Apples-to-apples measurement
ISpot’s relationship with TVision, via an investment late last year, also gives the company exclusive access to third-party co-viewing data from TVision’s 5,000-household panel on connected TV, including YouTube, whose own co-viewing data from its pop-up surveys of viewers has generated some criticism from buyers who don’t want to rely on self-reported data from media companies.
Muller acknowledged the tense relationship between one key set of iSpot clients—TV networks and YouTube—which are at odds over measurement issues and whether impressions should be weighted by content quality.
“What we’re trying to do is help advertisers understand delivery on an apple-to-apples basis,” Muller said. “That means impressions of a video, how much a video was played and the length of a video whether it’s a 15-second ad playing on YouTube or TNT. We think it’s important to know what screen it played on, and to apply the same qualifier for the impression.”
Advertisers, given access to the second-by-second data, can “use other [key performance indicators] to further assess effectiveness,” he said. “I think content quality will ultimately impact the length of time that a viewer spends watching an ad and the impact. Measurement on an apples-to-apples basis lets the advertiser ultimately determine effectiveness.”
