Media Execs Discuss Advertising Accountability

Rich Yaffa, CEO of Media Ventures Group Holdings, Inc., appeared on a panel to discuss “Advertising Accountability: Metrics and Analytics around Video, Social Media, Broadband and Mobile,” during the 8th Annual Media Summit in New York on March 10, 2011, sponsored by Bloomberg.

The key to moving the revenue needle for a client’s business depends largely on how well the agency partner interprets media data, Yaffa said, and astute analysis enables agencies to make the best media-mix recommendation to move a business forward. He also stressed the need for agencies to ensure the integrity of the data they use because it informs the analysis and the media recommendations to clients. “It’s important to compare different sources of audience-delivery data to make sure they are consistent,” Yaffa said.

All the panelists agreed that the most accurate data available in terms of audience action, intent and attitude is the mobile phone. “You know who the consumer is. You’re not guessing,” said panelist Jeff Plaisted, National Sales Manager in Microsoft’s Mobile Advertising Division. With a set-top box on a TV, he added, it’s impossible to know who’s watching or how many people are in the room. While mobile marketing is something all the panelists expressed enthusiasm and excitement about, they also cautioned that the many barriers to obtaining the data in that space make mobile just one spoke in the marketing mix. “If you’re focusing on a single device or platform, you are missing scale and a significant portion of your target audience,” Plaisted continued.

Linda Gridley, president and CEO of Gridley & Company moderated the panel, which included David Rosenberg, Director of Emerging Media at JWT New York; Shaukat Shamim, CEO and co-founder of Buysight; and Dave Kaplan, SVP, Product Leadership, Nielsen IAG.