After years of griping about Nielsen, culminating with the measurement provider losing its Media Rating Council accreditation in 2021, marketers and programmers were ready to try something new.
But after a flurry of testing alternative currencies, fewer marketers are using them this year, even as infrastructure and integrations allowing for their use becomes more developed. Years ago, the idea of anyone coming close to unseating Nielsen felt unrealistic. But now that alternative currencies have some so far, they are facing the same challenges as Nielsen.
Meanwhile, Nielsen has had some time to recover and catch up. And its familiarity and ability to offer easy historical comparisons is appealing to buyers. Nielsen’s newer product improvements will use the same stuff – like ACR data – as its upstart competitors.
After unpacking the latest outlook on alternative TV currencies, we turn to programmatic audio, a fast-growing but small segment of audio overall. Especially on podcasts, host-read segments have a native feel that’s pleasing to listeners, show producers and advertisers alike.
But that doesn’t mean there’s no space for tech in the audio space. Dynamic ad insertion has taken off, and certain segments of audio, like streaming music, feel natural for programmatic audio. Our senior editor, Hana Yoo, previews the year ahead in programmatic audio, from its opportunity to what’s holding the space back.
