Less BS, More Facts, Some Opinions
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Nielsen’s numbers will remain the main currency that advertisers and TV networks use as the basis of ad buys agreed upon in this year’s annual upfront negotiations. However, they will begin to seed alternative measurement providers as secondary, or “shadow,” currencies — and in some cases as primary currencies for individual campaigns — in order to establish the baselines needed if they are to eventually replace Nielsen as the primary currency, according to TV network and agency executives.
“If 100% of dollars [were transacted based on Nielsen’s numbers in the upfront] last year, this year that may be 90%. But we do expect to see 30% to 40% of clients trialing or parallel-pathing,” said one agency executive, referring to the practice of tracking alternative providers’ measurements in parallel to Nielsen’s.
For the most part, these secondary currencies will play the role of understudy to Nielsen’s measurements. Upfront deals will be guaranteed against Nielsen’s numbers, but measurement providers like iSpot.tv and VideoAmp will be set up to have their numbers tracked in tandem to Nielsen’s.
This tracking will be designed to address the fact that one reason Nielsen is so difficult for TV ad buyers and sellers to wean themselves off of is because of the years — often decades — of measurement data on which upfront deals are set. That being said, advertisers are also faced with adjusting to new measurements from Nielsen. Not only did the Media Rating Council confirm that Nielsen had incorrectly counted TV viewership during the pandemic, including out-of-home audiences of people watching at restaurants, bars, etc., spurring Nielsen to correct its methodology, but the company is also preparing to launch its new cross-platform measurement product Nielsen One in December 2022.
“This year is all about the learning, the testing the methodology. Really understanding it all, the correlations between other measurements and what we have historically from clients in planning and [media mix modeling],” said a second agency executive.
Some advertisers will go beyond using the Nielsen alternatives as secondary currencies, though, and instead designate them as primary currencies for individual campaigns or for data-driven linear ad buys — i.e. ads that are bought against specific shows because their audiences over-index in advanced targeting categories, like households that own pets or people in the market for a new home — according to agency executives.
“We want to try to transact and actually guarantee on [non-Nielsen measurements], not overall but to do a few deals in the 2022-23 upfront,” said a third agency executive. “I don’t think there will be a Nielsen upheaval by any means, but we’re doing the work now across several different [TV] network groups to understand what the data looks like.”
“This upfront will see either shadow currencies or trades being made on new currencies despite their gaps. We may also see a few clients move to outcome-based currency models,” said the first agency executive.
TV networks groups have already begun to spotlight Nielsen alternatives that could be adopted as currencies for this year’s upfront deals. ViacomCBS, for example, has deals in place with Comscore and VideoAmp. NBCUniversal, meanwhile, has added iSpot.tv as a certified measurement provider. The networks’ eventual aim is to be able to provide multiple measurement options for advertisers to adopt as currencies.
Asked whether TV network owners will adjust upfront deals’ structure to incentivize advertisers and their agencies to support secondary currencies this year, one TV network executive said they won’t. “It’s in both of our interests [to support non-Nielsen measurements]. I don’t think we need to incentivize them. They’re trying to do the best they can on behalf of their clients. It is up to us to offer them options on how they want to guarantee,” said the network executive.
How many options, though? NBCUniversal’s measurement framework has identified seven measurement providers as “currency contenders.” But the executives interviewed for this article believe that eventually the number of measurement providers universally supported as currencies will be no more than five and more likely three, with one of those spots going to Nielsen.
However, it will be some time until the final buffet of currency options is confirmed. There remain considerations like how to reconcile the different measurement methodologies and corresponding gaps that exist among the providers, for example. And then there’s the aforementioned fact that advertisers are moving from an era in which they had a single source of truth for decades to a current landscape in which they will have to verify a new world order.
“A year’s not going to cut it,” said a fourth agency executive. Having said that, “it’s really smart for us to have something to track for a while and see what’s happening.”
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Alesha Williams Boyd will become the first woman of color editor-in-chief at Mashable on Jan. 31 – cracking the typically white male-dominated ranks of top editors at publications that cover tech and digital culture. Previously the senior digital director at USA Today Network, she spoke with Digiday about the “persistent” gender and diversity gap in tech, and how she hopes to build on Mashable’s coverage in this area to make it accessible to a larger audience.
Williams Boyd will report to Ronak Patel, svp of publishing at Ziff Media Group, the parent company of Mashable. She will oversee a team of over 50 reporters, editors and writers, including Mashable’s U.K. and Australia teams. At the USA Today Network, Williams Boyd led a team of about 150 digital journalists in over 100 newsrooms. She also helped lead audience engagement and optimization strategies for USATN’s social media and newsletter efforts.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
I think you might be one of the only women of color leading a tech publication’s newsroom right now. What is the significance of that to you?
There’s clearly this persistent digital divide. There are challenges for women of color and the talent is out there, the skills are out there, the leadership is out there. It’s up to us as leaders and organizations to make that effort and do the searches, to make sure that we are reaching out connecting with the right pipelines to grow that talent and move those folks into leadership roles. We have this gap in gender and diversity. Young boys are being pushed into STEM and girls are still being pushed into other areas. Women and diverse groups are more driven to tech-driven job displacement, too. We need women in these spaces to help shape what tech looks like so we are not left out of the future. We see this over and over again. We can’t shape this world if we’re not in the room where these decisions are happening.
Will diversity be an area of focus for you at Mashable – both in terms of future hiring and coverage?
I haven’t walked through the door just yet – but I know it’s definitely going to be part of the conversation. Tech journalism can play a huge role in what we’re talking about in this conversation. We want to make it accessible, explanatory and reach audiences where they are, to have those conversations. Mashable has done such wonderful work to be inclusive. I want to build on that, like the content around accessibility. What we can do to build as we go forward is every organization wants to be better at connecting with diverse audiences and creating content that diverse audiences want to consume. I think we can be strategic about that – intentional about that. I think this newsroom is excited about doing that and is passionate about diversity and inclusion. We want to continue to build on the work that Mashable has already done looking at that gap for diversity, for women in tech. [Williams Boyd later added in an email: “We’ll certainly be taking a look at how we can build on Mashable’s efforts to incorporate diverse voices into what we do, whether that’s through our sourcing, partnerships, hiring and freelancers, or continuing to elevate diverse voices already in the room.”]
What will be your No. 1 focus as editor in chief for the first part of this year?
I’ve spoken to Ronak about this at length: My first order of business is just listening. I’m having one-on-ones with the entire newsroom. I want to hear from journalists what they’re passionate about, what work they’ve done that they’re proud of, what kind of content they’ve created that’s really resonated with audiences – and continue to build on that. You can dictate a grand vision but it doesn’t mean a whole lot if you haven’t spoken to the journalists who are doing the work. You need to have those conversations and build a vision together. Leading a large team means we’ve got leaders within this group, and we really want to be able to listen and empower them to help the group grow in the spaces that they want to grow.
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Jess Weiner is described as passionate, but practical by her peers. She has a knack for spotting cultural trends and translating them into something brands can tap into to create meaningful campaigns while still turning a profit.
Throughout her nearly 30-year-career, global brands like Barbie and Dove have turned to the 48-year-old, Californian to help them tap into culture as shoppers become more persistent about brand purpose and more advertising adverse.
Weiner’s official title is cultural expert and CEO of Talk to Jess, a consultancy that specializes in helping brands become more inclusive and culturally fluent. She’s also a speaker, podcast host and best selling author who has worked with clients like Aerie by American Eagle, Warner Bros., and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield real estate company since the early 2000s. In her role, she spends a lot of time making connections and building community relationships on behalf of companies.
“She is so clearly in the lane of what she has a passion for, understands and believes in. She demonstrates that and that excites people,” said Nathan Baynard, vp of global brand marketing for Barbie and the dolls portfolio at Mattel. Baynard and Weiner first crossed paths when Mattel brought Weiner in to aid in launching a new, diverse line of Barbie dolls in 2016 to better compete in a crowded toy market and boost lagging sales.
What makes Weiner good at what she does and stand out from other brand consultants, she said, is her ability to tap into culture, understand underrepresented communities, and translate that for C-suite executives looking to stay relevant in an ever changing world, Baynard added. He recalled Weiner’s work with Barbie, where she steered an advisory council, facilitating a direct line of communication between consumers and the brand to help direct the toy maker’s marketing and advertising efforts.
“A few years ago we were out of step and Jess was really the one of the main components getting us back to where we needed to be,” Baynard said. It made an impact for the brand as sales reportedly spiked 16% compared to the same period last year, according to USA Today.
Mattel has been one of Weiner’s clients for years. But beyond Barbie, the cultural expert has worked with the global brand to launch its first gender-inclusive doll line. She has also worked with Disney to guide the brand through its rollout of new princesses during an era of women empowerment, and with The White House on an initiative to get more girls into STEM careers. In 2016, Weiner made the connection between the nonpartisan non-profit She Should Run, which encourages women considering a run for public office, where she sits on the board of directors, and Mattel to produce new president and vice president Barbie Dolls.
“She uses her deep bench of connections to have conversations that likely wouldn’t be had otherwise if she wasn’t in the room, if she wasn’t introducing the idea,” said She Should Run founder and CEO, Erin Loos Cutraro.
Weiner says that as a white woman and independent business owner, she recognizes her privilege and wields it to not only have those difficult conversations with brands and marketers to push for change in their own companies, but to create pathways for marginalized communities to have a share of voice.
“I’m aware of those, but I yield them and wield them with a lot of thoughtfulness around longevity,” she said. “I can go in and articulate things in a more direct way without some of the consequences that my colleagues would have.”
Over the last two years, in light of 2020’s social justice movement and following marketers refocus on diversity, equity and inclusion, her role as cultural expert and brand consultant has become increasingly important for brands and companies. Many of which have released DE&I initiatives, pledges and company diversity statistics during in an era where shoppers expect brands to take a stand on things like civil rights, gender inclusivity and climate change.
The changes have pushed Weiner’s job from predominantly working on inclusivity in brand campaigns to inclusivity throughout a company’s entire business structure. At present, four out of her 10 clients are building social impact projects “as a way to get into the problem solving of the issue,” she said.
2020 was a moment within a larger movement, said Stacey Ferguson, who has worked with Weiner as a consultant for Dove. Weiner has worked with Dove and Unilever as a cultural strategist for more than 15 years, starting with the campaign for ‘Real Beauty’ to working through the Crown Act.
“As Black folks, people of color, we’ve been doing this for decades. It’s not new,” said Ferguson, who now serves as senior director of marketing and communications at Genius Guild investment firm. “But Jess is one of those people that gets it. It’s really important to note that she’s sincere in her efforts and her work.”
According to Weiner, brands have been reactive as opposed to proactive in response to diversity and inclusivity. Her biggest hangup right now is ensuring that society’s response to brand purpose doesn’t go from skepticism to apathy due to empty promises from brands.
It’s doable, but won’t come without wins and losses. The goal is for brands and companies to be up to the challenge and continue to be so in the future.
“I’m at a point where a lot of seeds that I planted are coming to fruition and I think the brands that we’re working with are ready to take it to the next steps,” she said.
“I believe in the marathon and not the sprint for social change”
The post ‘I believe in the marathon and not the sprint for social change’: How Jess Weiner is changing brands like Barbie, Dove and more from the inside out appeared first on Digiday.
Hardly a day goes by without some company within the marketing and media ecosystem announcing another artificial-intelligence-driven tool, technology, platform or data product in service of media buying and planning. Many of these advancements have been driven by dramatically altered consumer-behavior patterns toward digital consumption — leaving media agencies, creative shops and marketers scrambling to more deeply understand these new patterns.
Within the media agency world, artificial intelligence (AI) usually manifests in the forms of machine learning and pattern detection, often the terrain of strategists and analysts. The looming spectacle of signal deprecation, mostly in the form of disappearing cookies, is also driving greater adoption of machine-learning and automated data-gathering. Its third use is applied to rooting out bias where possible and maintaining ethical boundaries to buying and planning.
High-level executives are being put in place to ensure the tech is folded effectively into their operations. For example, just two weeks ago, GroupM hired JiYoung Kim, Carat’s chief digital officer, to become its chief product and services officer, charged with finding and implementing all manner of new tools for GroupM’s agencies. She drew a distinction between foundational AI — the kind of tech that simplifies time-consuming processes and frees employees to focus more on creativity and the things machines aren’t good at — and advanced AI, which is much larger in scope and goals.
“Advanced AI is how we’re going to get to understand how we’re managing total business outcomes and to do it at scale,” said Kim. She said GroupM North American CEO Kirk McDonald “has this vision that we should start looking more like a software company for our clients rather than a service company. My area of focus will be in better understanding, through our own tools, the relationship between media decisions on incremental growth and lifetime value, and taking our attention away from the crack of reporting on conversion, cost-per’s, percentage lift in brand perception and the like.”
As for the foundational element, Kim said “If you’re a media agency today and you didn’t already have this in place, you’d be completely paralyzed by the amount of data that’s coming in.”
Kim added that AI tech plays a significant role in both Choreograph, the company’s massive data platform that connects insights, activation and measurement, as well as the Data Ethics Compass (good catch — actually it’s a formal name so I capped it), which calculates risk in investment. Finally, she mentioned Mindshare’s Neurolab application that combines behavioral and sentiment data to help inform planning.
Much like IPG’s Acxiom, Kinesso and Matterkind units that greatly rely on machine-learning tools to sift through petabytes (we’ve moved past terabytes) of data, Publicis Media also has upped its game in applying AI across its wide swath of agencies. Kayleen Ohneck, director of verified data & technology, Publicis Media, explained that “AI is being built into various functionalities with the elimination of data signals, the fluidity of data and the continued access limitations to data. We have seen partners leaning into AI and predictive modeling in order to navigate the future of real-time programmatic.”
The holding company also has built the ability to customize its own algorithms based on the needs of agencies and clients. The recently created Publicis Decisioning Science Framework essentially uses Amazon Web Services to power custom algorithm scenarios “for prospecting new users at scale within an ecosystem that’s experiencing a reduction in addressability,” according to Patrick Houlihan, Publicis Media’s senior vp of decisioning.
Even vendors that serve the media agency world have upped their AI-driven game. Last November, Telmar — a media planning and buying software firm that manages some 8,000 datasets — acquired Helixa, an AI-driven insights SaaS platform that lets agencies and marketers find unusual patterns and connections in consumer affinities.
“As we got more traction in the [AI] space and growing our particular flavor of audience analysis, we attracted some interest from companies in the media buying and planning space, including Telmar,” said Florian Kahlert, Helixa’s founder and CEO. “We found they were a really good fit for us in terms of us being able to grow to contribute our things to them and also tapping into their rich network of existing customers across the world.”
Finally, the analytical boost that AI provides media agencies helps them fight back against the walled gardens, whose clout and reach (and effective use of AI to identify and deliver better results for their advertisers) continues to sprawl across the media landscape. As Konrad Feldman, CEO of Quantcast, explained, walled gardens’ “advertising works well, because they’ve got significant data, but they’ve also got very effective machine learning and AI techniques. And also they’ve made it very, very easy to use their systems.”
Feldman is pushing for more equilibrium across the digital spectrum by boosting the fortunes of the open Web, “which promises a lot more diversity, in terms of audience, by its very nature. The fragmentation that makes it so great and diverse has made it more complex to buy. And we want to make it as reliable and informant. Machine learning is a critical part of that.”
Social video intelligence and measurement provider Tubular Labs this week is launching a Tubular Consumer Insights product that connects viewership with viewers’ shopping behaviors such as product browsing, in-cart activities, purchasing and posting reviews on Amazon. Some insights from the new product include:
“When an industry relies on only one source of measurement truth based off of solutions from the last century that utilize a panel smaller than the population of Dubuque, Iowa, to model the entire country, you are going to have serious challenges measuring and targeting the media landscape today. The opportunity for both marketers and content owners is clear — we need to move to a multi-currency model that focuses on actual reach over ratings.”
— Cole Strain, head of measurement products at Samba TV, responding to a Video Advertising Bureau report that found Nielsen’s undercounting of audiences resulted in $700 million in revenue losses for TV broadcasters over a 16 month period.
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