Nielsen Expanding "People Meter"; Fraud May Be Overexaggerated

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

Expanding The People

MediaPost’s Joe Mandese reports that Nielsen’s TV “people meter” will expand to the mobile device which includes smartphones and tablets. A goal, among several, is to capture the much-discussed “second-screen” TV audience. Mandese writes, “Nielsen said a ‘full rollout’ of mobile devices in its electronic TV measurement system would be completed by April 2015, but it did not say when and how it would integrate TV viewing on mobile devices in its national and local TV ratings estimates.” Read more.

The Fraud Frenzy

Writing for the IAB, Integral Ad Science President and CEO Scott Knoll suggests that the impact of fraud on the ad industry might be overexaggerated. “A year ago, I was concerned because I felt that the industry was not talking enough about the fraud problem,” writes Knoll. “Now, I am worried about the opposite. If we’re not careful, we are going to get carried away and cause irreparable harm to the future of digital advertising.” Knoll highlights two key factors that exacerbate the fraud debate. Limits in technology cloud the detection process, he says, which can label entire sites as fraudulent based on minimal bot traffic. Secondly, the commercialized capitalization of companies cropping up to combat fraud is only feeding the frenzy. Read on.

iBeacon Explainer

An article by The Wall Street Journal explores Apple’s iBeacon technology – and hints at the potential for local ads. The WSJ explains: “Apple’s iBeacon allows apps to locate a user within a few inches, so that a phone can direct a driver to the nearest open spot in a parking garage or the shortest hot-dog line in a crowded stadium. It allows restaurant diners to pay the check and leave without a waiter’s assistance or museum-goers to learn about exhibits by walking past.” Read more (subscription).

Net Neutrality Ad Prognosis

Ad Age offers a forecast for what net neutrality could mean for online advertising, and the outlook isn’t too bright. “Pricing will go up for access from a marketing perspective in terms of CPMs,” said ad-buying firm Collective’s CEO and founder, Joe Apprendi. If this is the case, smaller publishers and ad tech firms might lose out to larger firms that can afford to may for speedier data delivery. Read more.

Google Clips Its Coupons

Google discontinued its online coupon product Zavers, which launched 17 months ago. The offering let online shoppers collect coupons for use in-store at partnering retailers. Zavers cancellation came at the command of Google’s new commerce chief, Sridhar Ramaswamy and was likely due to the program’s stalled expansion. In an email to Re/code, one Google spokesperson said, “We’re working closely with clients during the transition and remain focused on connecting shoppers with the brands they love through offerings like Product Listing Ads, Google Shopping Express and Google Wallet.” Read the rest.

Projecting Twitter’s Growth

Twitter could grow to be a $5 billion business by 2016, predicts a a Seeking Alpha report released Monday. Ad revenue could hit $4.8 billion by 2016, despite Twitter’s dealing user growth. Although the projections are positive, Twitter showed a low RPM of $1.4 in 2014’s first quarter. This might be due to Twitter’s evolving ad products, or Twitter’s desire not to bombard users with in-feed ads. Yet, Twitter benefits from its in-stream ads, and its CPM is reportedly seven times higher than Facebook. Read Seeking Alpha’s findings.

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