Viewable Impressions: What You Need to Know

A recent article on ClickZ spoke to a partnership between publisher Gannett Co., Inc. and comScore. The publishing powerhouse will be using comScore to implement viewable impression measurement across ad campaigns appearing on USATODAY.com.

The recent development of viewable impressions has tail-spinned into a conversation about how publishers will verify viewability.

When reading the article, I found some interesting things.  Although it first mentions parent company Gannett, it indicates that comScore is verifying impressions only on USA Today and not on any of their other sites.  I think it will be much easier and important for larger brands like those to start embracing this new metric first because they will set the stage for more widespread adoption.

Of course, eventually, all sites are going to need to embrace this new metric if they want to compete for brand dollars, but it’s a must for the national publishers to take the first steps since they are the most dependent on brand advertisers.

Also, it mentions that USA Today just re-launched their site. “A revamped USAToday.com went live on September 15, featuring a de-cluttered layout designed, aiming to provide a better environment for advertisers.”

This is key: Sites will need to – and should start thinking and talking about how they can – optimize their page layouts to better compete in a space where each impression will be cataloged. By providing advertisers a better environment in which to run their ads, publishers will go a long way toward effectively supporting such metrics.  Also, by optimizing page and ad layouts, sites might also benefit from improved user experience and inventory demand.

One thing that’s for sure: While everyone in the industry will need to embrace this new metric, there is still a lot of work required from all players before we get there. It’s a complex topic which warrants a deeper discussion and we’ve got one for you.