About CEO Says Video Ad Metrics Need Fixin'

Are video ads priced fairly? That’s what About CEO Scott Meyer pondered aloud during a session on multimedia ads at the Syndicate Conference here in New York. After futzing with his laptop presentation to get a pre-roll spot for Toyota’s Rav4, accompanied by an interactive component, to play, Meyer asked rhetorically, “Should that be priced the same way as a 30-second spot that ran on ‘Sports Center’? It’s an open question.” A lot more can be done in the lean-in environment of the Web, he continued.

During the Q&A period, I asked him to elaborate. Does he think video ads are priced too low? What does he envision? In response, he made clear that he doesn’t necessarily think they’re priced too low, but rather CPM might not be the best way to sell video spots, especially those with interactive components that put them in another realm beyond standard TV ads. He also suggested that the dearth in video ad inventory indicates that the pricing model is off.

What would work? He’s not sure, but a possibility he pointed to is IGRP, Internet/Interactive Gross Ratings Points (not Interior Gateway Routing Protocol). In other words, the answer might be to apply the traditional TV GRP metric to streaming ads. In the next year or two, figures Meyer, advertisers and publishers will have a better handle on video ad metrics (and pricing?).