What is the meaning of life? What happens after we die? Did my campaigns actually work?
That last question is a tricky one.
And only large brands typically have the budget for detailed post-campaign reports, according to Stuart Schwartzapfel, EVP of media partnerships at video measurement platform iSpot.
On Thursday, iSpot announced the launch of a new solution, called Outcomes at Scale, which aims to make outcomes-based attribution easier, faster and more automated across linear and CTV video advertising.
The tool was developed with close involvement and a lot of feedback from Paramount, which is also the first publisher to integrate it into its suite of ad sales products.
Accessible data
ISpot had already been mulling ways to “bring more scalable attribution” into the marketplace, per Schwartzapfel, but things really kicked off when it brought its idea to Paramount last spring.
Part of the project involved figuring out how to better automate the process by which ad exposure and business outcome data moves – from publisher to identity providers to analytics partners – before it finally ends up in an advertiser’s hands.
Traditionally, this level of analysis would constitute a “massive technical project,” said Travis Scoles, EVP of advanced advertising at Paramount. It requires several connected sources of data, custom-built interpretive models and input from a team of dedicated researchers.
Now, however, “you no longer have to have four, five, six teams involved in a project like this,” Scoles said. “It just populates in a dashboard.”
Always-on analysis
But iSpot’s new outcomes product isn’t a dashboard, per se. It’s more like a series of connected data feeds that connect into dashboards, clean rooms or server-to-server instances.
These data feeds are less customizable and immersive than what a fully commissioned report might provide, said Schwartzapfel, which is why there’s still a place for that more expensive, in-depth type of reporting.
But the feeds are faster, more precise and, most importantly, capable of being acted upon mid-flight, he said.
“This solution says, if you agree to these parameters, we can give you updates every single week throughout the life of the campaign,” said Schwartzapfel. “It no longer becomes a post-campaign report.”
At launch, Paramount’s integration with the tool will offer data related to web conversion, as well as foot traffic from PlaceIQ and CPG sales from Circana. In the future, publishers that partner with iSpot will be able to select which feeds they want based on which outcomes are important to them.
The tool can also combine results from both streaming and linear television into a single, measurable source, which Scoles said is an especially important differentiator for Paramount.
Combining these different streams, he said, is helpful for allowing marketers to understand how their different ad buys are working in tandem across all of Paramount’s linear broadcast, streaming and cable channels.
Rising tides
Going forward, iSpot plans to drive adoption among other sell-side clients and publishers and build out even more types of outcome options that will appeal to a wider range of advertisers, such as auto manufacturers (who would presumably not be as interested in grocery store foot traffic as CPG retailers, for example).
Hopefully, Schwartzapfel said, Paramount’s investment as an early adopter will inspire other networks and content owners to follow suit.
After all, he said, a rising tide lifts all boats – and “the more media groups that embrace this sort of capability, the better it is for advertisers.”
