Are You Paying for Impressions No One Ever Sees? If your company utilizes display advertising as part of your marketing strategy, you are probably very familiar with the term “served impressions.” If you are not, a served impression is one recorded by the ad server and made available on the site for consumer eyeballs. But here’s a little secret about “served impressions” - it’s misleading. A served ad is not necessarily a viewable ad, but under the current industry standard it is still deemed “served” whether it can be viewed or not. A recent comScore study in conjunction with C3 Metrics revealed that somewhere between 31-68% of served display ads, never appear in view. This means that your ad may be served but is being blocked, being hidden by other things on the page, or viewed for less than a second. Disappointing CTRs? This may be the reason why. In fact, when CTRs are measured using only viewable impressions, the click-though rates are 179% higher than those based solely on served impressions. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is leading a joint industry initiative along with the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). The initiative, “Making Measurement Make Sense,” seeks to make the standard online advertising measure be viewed impressions, not served impressions. This additional metric not only provides a more accurate gauge of campaign performance (making your media buys that much more strategic); it also shows how many sites have high incidences of unserved ads. Additionally, it’s a cross-platform measurement that will work uniformly with mobile and tablet. This initiative has not been adopted yet, but we will keep you posted. For now, when negotiating media buys, ask your account rep questions. Knowing the difference between which digital ads are served and which ads are being viewed will save you from wasting digital ad dollars down the road. For more information about the "Making Measurement Make Sense" initiative click "Making Measurement Make Sense" Until Next Time, Follow us on Twitter - @CapitolMedia Capitol Media Solutions Featured in:     The Capitol Media Way CMS has more than 25 years of experience in the media and communications world and knows how to navigate this highly competitive, often complex, arena. Broadcast, digital, out-of-home, transit, we do it all. With our MediaScope 6.0 process we'll help you: Highlight your competitive advantage Establish a compelling brand image Advertise in all the right places for the best returns Test results for strategic decision making We make sure all aspects of our advertising programs run exactly as ordered with advertising performance and ROI being closely monitored throughout the campaign. Tracking response rates is imperative and CMS incorporates this across various media venues as well as provides prompt feedback for timely, informed decision-making. To find out how we can help your bottom line, call or email us at the link below. If you currently work with another agency, allow us to compare apples to apples. If we can't help you, we'll actually tell you so. However, we're confident we can! Call Capitol Media Solutions Today: Toll-Free: 1-800-517-0610 email: mediabuying@capitolmediasolutions.com Home | Job Opportunities | In The Community | Media Tips | Contact Follow Us On: