PHD that brand and performance needs […]