Facebook’s Partnerships with Nielsen, and More
Facebook announced on April 19, 2016 that Nieslen, comScore, and Integral Ad Science will begin verifying ad viewability and attention metrics for its photo and video ads “in the coming months”. These three companies will also join Moat as members of Facebook’s thirdparty verification partner program.
‘Viewability’ in this context is providing enhanced validity to the standard awareness metrics Facebook currently offers (impressions, views, etc.), and overall is focused on measuring quality impressions. It is the same form of measurement that has become increasingly important for display and video advertising, and by partnering with some of the top third-party verification vendors in the game, Facebook will significantly improve its advertising platform.
In its own words, Facebook stated that these new partnerships are “critical to making sure advertisers trust their ad delivery data so they can explore exactly how to drive value for their business in feed-based platforms.”
Importantly, this move will also give Facebook ad buying a similar look and feel to broadcast ad purchasing. According to Ad Age, Facebook said that target rating point (TRP) video buys on Facebook or Instagram can now leverage day-parting and Nielsen DMA targeting, two features that were previously unavailable for video campaigns. Of course, ad scheduling and geo-targeting are part of its current capabilities, but the new Nielsen DMA targeting will allow marketers to hone in on specific markets and times during which TV buys are airing, creating continuity across channels.
This week, Facebook also shared successful successful campaigns that optimized TV commercials for Facebook’s mobile News Feed.
WHAT MARKETERS NEED TO KNOW
This move is part of Facebook’s ongoing effort to make a dent in advertisers’ TV budgets, which, especially for larger brands, still comprise a hefty portion of media mix dollars. Instead of trying a ‘one or the other’ approach, these new capabilities offer TV buyers an opportunity to extend reach and impact online with precise alignment of video campaigns on Facebook. It also provides the performance data transparency and verification (viewability) that advertisers can hang their hats on when measuring success – something not previously provided by Facebook.
It is also important to note that because this update is so mobile-focused, there are creative video development implications to consider. Specifically, Facebook is advising marketers to “take new creative considerations into account when designing effective video ads”, which means that what works for TV might not work for the mobile news feed. This makes structured testing (sound, caption, first frames, etc.) an essential component for any program
