Conference Topics
AUDIENCExSCIENCE Call for Content is now closed. Submissions are being considered by the Board of Curators and will be announced this summer.
1. ATTRIBUTION: A Brave New World
The abrupt disruption and business challenges brought on by COVID-19 emphasize the need for marketers to quantify tangible results of their marketing efforts. The biggest impact of COVID-19 on attribution is that the pandemic changed consumer behaviors, leaving many uncertain about how to deal with their attribution models. What is transient and what is permanent? The world will look different when the pandemic ends so how can modelers mitigate damage to their models? We’re looking to dig deeper into how this is possible with the third party cookie on death-watch.
COOKIE-LESS WORLD
Some argue that future solutions include virtual IDs as an alternative to persons-based identity. Others say it is likely to be a combination of deterministic, probabilistic, some testing, and some [data] clean rooms.
How should companies start preparing in this new leaner data environment? What do digital advertising best practices look like in the new cookie-less ecosystem? Real data and case studies are welcome and encouraged as the industry navigates this new territory.
INCREMENTALITY
Digital platforms have championed the value of randomized control tests as a cornerstone of their success. Incrementality has brought more scientific rigor to marketing but more needs to be done to extend it to cross-platform advertising impact analysis. What advances have been made?
MTA
What is the future of MTA in a cookieless world? Is it still feasible in a privacy-first environment? How will performance marketing adjust? How will our understanding of the customer journey be changed?
2. TELEVISION DISRUPTED
AVOD and ADDRESSABLE TV
Addressable TV is becoming easier to buy, and AVOD ad inventories are increasing – despite the simultaneous rise in SVOD. How is the TV ad market evolving as audiences fragment into segments reachable through traditional broadcasters, MVPDs, OEMs selling smart TV audiences, and newer digital streaming platforms? What does that mean for planning, buying and audience measurement for advertisers and programmers?
What does this mean for the future of addressable TV? How can advertisers buy more addressable inventory in combination with other targeting and other media platforms, to improve business results? Studies from marketers are invited showing both successes and challenges.
STREAMING WARS
Streaming and connected TV – both SVOD and AVOD – were gaining market share of the television industry before the pandemic and have now grown significantly. However, the mix has shifted.
As more competitors enter the market, how are consumer behaviors changing in response? How are competitors in the streaming wars building their audiences? Where do we expect this to move in the year ahead and how does it affect the measurement of video content, level of coverage, etc.? How are the networks adjusting to a dual revenue model (ads PLUS subscription management) that is more reminiscent of newspaper and magazine publishers than of traditional TV networks?
Additionally, interest continues to build in the direct measurement of attention. How is this being accomplished and how is it being used in the estimation and valuation of audiences?
And what about streaming audio platforms? How have they changed in the current virtual environment in managing reach and frequency across shared devices and platforms? Will we see an increase of audio consumption as people commute back to work? What does this mean for advertisers?
RISING TECHNOLOGY
How will new technologies affect the digital and video environment. When and how will ATSC3 change local television. How has the move to VOD affected local television and its measurement? What other new technologies will change measurement.
DITIGAL GAMING
Digital gaming as a way to socialize has increased thanks to stay-at-home orders brought on by COVID-19. Game watching is also reaching a broader demographic with the increase in new streamers and influencers. Additionally, E-sports can provide a monetization channel for publishers, and an opportunity for entry with hard to reach audiences. And, with gaming shifts to digital, there will be more opportunity to build closed-loop marketing strategies and easier access to consumer insights.
How have brands taken advantage of this market? Is gamification being used in research and if so, how does it represent an improvement?
What case studies showcase companies using data-driven insights via games and apps to help improve retention or monetization opportunities?
3. CROSS-PLATFORM: Measurement & Identity
TRUE CROSS-PLATFORM MEASUREMENT
A variety of methods are currently being proposed to achieve the ultimate goal of solving “true cross-platform measurement”. These include new identity resolution systems, methods for sharing ad impressions data (minding privacy-compliance) and global principles for cross-platform measurement.
Marketers continue to advocate for unduplicated cross-platform measurement of audiences, with most of the focus on combining measurement digital and TV ad exposures. In particular, the World Federation of Advertisers-led initiative proposes a data architecture that keeps the PII within the walled gardens but that establishes a “virtual ID” system for estimating duplication without compromising privacy (or data ownership). What is the evidence so far regarding the efficacy and accuracy of this approach? How much does it depend on the acceptance of calibration panels as the “truth set” and are they up to that challenge? Are there alternatives? Is the duration-weighted video exposure metric fair to all media, platforms and devices?
RADIO
How will terrestrial be measured and integrated into cross platform? Will streaming radio be credited for video on mobile screens? What happens if drive never returns.
MOBILE APPS
Privacy constraints are changing the business models for mobile apps, making it harder to incorporate them into marketing plans. How can marketers shift to adhering to these constraints while also leveraging in-app advertising, viewability, addressability and scale?
4. DATA AND PRIVACY
The tension between privacy guidelines and consumer reach continues. Creating positive, meaningful experiences strengthens brand trust, helping consumers feel more comfortable “trading” their data. As work-from-home-life continues, people will search for valuable digital tools and resources. How are companies using privacy concerns to BUILD audiences and develop trust?
5. POST-PANDEMIC TRENDS (AGILITY AND ADAPTABILITY)
What potential permanent or long-lasting changes have been brought on from the uncertainty of 2020, including a divisive presidential election, pandemic, social unrest and an economic recession?
MEDIA AND CONSUMER PURCHASING BEHAVIOR
E-commerce has exploded since March 2020 and this trend will likely continue through 2021. The majority of brands will most likely increase or maintain D2C activity in 2021, preparing them to adapt to a permanent consumer shift to e-commerce should that materialize.
How have brands with a stronghold in e-commerce and social commerce approached building their audiences directly? How have those audiences grown? What new methods have emerged and succeeded? How will this affect brand strategy and media investment? Are big brands (Amazon, Walmart) the only winners in ad sale revenue? How can others follow?
LOCAL and OOH
Regional and national brands are looking to local media to help reach customers and manage regulations related to COVID-19. As brands start thinking more granularly about how media is purchased, what examples of geo-targeted media will offer the required customization? What other methods will lead to brand growth? There is also a trending assumption that brands will push for OOH 2021 as people slowly start to head back to the office. Will this traditional media succeed, especially in high demand?
6. CARPE DIEM
There are continuing challenges in audience measurement that may not be specifically included in the AUDIENCExSCIENCE 2021 Call for Content categories. This is your opportunity to share work that frame and address important industry challenges as well as spur on conversation and debate.
If you have questions, please contact Sara Serpe at sara@thearf.org