Just weeks after
the Media Rating Council (MRC) announced it will lift its viewability advisory in Q1 2014, officially backing its use as a digital currency, Google has jumped on the opportunity -- albeit a bit sooner
than the MRC anticipated. Google has given marketers the option to bid and pay only for ad impressions that are measured as viewable.
The Viewable CPM bid strategy uses the definition of
viewability that has become widely accepted: when 50% of an ad is shown for a second or longer.
Google calls it a "viewable CPM bid strategy," which means marketers bid on 1,000
impressions and only pay for slots that are viewable. The "bids are optimized to favor ad slots that are more likely to become viewable," according to Google's information page on the new strategy. However, Google warns eager marketers that "your bid for your viewable CPM might need to be higher
than your bid for a standard CPM campaign."
Adweek calls the move "huge,"
noting the size of Google's Display Ad Network and the fact that anything Google does is influential. Eric Franchi, co-founder and chief evangelist of Undertone, agrees. He regards the move by
Google as one "that can accelerate change in the market."
While Franchi does think it could light a fire under other networks or exchanges to follow suit, he believes the real
question is whether or not they push ahead despite the MRC advisory to wait.
Either way, Franchi thinks marketers are ready for this type of buying flexibility. "Assuming Google
makes a push in market, I think they are going to see a lot of interest," he remarked. "Marketers love the concept of viewability, and rightfully so."
"Eye" picture from Shutterstock.