Video Advertisers in Canada Want Their GRPs

Recent data from the IAB Canada reaffirms why the organization’s U.S. counterparts are pushing the online ad industry to adopt a GRP-like ad metric. According to the “Canada Video Advertising Report,” 65 percent of ad agency execs in the great white North believe that research around the GRP – the standard used for TV – is the most encouraging propeller of video ad spending.

Respondents to the study, conducted in conjunction with video ad network BrightRoll, also called the GRP “their least important success metric,” according to the report. How does the Interactive Advertising Bureau explain this? “This shows that while advertisers understand the benefits of GRP measurement, they don’t yet have adequate tools to actually use it in planning and measuring campaigns,” said the report, reiterating the IAB’s call for an online GRP standard. “The industry should move toward synchronizing how GRPs are calculated and applying them across all screens.”

The IAB in July said it aims for the industry to have audience-focused eGRP and related viewable impressions metrics standards take hold by the first quarter of 2013, phasing out the ad impressions-served metric.

Twenty-eight percent of survey participants said a lack of digital metrics that compare well to TV is impeding digital video ad growth.

While advertisers in the U.S. and Canada seem to agree that there’s a need for better online metrics for devising a cross-platform media plan, they differ when it comes to where they buy their video ads. Nearly 50 percent of those surveyed in Canada said they are most inclined to buy video from a broadcaster, compared to just 7 percent in the U.S where the largest portion said they prefer buying through ad networks – 41 percent.

Advertisers seem to be moving toward crafting cohesive video campaigns that can be viewed on multiple screens. The report noted that only 6 percent of respondents last year said they want to re-use creative, most likely referring to repurposing television spots for digital platforms. This year the number leapt to 22 percent.

The video report showed that 82 percent of the 100 execs surveyed said digital video is as or more effective than display ads, 73 percent said it is equally or more effective than social media, and 68 percent said it is equally or more effective than TV. Perceived effectiveness dropped when it came to direct marketing – 47 percent – and search – 39 percent.