Tag Archives: DoubleClick

Understanding how viewability relates to brand metrics for video ads

As a brand trying to reach consumers in today’s increasingly fragmented media landscape, it is critical that you understand the impact of your ads on brand metrics such as awareness and consideration.

Viewability is the starting point, an initial understanding of whether the ad had a chance to be seen. We have talked before about why measuring the viewability of advertising matters.

In December 2014, we shared insights on the state of display ad viewability across the web. As a continuation of that effort, in May we released new insights from our video ad platforms, including YouTube, to start the discussion about the state of video ad viewability.


We wanted to take this research a step further, by analyzing the relationship between viewability and brand metrics.

To do so, we took our Brand Lift solution, which gives you insights into what impact your ads have on the consumer journey - from awareness, to ad recall, to brand interest - and tied the data to viewability metrics from our Active View technology for a set of YouTube TrueView ads. By connecting these two solutions, we were able to draw out some insights about the relationship between viewability and brand metrics.

Sight, sound and motion combined drive higher lift

When it comes to brand metrics, ad recall is a foundation for measuring the impact of your ad. As a brand advertiser, knowing if your ad breaks through with users is a key first step to understanding the overall impact of an ad on a suite of brand metrics. In this analysis, we were able to analyze how being able to hear and see your ad affected a user’s ability to recall your ad.

Our data shows that users exposed to even one aspect of your video ad (audio or video only), exhibit significant lift in ad recall. However, the full immersive experience of sight, sound and motion delivers more ad recall than either audio or video alone. In fact, the impact on ad recall was 23% higher when users were exposed to ads with audio and video together versus ads with just audio alone.

The longer in view, the better you do (on brand metrics)

Time in view also plays a large role when it comes to moving the needle on brand awareness and consideration. We recently introduced the ability for Active View users to measure average viewable time - the average time, in seconds, a given ad appeared on screen - in Doubleclick Bid Manager. By connecting these measurements, we can see the relationship between viewable time and brand metrics.

We found that there is a consistent relationship between how long an ad is viewable and increases in brand awareness and consideration. The longer a user views your ad, the higher the lift in these two important brand metrics


What the results mean for your brand

These results prompt you to think about your brand advertising in a few important ways:
  • Are users viewing your creative for longer periods of time? Brand metrics continue to get higher the longer a user views your ad.
  • Are you buying the right media to have an impact on brand metrics? YouTube’s opt-in TrueView ads are uniquely suited to deliver long-form video content at scale for brand advertisers.
  • Finally, are you thinking beyond viewability to capture effectiveness metrics? You want your ads to move consumers at the moments that matter, and measuring the impact on brand metrics will make for more effective ad spend.
This is just the beginning of understanding what impacts brand metrics for video ads. As brands look to measure the effectiveness of their digital video advertising, a continued understanding of what factors drive brand metrics will be crucial to more effective brand spend.

Read further research on the impact of online video.

To read all of our research on viewability, check out thinkwithgoogle.com/viewability.

To see how viewability is measured, visit our interactive Active View demo.

Sanaz Ahari, Group Product Manager, Brand Measurement

Manual ad break playback in the IMA SDKs

We recently launched manual ad break playback across our iOS, Android, HTML5, and Flash SDKs. For more info on what this means and how to use it, read on!

What is manual ad break playback?

Under a standard IMA SDK implementation, when an ad rules or VMAP response is returned, the SDK will automatically play each ad break at its cue point. With manual ad break playback, the SDK will instead fire an event when it’s time to play an ad break, and let you decide if or when you’d like to play it.

What are the implications of this change?

If you’re happy with your current ad rules or VMAP performance, this change doesn’t require you to do anything - your implementation will continue to work just as it does now. If you’d like more fine-tuned control over ad break playback timing, then we recommend using this feature.

What are the benefits of this change?

We see two major areas in which this change will help publishers. The first is when a user starts a stream somewhere in the middle of the content instead of at the beginning. (The most common scenario is that the user watched part of the video previously, left the app or page, and returned to continue watching the rest of the video). With a standard implementation, the user will be greeted by (in some cases) a pre-roll, followed by the most recent mid-roll that they watched previously, then the content. By using manual ad break playback you can prevent the pre- or mid-roll (or both) from playing so that the user can go straight to the content, and then resume mid-rolls when the user sees their first mid-roll break for the new session.

The second major use case is misaligned ad breaks. If you’re playing long form content with mid-rolls, and your video fades in and out for mid-roll breaks, you want to make sure that your ad breaks properly align with those fades. In some cases, publishers have told us that the ad break scheduling changes slightly between pieces of content, causing the ad to cut off content for some streams. With this new system, if you know exactly when an ad break should play, you can listen for the AD_BREAK_READY event and delay the ad break playback until the exact time your stream is ready for it.

How do I implement this new feature?

We have guides for each of the SDKs on implementing this new feature:

As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact us via the support forum.

 - , IMA SDK Team

Focusing investments to improve buying on YouTube

At YouTube, over the past few years we’ve heard from clients that they want to access our marquee formats, such as TrueView, through programmatic channels. We’ve been investing to make that happen and recently made TrueView ads, which represent 85% of YouTube in-stream ads, available programmatically in DoubleClick Bid Manager (DBM). Clients have been pleased with the performance: those buying TrueView this way are already seeing higher engagement and view-through rates than with other video ad formats.

To continue improving the YouTube advertising experience for as many of our clients as possible, we’ll be focusing our future development efforts on the formats and channels used by most of our partners. To enable that, as of the end of the year, we’ll no longer support the small amount of YouTube buying happening on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange.

With this change, we’ll be able to invest even more in creating the best and most effective YouTube advertising and buying experiences possible, continuing our efforts in TrueView and offerings like Google Preferred. Video advertising and programmatic buying are growing rapidly and being focused in our investments will help us drive them forward at an even faster rate.

Posted by Neal Mohan, VP, Display & Video Advertising, Google

New features in AdWords Scripts

We have made the following changes to AdWords scripts.

Full screen mode for Scripts IDE

You can now toggle fullscreen mode for the Scripts IDE by clicking the Expand icon on the top right corner of the editor toolbar.


Clear methods for Upgraded URLs

We have added new methods to clear various fields in Upgraded URLs: Clear methods for sitelink descriptions

You can now use the clearDescription1() and clearDescription2() methods to clear the corresponding description fields in the Sitelink, AdGroupSitelink and CampaignSitelink classes.

Sunset support for updating destination URL

As previously announced, support for updating destination URL has been sunset completely. If any of your scripts use this field, make sure you upgrade your scripts to use the upgraded URL fields. We have also added clearDestinationUrl() to the Keyword class and clearLinkUrl() to various ad extension classes. These methods may be used to clear the destination URL field when you upgrade your URLs.

See our sunset tracker page for more details.

If you have any questions about this feature or AdWords scripts in general, you can post them on our developer forum.

Anash P. Oommen, AdWords Scripts Team

Announcing v2.2 of the DCM/DFA Reporting and Trafficking API

Today we are releasing v2.2 of the DCM/DFA Reporting and Trafficking API. Highlights of this release include:
  • User requested enhancements: You asked and we listened! Based on your feedback, new fields--such as computed click-through URL for ad creative assignments--have been added.
  • Placement search improvements: You can now search for placements and placement groups by start and end date.
  • Ins tag support: When the new ins tag is enabled for your account, requests for iframe and javascript tags will return an updated tag format. We've introduced 4 new legacy tag values you can use to access the older versions of these tags, to ensure a smooth transition to the upgraded format. You can begin requesting these legacy tag values today, even if your account hasn't upgraded yet.
Retiring older API versions

Along with this release, we're introducing a new deprecation schedule and announcing the deprecation of all versions prior to v2.1. Moving forward, we will generally only support 3 versions of the API and sunset the oldest version 4 months after a new release. In order to help developers adjust to this new schedule, we're providing an extended migration period for users of these newly deprecated versions:

API Version
Deprecation Date
Sunset Date
v1
3 Aug 2015
29 Feb 2016
v1.1
3 Aug 2015
29 Feb 2016
v1.2
3 Aug 2015
29 Feb 2016
v1.3
3 Aug 2015
29 Feb 2016
v2.0
3 Aug 2015
29 Feb 2016

These versions will remain active and supported until the sunset date, and we encourage you to use this time to update your applications.

Learn more

As with every new version of the DCM/DFA Reporting and Trafficking API, we encourage you to carefully review all changes in the Release Notes. For those of you looking to get going right away, updated client libraries are now available. If you're just starting out, the Get Started guide is a great reference to help you get up and running quickly.

Give it a try and let us know if you have any questions!

 - , DCM API Team

Changes to DFP Reporting, now with more deprecation!

After our last round of spring cleaning, we've gone back to the drawing board to take another look at how we could make reporting better. There currently is an abundance of Dimensions, DimensionAttributes, and Columns (and more coming with each release), so in an effort to simplify the list of fields, we will be sunsetting the following reconciliation-related dimension attributes / columns in all versions. This will happen on September 1, 2015.

Columns with equivalent replacements:

Columns without equivalent replacements:

While the first two have equivalent replacements, the latter ones are not being replaced, as they don’t exist in core product reporting either.

This means that usage of these columns / dimension attributes will begin throwing errors in all versions starting September 1st. If your network is actively using any of these, please update your reports to switch to the supported fields or remove them entirely. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this, you know where to reach us!

 - , DFP API Team

The measurement revolution: An update

Over the past few years we’ve been committed to investing in a suite of new metrics that would be as actionable for brand marketers as the click has become for performance advertising. In that spirit, today we are announcing a new GRP solution, comScore vCE in DoubleClick, and updates to our Active View viewability solution.

Our goal is to enable brand marketers to answer some essential questions about the success of their campaigns:

Announcing an update to Active View - Ensuring your ads are seen

If a human being never has a chance to see your ad, then nothing else matters - the campaign will not succeed. That’s why we’ve been steadily introducing Active View technology across our product suite: the ability to buy based on viewability in AdWords, and reporting on viewability in our DoubleClick advertiser and publisher platforms. In a recent study that we published we found that 46% of all video ads on the web did not even have a chance to be seen. This contextualized the importance of video viewability and the launch of Active View for Video a few months ago.

We are firm believers in the IAB / MRC standard as the minimum viable definition for a viewable impression. We also recognize that there is a need for secondary metrics that complement the single standard and support individual advertisers’ objectives. In light of this, we are announcing that starting today, Active View users will be able to measure average viewable time - the average time, in seconds, a given ad appeared on screen - in DoubleClick Bid Manager.

Since introducing Active View, we’ve seen tremendous momentum with over 80% of clients having adopted our viewability technology. These advertiser and publisher clients have told us time and again that they would like to use Active View to measure viewability across all their media buys. So we are working with these clients to expand Active View beyond Google’s media and platforms.

Announcing comScore vCE in DoubleClick: Ensuring you reach the right audience faster

Last year we announced our partnership with comScore to bring to market a completely tagless and digitally actionable metric that would make real-time GRP measurement a reality for advertisers and publishers. Today we are announcing the culmination of that partnership: comScore vCE in DoubleClick.

comScore vCE in DoubleClick is the first independent, completely tagless, audience delivery measurement service to be directly integrated into an ad server and will give advertisers and publishers a trusted comScore audience measurement solution for both video and display that is effortless to set up and actionable.
This new GRP measurement solution is now widely available for all of our DoubleClick customers across DoubleClick Digital Marketing and DoubleClick for Publishers. This means advertisers can now see if they’re reaching their target audience as it happens. And publishers will be able to make adjustments during the course of a campaign to meet their advertisers’ needs -- no more after the fact reporting and make-goods.

With this tagless and single-click workflow, advertiser and publisher clients will have 100% coverage. Publishers will have the ability to forecast their audience availability to ensure they meet advertiser commitments. For advertisers, in addition to scheduled reports we are introducing new audience cards that surface reports with simple and easy to read visuals.



Measurement Matters

We will continue to look for opportunities to raise the bar on measurement through a combination of product innovation and partnership with industry leaders.

We’re excited about the progress we’ve made in enabling advertisers to ensure that their ads reached the right audience and were actually seen. But our biggest investments in measurement still lie ahead as we work to help advertisers understand what their audiences thought and ultimately did as a result of seeing their ads.

Posted by Sanaz Ahari, Group Product Manager, Brand Measurement

The measurement revolution: An update

Over the past few years we’ve been committed to investing in a suite of new metrics that would be as actionable for brand marketers as the click has become for performance advertising. In that spirit, today we are announcing a new GRP solution, comScore vCE in DoubleClick, and updates to our Active View viewability solution.

Our goal is to enable brand marketers to answer some essential questions about the success of their campaigns:

Announcing an update to Active View - Ensuring your ads are seen

If a human being never has a chance to see your ad, then nothing else matters - the campaign will not succeed. That’s why we’ve been steadily introducing Active View technology across our product suite: the ability to buy based on viewability in AdWords, and reporting on viewability in our DoubleClick advertiser and publisher platforms. In a recent study that we published we found that 46% of all video ads on the web did not even have a chance to be seen. This contextualized the importance of video viewability and the launch of Active View for Video a few months ago.

We are firm believers in the IAB / MRC standard as the minimum viable definition for a viewable impression. We also recognize that there is a need for secondary metrics that complement the single standard and support individual advertisers’ objectives. In light of this, we are announcing that starting today, Active View users will be able to measure average viewable time - the average time, in seconds, a given ad appeared on screen - in DoubleClick Bid Manager.

Since introducing Active View, we’ve seen tremendous momentum with over 80% of clients having adopted our viewability technology. These advertiser and publisher clients have told us time and again that they would like to use Active View to measure viewability across all their media buys. So we are working with these clients to expand Active View beyond Google’s media and platforms.

Announcing comScore vCE in DoubleClick: Ensuring you reach the right audience faster

Last year we announced our partnership with comScore to bring to market a completely tagless and digitally actionable metric that would make real-time GRP measurement a reality for advertisers and publishers. Today we are announcing the culmination of that partnership: comScore vCE in DoubleClick.

comScore vCE in DoubleClick is the first independent, completely tagless, audience delivery measurement service to be directly integrated into an ad server and will give advertisers and publishers a trusted comScore audience measurement solution for both video and display that is effortless to set up and actionable.
This new GRP measurement solution is now widely available for all of our DoubleClick customers across DoubleClick Digital Marketing and DoubleClick for Publishers. This means advertisers can now see if they’re reaching their target audience as it happens. And publishers will be able to make adjustments during the course of a campaign to meet their advertisers’ needs -- no more after the fact reporting and make-goods.

With this tagless and single-click workflow, advertiser and publisher clients will have 100% coverage. Publishers will have the ability to forecast their audience availability to ensure they meet advertiser commitments. For advertisers, in addition to scheduled reports we are introducing new audience cards that surface reports with simple and easy to read visuals.



Measurement Matters

We will continue to look for opportunities to raise the bar on measurement through a combination of product innovation and partnership with industry leaders.

We’re excited about the progress we’ve made in enabling advertisers to ensure that their ads reached the right audience and were actually seen. But our biggest investments in measurement still lie ahead as we work to help advertisers understand what their audiences thought and ultimately did as a result of seeing their ads.

Posted by Sanaz Ahari, Group Product Manager, Brand Measurement

Help me help you (improve the DFP API)

Believe it or not, the DFP API Team eat, breathe, and live the DFP API. We wake up in the morning thinking, "How can I make the DFP API even better?" Seriously, I have had dreams about the API. It’s weird, but I’m not embarrassed to admit that.

In an effort to delight our developers even more, we’re turning the proverbial mic over to you - our customers - to help us help you. Here’s your chance to let us know how we could be better – better support, better features in the client libraries, better content in workshops, better examples, better haircuts... really, anything. Simply fill out our survey with your thoughts here.

 - , DFP API Team

New Op-ed: Digital publishers need an ad strategy reset

As more brand dollars move to digital, and the technology supporting digital advertising evolves, publishers have a tremendous opportunity to boost their revenues and profits. However, capitalizing on this opportunity requires publishers to evolve their sales strategies, fast.

As programmatic buying continues to grow, one of the first steps publishers must take is to adopt a holistic cross-channel ad sales strategy.

A new op-ed by Paul Zwillenberg, Global Leader of The Boston Consulting Group’s Media Sector, explores this idea and shares the strategies and tactics employed by today’s most successful digital publishers.

Head on over to DoubleClick.com to read the full article.

Posted by Yamini Gupta, Product Marketing team