Paramount Global said it would bake a new suite of data into all ad deals “at no additional cost” that examines whether a commercial spurred a consumer to take a particular action, a measure known as “attribution” that is gaining new sway on Madison Avenue as marketers struggle to determine the effectiveness of their paid media pitches.
Paramount said it would offer data from both Mastercard and EDO, a start-up founded in part by actor Ed Norton, that will help clients examine “outcomes,” such as a visit to a marketer’s web site or showroom, or a consumer search for a product being advertised. The company unveils the offer with just days to go before the start of the industry’s annual “upfront” market, when U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk fo their commercial inventory ahead of their next cycles of programming.
“Our goal here is to provide full transparency across outcome metrics not typically associated with premium video so that advertisers can better understand the value of our products,” said John Halley, president of Paramount Advertising, in a statement.
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Paramount is the latest media company to spotlight the growing importance of “attribution” to advertisers. A+E Networks in March said it would will analyze attention, recall and search engagement via data from TVision, a company that analyzes how viewers watch TV; Brand Effect; and EDO.
Tying commercials to actual consumer action is a relatively nascent practice, but one that has come under increasing scrutiny. In 2018, Discovery Communications, Fox News, A + E Networks, AMC Networks, CBS Corp., and Disney ABC Televisionpursued a trial of technology that sought to tie exposure to video ads to an actual customer action. Nielsen is among the entities that have struck an alliance with EDO.
The Mastercard alliance will let advertisers monitor reaction to their ad campaigns in real time across all of Paramount’s linear and digital properties, and help them identify which appearances best spur performance.
Paramount unveils the enticement while it is under investor scrutiny. The company earlier this week ousted its CEO, Bob Bakish, in favor of a new commanding trio consisting of divisional chiefs Brian Robbins, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy. Paramount Global is also considering the effects of a potential sale by its controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone and her investment vehicle National Amusements, that could radically reshape the company.
