Adages, Ads and Analytics
“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
No, I’m not going to discuss the philosophy of existence. But I am going to draw an analogy.
How many times have you heard the question “Yes, the podcast has been downloaded, but how do you know if anyone listened to it?” If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked that question…
But enough with the platitudes.
The fact is, there’s a specific type of person who wants to know the answer to this question and this person is very important to the future of our fledgling medium. This person is known as The Advertiser. (Or, if from an advertising agency, the Media Planner/Buyer.)
More specifically, The Advertiser wants to understand the level of Engagement that your audience has with your media because simply put, your audience will be more receptive to their marketing messages.
Engagement has been an elusive metric for all media but in its absence, we measure things like reach, frequency, response and yes, downloads. But is that enough? Are downloads simply enough to satisfy the needs of a marketer?
In an age of syndicated, anonymous, uncontrolled distribution and playback of downloadable media on multiple connected or unconnected devices there are some people who feel that measuring downloads is a good start, but it’s not enough. Others feel that downloads are just fine for their needs.
When I can play the same piece of content in a flash player, in a dedicated desktop media player, on an iPod, on an Apple TV, on a TiVo, on a Sonos, on an iRiver Clix, etceteras and so forth, how do you reconcile the consumption of that media across all those devices so that it’s meaningful for our customers?
We don’t know yet, but helping to answer that question is only one of the many excellent reasons the ADM was formed.
Together, working with the advertising community, platform providers, software and technology companies, we can determine what metrics will satisfy the needs of our constituents so that downloadable media is no longer considered a testing ground but a full-fledged, proven line item in a company’s marketing budget.
If you have a stake or an interest in helping to ensure the future of downloadable media, please get involved. We’re looking for smart, thoughtful folks who can help us answer the big questions that will impact downloadable media for the months and years to come.
Technorati Tags:
Advertising, Digital Media, Downloads, John Federico, Media, Podcast, Podcasting, Communication, Digital Media, Marketing, Technology, Audience Measurement, Metrics, Analytics, Association for Downloadable Media, ADM, Membership, Engagement, Syndication, Downloadable Media
Subscribe to the ADM Blog
Subscribe to the ADM Podcast only.
Add the Podcast to iTunes
Add the Podcast to Zune
Nov 20, 2007
links for 2007-11-20…
Association for Downloadable Media: Adages, Ads and Analytics “The Advertiser wants to understand the level of Engagement that your audience has with your media because simply put, your audience will be more receptive to their marketing messages.” (…
Nov 20, 2007
[...] Adages, Ads and Analytics “In an age of syndicated, anonymous, uncontrolled distribution and playback of downloadable media on multiple connected or unconnected devices there are some people who feel that measuring downloads is a good start, but it’s not enough.” (tags: analytics digitalmedia media associationfordownloadablemedia adm downloadablemedia downloads podcasts podcasting rss associations) Bookmark to: [...]
Nov 21, 2007
[...] Association for Downloadable Media: Adages, Ads and Analytics “The Advertiser wants to understand the level of Engagement that your audience has with your media because simply put, your audience will be more receptive to their marketing messages.” (tags: Advertising digital media Podcasting Business analytics) Book Mark it-> del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | Facebook | Technorati | Google | StumbleUpon | Window Live | Tailrank | Furl | Netscape | Yahoo | BlinkList Sphere: Related Content [...]
Nov 27, 2007
John, I too have been asked that question – how do I know that anyone has listened to that downloaded audio or video.
At the moment, of course, I don’t. But I can also point out that while Nielsen, for example, can tell me how many people had their TV set on at a given time (or extrapolate that number from their selected audience), they can NOT tell me how many people actually watched.
And we all know that, as soon as that commercial comes on, people head for the bathroom and/or the kitchen, hoping to get back in time for the “real” program.
I think ADM will help come up with some meaningful standards. As you say, engagement is going to be the key – some more meaningful number or measurement than downloads.
Nov 27, 2007
[...] Adages, Ads and Analytics | by John Federico [...]
Nov 29, 2007
@Les Great point. I went through the TV syndication and advertising world in my career at a time when Nielsen and others were trying some wacky sh**.
For instance, in the early-mid 1990s, the industry started getting hyper-concerned about who’s watching, and when, and how, and for how long. Given, the current technology — 10,000 set-top boxes — couldn’t provide for this. So they and others (anyone remember SMART?) were experimenting with things like advanced people tracking to sense motion in a room, track who was in the TV-room at the time and for how long.
Arbitron has been testing the Personal People Meter system in Philadelphia and Houston, in which a pager-like device will actually “listen” to the radio programming you’re exposed to (in the car, at work, in a bar) passively. In theory, it’s much more reliable than paper books, but it’s come with some criticism.
The reality is, the traditional media metrics systems aren’t perfect, but they’re the only game in town, so everyone must abide by them to make money. Nielsen, for all its critics, does a pretty good job to remain profitable.