YouTube's Ad Capping Frequency Effort Addresses Major Issue: EMarketer
YouTube’s announcement last week that it will cap the number of times viewers see an ad on YouTube and third-party networks addresses repetitive ads, “a well-known problem that has plagued the advertising industry for years,” said eMarketer analyst Jeremy Goldman Monday.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
The Google streaming platform announced Target frequency globally for YouTube campaigns, with a goal of helping advertisers optimize reach and frequency, while providing "a suitable advertising experience for viewers." Target frequency allows advertisers to select a frequency goal of up to four per week, and YouTube systems "will optimize towards maximum unique reach at that desired frequency," it said.
Triscuit participated in an experiment to determine the incremental ad recall that a weekly frequency of two could deliver, YouTube said. The Target frequency campaign achieved a 93% higher absolute ad recall lift vs. the nonfrequency optimized campaign, "at a 40% cheaper cost per lifted user," YouTube said.
Repetitive ads are a growing problem for brands as the number of U.S. homes watching linear TV shrinks, a trend eMarketer predicts will increase by 29% by 2026. A Nielsen study commissioned by Google shows TV marketers’ return on investment (ROI) fell by 41% on average when frequency topped six weekly impressions, which accounts for 46% of impressions given.
Ad-supported VOD users “often gripe about being bombarded with the same ads over and over again,” Goldman said. Streaming ad “overexposure also irritates advertisers,” who want their campaigns to draw customers vs. “tick them off,” he said. Getting frequency right helps advertisers achieve better ROI by ensuring that ads are “landing with viewers at appropriate intervals,” he said.
Frequency capping across platforms is a challenge since consumers move seamlessly between linear and streaming, said eMarketer Insider Intelligence analyst Evelyn Mitchell: “Unless and until platforms talk to each other in real time, it will be impossible to limit frequency holistically." Advertisers can limit cross-platform frequency via digital service providers, but if those same advertisers are also purchasing inventory directly with a platform, that can lead to over-frequency, even if there are frequency capping measures in place with both purchase paths, she said.
A grab for impressions can lead an agency to show ads to a low-quality audience “or perhaps even to bots, who have no disposable income,” Goldman said. The bottom line: “Advertisers and consumers are both in a tough position,” said the analyst. “The frequency of TV spots being seen by the audience is rising, while reach is simultaneously dropping. Repeatedly seeing the same ad is annoying for viewers and wasteful for advertisers," he said.