OK, Advertising Week just ended… does anyone else feel like the online advertising industry is the orchestra, playing on while the Titanic is sinking? We have a problem, folks. And I, for one, think we should start to fix it by killing off the CPM, once and for all. I have been in the Internet media space for 16 years and will start by stating the obvious: The CPM has done more to stunt innovation and drag down quality products than any single thing on the Internet. Maybe it works in other mediums, but it sure as hell doesn’t work on the Internet. Having been both a small and big publisher (now small again), it’s been my experience that the collective focus on CPMs and counting eyeballs by marketers, agencies, and publishers has led to a whole mess of unintended consequences that have produced a series of “solutions” that work for none of those parties. And perhaps more importantly, it’s been terrible for users.via TechCrunch
I couldn't agree with Shelby more. Unless you're talking about pure awareness driving, and you assume the display of an impression is actually doing something, why should we continue to buy using that as a measure of efficiency or effectiveness? If what we're trying to do with our digital advertising is engage -- and that's a big if (not seeing it happen enough) -- why wouldn't we buy based upon that efficiency?
I think the simple answer is that we're not holding ourselves accountable for engagement, and marketers aren't seeing that as the goal of their online advertising. That's near-sightedness, and a lack of understanding of where our place is in the decision funnel. Until we've got that understanding, we're going to be chasing impressions, rather than effect. Engagement (with brands, and with each other) is what drives people closer to a decision -- why not make that a goal of your ad spend? Treat engagement (you define what that means to you) as a key performance indicator, and you'll be closer to your marketing objectives than ever before.
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