Discontent over the state of Web traffic metrics is coming to a head. The Interactive Advertising Bureau late last week issued an open letter to comScore and Nielsen//NetRatings requesting they submit to a third-party audit of their measurement processes. Although the IAB has spent years pushing the two major Web audience measurement services, an audit by the independent Media Rating Council is more likely now because there's a sense of urgency and greater industry support, said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of IAB since January. The issue of bad metrics, he said, was the resounding issue that IAB members named when he assumed the job. "The IAB and the MRC have been asking for this since 1999 and they haven't even established a timetable," said Rothenberg, alluding to the measurement firms. "Tensions are running high as the Internet becomes the center of all marketing." The Association of National Advertisers is now onboard supporting the audit, while Rothenberg said he expects the American Association of Advertising Agencies and other trade organizations to join the fight shortly. The goal of the IAB and its industry members is to achieve transparency in audience counts and to revise out-of-date methodologies, according to Rothenberg, adding that "despite a multiplicity of reported discrepancies in audience measurements, comScore and NNR each has resisted numerous requests for audits by the IAB and the Media Rating Council since 1999." To establish the source of apparent discrepancies between the audience measurements of comScore and Nielsen and those of the server logs of the IAB members, the IAB has asked that both comScore and Nielsen obtain audits of their technologies and processes by the Media Rating Council. Media companies have often complained about large discrepancies between their own log files and panel companies' versions of their traffic. In addition, the owners of sites serving niche audiences say their traffic can be ignored completely because panels represent a miniscule fraction of the total Web audience and do not accurately reflect all segments. "All measurement companies that report audience metrics have a material impact on interactive marketing and decision-making," Rothenberg wrote. "Therefore, transparency into these methodologies is critical to maintaining advertisers' confidence in interactive, particularly now, as marketers allocate more budget to the platform." Neither comScore or Nielsen responded to requests for comment regarding the IAB's letter. Media buyers applauded IAB's efforts despite the fact that they rely on a number of other market indicators besides comScore and Nielsen. "We need those tools to be as [accurate] as they could possibly be, so I don't know why they'd resist an audit," said Sarah Fay, president of Aegis' interactive ad agency network, Isobar, U.S. "But," Fay added, "At the end of the day, their numbers are used more as a directional tool rather than a holy grail for our decision making." In the letter, Rothenberg asks for a summit meeting with the IAB's Board of Directors on interactive audience measurement, along with an agreement to a near-term timetable for independent audits and accreditations of comScore's and Nielsen's companies' interactive-audience measurement processes.
Three consumer privacy groups have thrown down a formal gauntlet over the Google/DoubleClick deal--filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission encouraging a halt of the acquisition until a number of issues are resolved. Stating that the deal would "create unique risks to privacy" and "violate previously agreed standards for the conduct of online advertising," the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) officially urged the FTC to begin an investigation. The merger raises unique concerns because of the amount of information Google collects and retains for an indefinite length of time, the groups maintain. Although Google announced plans to cut that time to two years, Marc Rotenberg, executive director of EPIC, argues that "keeping search histories for any length of time is an inappropriate use of consumer information." Indeed, current privacy laws require that consumers' data be deleted once it is no longer needed. In a statement, Google announced its intention to integrate the two companies' "non-personally identifiable data," but the manner in which that information will be handled is also cited in the complaint as an issue for the FTC to investigate. That is not surprising, given DoubleClick's previous difficulties involving consumer privacy. In 2002, the company settled lawsuits stemming from an FTC investigation into their attempt to track users' online habits using identifiable personal information such as names. But on Friday, in a response to speculation about the companies' data-sharing practices, DoubleClick issued a statement intended to assuage the concerns of both consumers and publishers worried about Google gaining access to its most sensitive information. "Information collected by DoubleClick DART ad serving technology belongs to DoubleClick's clients and not to DoubleClick ... Furthermore, Google would not be able to match its search data to the data collected by DoubleClick, as DoubleClick does not have the right to use its clients' data for such purposes." That doesn't mean that the data synergy won't happen. According to Lance Cottrell, president/founder of Internet privacy firm Anonymizer, Inc., "it sounds like an instance of contractual obligation. DoubleClick may be contractually prevented from sharing its data with Google, but are the same obligations preventing Google from passing its info to DoubleClick?" Given EPIC's past successes with regard to Internet privacy concerns, it is likely that the FTC will begin an investigation. And according to Cottrell, that's a good thing. "The degree to which people misunderstand privacy on the Web is almost incomprehensible. The real danger stems from the fact that people use the Internet like it's anonymous, but it's really not."
Digital media, marketing and creative shops are seeing strong demand for their expertise both with clients and their offline siblings. "MPG is looking for more and more support from Media Contacts on the digital side," said Ed Montes, executive vice president-managing director of Media Contacts, a digital media agency owned by Havas. "There is a greater demand for our services internally and externally as the overall demand for digital services is growing." Montes offered his comments during a wide-ranging conference call on a variety of industry topics coordinated by investment firm Piper Jaffray and led by Aaron Kessler, senior Internet analyst. Montes and Andrew O'Dell, president, interactive marketing at AKQA, an independent digital shop, discussed digital agency trends, industry consolidation, the recent Google/DoubleClick deal and the slow shift of offline media dollars into online media. "We consider ourselves a full-service digital shop offering creative solutions and strategy on how to use the interactive space," O'Dell said. AKQA has bulked up its media offering in recent months and while it's been known as an expert in Web site design and development, has intensified its creative output and expertise in telling stories across a range of media platforms. "We're focusing on the idea, and not so much the channel," O'Dell said. Increasingly, holding companies are snapping up digital shops with a range of capabilities: Publicis acquired Digitas late last year, and more recently, Interpublic Group scooped up Reprise Media, a search agency. "If you're a digital shop today, what will you be even two years from now? What happens to pure-plays like aQuantive's Avenue A/Razorfish?" Montes questioned. Regarding shifting offline dollars into online media, particularly search and online video: "We're seeing a huge demand from Fortune 1,000 companies that haven't spent a lot of money online to date," Montes said, adding: "There's a huge demand for toe-dipping and education. The advent of video has certainly put people in the position to start thinking about the online space." Montes said that MPG, Media Contacts' offline media sibling, teamed up to organize a channel-neutral approach to the TV and cable upfronts. Most programmers and networks now include digital planning tiers. That said, "I don't think we'll see a huge change in the advertising approaching the upfronts this year--80% of the TV commitments get made in that period; I don't expect to see a huge shift in that." On the proliferation of ad networks and probably consolidation in that space, Montes noted that so many networks mean less expensive inventory simply because there are more places to place your ad today than there were even 18 months ago. Media Contacts, which is a tester for DoubleClick's new ad exchange technology, is attempting to advance the strength of its data and intelligence-gathering model. "From a media buying and planning context, ad exchanges give us intelligence. If the marketplace becomes a commodity-driven marketplace, we'll have an advantage," Montes observed. "We believe there's a greater opportunity to bring value to the clients and to be better buyers. I think there's a huge opportunity to buy smarter and pass the value along to your clients." Apart from ad exchanges, online video is hot--and more marketers want to work with it. "I think video can be a game-changer as people adopt it more," O'Dell said, adding: "It's video across devices ... iPod, phones, computer, gaming devices." Regarding Google's mega-deal to acquire DoubleClick, Montes maintained that there's now a greater chance for DoubleClick to develop next-generation ad-serving tools and products given Google's deep pockets, and perhaps more of a willingness on Google's part to support ad-serving products overall. "I think there are high hopes that the Google acquisition will improve [DoubleClick's] offerings," Montes said. While some interactive industry players worry about a Google domination, the fact is that Google and DoubleClick don't own any content--yet. They have a technology to serve ads into other properties. "There's no doubt that the name of the game at the major publishers is yield management, they're all trying to figure it out and increase their average CPM," Montes maintained. Meanwhile, DoubleClick on Friday denied that the data it collects would be used by Google to check consumers' spending and browsing habits.
MTV's mtvU has tapped broadband services company Roo Group to power the College Publisher network's video channels. Roo's customizable video players will now service mtvU's more than 500 online college newspapers. Each of the network's student-run publications will now have free access to a customizable, private-label video player, along with a variety of on-demand content channels--including news, sports and entertainment from providers such as The Associated Press and Reuters. The Roo content team will work closely with mtvU to develop and secure new original video exclusively for the network. The Roo player will also enable the online student papers to distribute their own video content, or to partner with a university's TV station to make its programming available worldwide. The video players will be individually branded to reflect the look and feel of each college newspaper site, integrate seamlessly with a paper's online edition, and be powered by the Roo Video Exchange platform. Publications that install the plug-and-play applications will also be able to capitalize on a new video advertising revenue stream, according to Stephen Friedman, general manager of mtvU. "This video platform unlocks new creative possibilities and sources of revenue for our affiliates," said Friedman. With the addition of online video, and several other recently introduced multimedia features, mtvU also announced the renaming of College Publisher to the College Media Network. Robert Petty, CEO of Roo, said meeting the demands of young consumers is no easy task. "College students are probably the most discriminating, demanding and sophisticated consumers of video in the market today," he said. "They watch online video more than any other group, and their expectations for content and technical quality are extraordinarily high." Last August, mtvU acquired Y2M: Youth Media & Marketing Networks, the parent company of College Publisher. Since the acquisition, the network has grown from 450 campus publications to 510, and now serves institutions with a combined enrollment of over 5.5 million students, reaching an average of 5 million unique users each month. Roo has established itself as a company to watch in the nascent broadband industry. Earlier this year, News Corp. agreed to purchase a 5% stake in the company, and will potentially take another 5% in the near term. Along with the mtvU deal, Roo has been pursuing expansion through partnership deals and acquisition. Earlier this year, the company agreed to buy legal P2P service provider Wurld Media's assets for up to $10 million in cash and stock. The deal gave Roo's existing clients--including News Corp., Verizon and The Street.com--access to a burgeoning pay-to-play market.
The U.S. online banking population grew 9.5% in 2006 to 44 million customers, compared to double-digit increases in 2005 (27%) and 2004 (47%), according to the results of comScore's annual online banking review. While aggregate growth has dropped into the single digits, several individual banks experienced substantial gains, comScore reports. Both Citibank and Washington Mutual increased the number of online banking customers by more than 20%. Bank of America still dominates online banking, with more than 16 million customers. ComScore analysts attribute Citibank's growth to an aggressive "e-savings" campaign and Washington Mutual's gains to continued free checking and 5% statement savings accounts. comScore senior advisor Brian Jurutka says based on the way the numbers are trending, as the online banking industry matures, incentives will become more creative: "HSBC has a 6% introductory rate which is just a great rate. I think that's an indicator of the types of financial incentive programs we'll be seeing more of." One key element to increasing engagement among current online banking users is addressing customers' sense of security on the sites, Jurutka points out. Among the top five banks, Wachovia customers were the most satisfied both in terms of their overall banking relationship and with the bank's Web site, maintaining the lead for the third year in a row. Of Wachovia customers, 75% responded that they were highly satisfied with their banking relationship--up from 73% in 2005. Of these highly satisfied customers, 96% were also highly satisfied with the Wachovia site. Washington Mutual ranked second on both measures. While mobile Internet use continues to rise, less than a quarter of those who currently bank online are interested in mobile bank account access. The top reason cited for not being interested in mobile banking was the need for a mobile Internet subscription. Of those interested in mobile banking, the most desired service was balance inquiries. The 2007 comScore Online Banking Report, now in its seventh year, is based on interviews with a proprietary panel of more than two million online consumers. Additional information was provided by more than 1,400 U.S. online banking consumers surveyed from April 3-9 to better understand their banking relationships, attitudes and intentions. The Top 10 online banks rated by comScore based on the number of liquid deposit customers are Bank of America, Citibank, SunTrust, National City, ING Direct, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, Wachovia and U.S. Bank. Of these 10, those with the highest customer satisfaction are in this order: Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Customers with only one banking relationship were more satisfied than customers with deposit accounts at multiple banks. Customers who had both deposit and credit card accounts with a single bank were more satisfied than those with only one product. The bottom line: Financial incentives work, and banks that hope to retain customers must be first rate in customer service.
Are you tearing up the digital media space? Do extraordinary leadership skills and radical thinking come naturally to you? Is the person in the next cubicle over brimming with unusual ideas and insights? Do you know someone with the requisite passion and pluck to navigate the choppy online media seas? We are looking for people who don't settle for conventional strategies and who exceed their own and others' expectations. And here's the thing: Age doesn't matter here; it ain't nothing but a number. Our Rising Stars might be career-changers, late bloomers, or precocious and preternaturally talented 20-somethings. So, without further ado, we invite you to nominate yourself or someone you admire for OMMA magazine's Rising Media Stars of 2007. Our selections will appear in the June issue of OMMA. The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 30. Send your nominations to ommamagazine@mediapost.com