What's the Next Step Beyond Viewability?

Originally posted on: eMarketer | October 20, 2018

Many marketers have moved past relying on impressions to measure the success of digital ad campaigns. Ensuring that an ad has the opportunity to be seen is vital, but that's only the start. eMarketer’s Bill Fisher spoke with Harry Harcus, managing director for the UK and pan-regional at programmatic media company Xaxis, about moving beyond the basics of viewability.
eMarketer:
Many marketers view the success of their digital ad campaigns in terms of the number of impressions. When you're measuring the success of a campaign, are you going beyond impressions?
Harry Harcus:
Impressions are OK, but they're basic. The fundamental problem with them is that they're distant from what a marketer or business is actually looking for. There's a lack of connection and accountability, and [impressions are] insufficient in helping marketers prove exactly how their advertising helps them build a brand or generate revenue, for instance.

 
eMarketer:
How important is viewability as a benchmark of success?
Harry Harcus:
Viewability has a very important role to play, because the exposure time of an ad correlates to important brand metrics such as ad lift,recall, brand awareness and brand perception. I think viewability is a value-based decision.