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Written on 02/25/17 12:20 AM

 

There has been a lot of talk about “cleaning up” the digital media supply chain, but what does this mean? And how can clients ensure transparency when it comes to digital media investments?

Mark Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer for P&G, spoke at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Annual Leadership Meeting in Hollywood, Florida, on January 29^th and announced, “The days of giving digital a pass are over, it’s time to grow up. It’s time for action.” His words were a reaction to the confusing and often non-transparent digital ecosystem that surrounds the industry. He stressed that P&G does “not want to waste time and money on a crappy media supply chain.” He encouraged others in the industry to follow his lead. P&G is expecting that all of their media vendors and partners adhere to the accredited Media Rating Council (MRC) guidelines for viewability, fraud protection, verification, and transparency.

It appears that Mark’s words are sinking in, because recently Facebook has agreed to an audit of the information it sends marketers, hoping to increase trust and transparency. While there have always been complaints about the lack of transparency and consistency in social reporting, P&G has companies scrambling to give them what they want, which will benefit all of us in the long run. While other platforms like Twitter have yet to follow suit, Facebook’s move shows that social platforms need to continue listening in order to boost their credibility—especially as companies continue to see the importance of data.

Last year, RPM announced “Project Clean Ads”, where viewability and fraud protection are automatically engrained into the digital planning and buying process. All digital display ads through our vendor-partners must adhere to the MRC standards of:

• Display: 50% of ad pixels must be viewable on desktop/PC for 1 continuous second
• Video: 50% of ad pixels must be viewable on desktop/PC for 2 continuous seconds
• All ads must be Fraud Free

We are encouraged by Facebook’s new approach to accepting third-party verification and hope that other social media and digital ad tech providers will do the same. We all benefit by supporting and holding our partners accountable for what we purchase, because at the end of the day we all want what’s best for our client-partners—high quality inventory that provides value and delivers on our goals.

Credits and Sources:

http://adage.com/article/media/p-g-s-pritchard-calls-digital-grow-up-new-rules/307742/

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/business/media/facebook-takes-steps-to-improve-advertising-data-after-criticism.html

http://measurementnow.net/what-is-3ms/#.WKtrWfkrI2w

What did Facebook change on their Newsfeed?

Facebook is getting back to basics. Recently, the social media giant announced that it is tweaking its algorithm so that users see less content and ads shared by publishers and brands, and more posts from friends and family. This core principle is why Facebook got into the social media ecosystem in the first place. Publishers and advertisers are anxiously awaiting what it will mean for them. RPM is predicting that publishers will be the most affected as many have become reliant on Facebook as a major distribution channel.

Why did they make this change to their algorithm?

Facebook is constantly changing their algorithms and oftentimes they do not announce these tweaks to advertisers, publishers, or the public.

On the Facebook business marketing page, the company explains why it made these changes. “One of the main reasons people come to Facebook is to see what’s happening in their News Feeds. Our goal with News Feed has always been to show people the things they want to see. When people see content that’s relevant to them, they’re more likely to be engaged with News Feed, including stories from businesses.

“That’s why we often look to people on Facebook to tell us how we can improve. As part of an ongoing survey, we asked hundreds of thousands of people how they feel about the content in their News Feeds. People told us they wanted to see more stories from friends and pages they care about, and less promotional content.”

Without people constantly checking their Newsfeed because they aren’t getting what they want, Facebook doesn’t have an audience. And if Facebook doesn’t have an audience, it doesn’t have a product to sell. Keeping people happy is priority #1.

Below is a rough calculation of how the Newsfeed algorithm works:

What will change for consumers and businesses?

Consumers will start to see more posts from friends and family instead of news or pieces of content. Facebook is returning to its core principle of connecting the entire world, and if you can’t see posts from your friends and family, how can you make meaningful connections?

Facebook is also making significant investments to Business Pages. They are building in more features, enhancements, and customization. These changes will improve the consumer’s experience with individual businesses and make them more meaningful and robust. Facebook Business Pages have become an extension of companies’ websites and are often a substitute for having a site.

What will this mean for advertisers?

Many news outlets and advertising industry trades are saying that these changes will not affect PAID ads; those will remain a part of the News Feed. Where this will be most prevalent is the organic reach to people who are fans of a brand or publisher page. Facebook has stated that all pages that post promotional content will see their organic distribution fall significantly over time. Paid ads will now become even more important to both advertisers and publishers. In order to ensure reach and distribution, all posts must be boosted and all ads must have significant budgets.

Stay tuned for more updates from Facebook, you can be sure more tweaks and algorithm changes are coming down the line!