Google has quietly announced that it will be switching its YouTube co-viewing measurement set away from Nielsen and ComScore’s third-party measurement datasets towards its own data based on measurements and surveys.
The change has reportedly not gone down well with clients, with some reporting concerns over the transparency of the data given that Google would now be playing poacher and game-keeper with its own co-viewing data.
But, according to Taz Papoulias, head of media at full-service independent media shop Murmur Group, there is more to the changes than simply meets the eye.
“Co-viewing adds about 30 to 40 per cent to Alphabet’s revenue through YouTube CTV,” he explained to B&T.
“So, if 1.6 or 1.7 becomes 1.2, one, or 0.9 people who are viewing, they’ll have a significant drop in revenue because there will obviously be fewer impressions purchased. They want to control that data.”
Co-viewing data provides advertisers with an estimate of the number of people watching content if there is more than one person viewing on a single device. Just like watching good, old-fashioned TV.
Google told B&T, that there was no specific date set for the co-viewing data swap in Australia yet, only that the change will be rolled out globally next year. Google launched its co-viewing data sets with Nielsen last year. The Search giant is set to start billing for co-viewing impressions early next year in the US, with other countries to follow.
However, Papoulias believes that Google’s new approach runs contrary to its public statements.
“With all the new rollouts that are happening in terms of third-party and cookies, they still want to say that they have a strong offering. This is kind of contradictive to what they put out in the press not long ago saying ‘We need a comprehensive third-party measurement system and we need it now.’ Yet they’re doing the exact opposite with co-viewing.”
Previously, Nielsen offered set-top boxes that required consumers to input who was watching TV to gain somewhat accurate co-viewing numbers. Digital connected TVs, on the other hand, have made this harder and YouTube has long used in-platform surveys to help determine its co-viewing numbers. Arriving at an accurate figure for co-viewing can be challenging due to variances across the time of day, type of content and, obviously, lack of consumer engagement.
While seemingly a bit esoteric, this change in co-viewing measurement is reflective of far broader changes in the digital advertising and marketing world. While Google once had a near-monopoly on digital customer acquisition, Papoulias explained that this was changing due to increasingly fragmented media.
“It has to do with search habits changing. Google pretty much controls the industry. Google created the SEO industry and, in the beginning, it was about certain types of content, then it was about being an authority, then always having to have certain types of keywords. Now, over the last 12 months, they said that your content needs to be conversational,” he said.
With generative AI expediting the content creation process significantly, Papoulias said that search engines can’t work out the difference between two pieces of content and the “technical aspects” of bidding on content and buying video are being removed. As such, Google seems to be ahead of the game and heading off a “massive drop in revenue” by getting bringing its measurement in-house.
That’s great news for Google, but where does it leave agencies and brands looking to find customers?
“Do a premium negotiated buy,” said Papoulias, explaining that a lot of big brands are currently refusing to buy inventory without third-party verification.
“You can still do those buys [without third-party verification] but they’re going to become more expensive because you’re getting the real figures. If it’s 30 per cent less and you want to reach a million people, you’re only going to reach 700,000 and then you’re going to pay for that extra 300,000 that you’re actually looking for. For agencies and brands, if they go direct and they just put up with what Alphabet is telling us their figures are, then your reach will be significantly less.”
The other side of the coin sounds simple but, when marginal performance uplifts seem so enticing and so easily reportable to your bosses, it can get lost.
“Have an audience-led approach,” said Papoulias. Diversifying media and understanding how channels actually work in the funnel is going to become even more important.
“A lot of the time it’s just about awareness. You don’t actually generate a lead from TikTok, Meta, YouTube or LinkedIn. It’s the awareness factor. They see you there all the time and then they go to Google and search for you,” he explained.
“You can still get in front of your customer in other ways. It could be Digital Out-Of-Home, for a similar rate, top-of-the-line media, radio, you’ll still drive those search terms. Some 95 per cent of all search for B2B and B2C starts with a search engine because they’ve heard it elsewhere.”
So, who can you copy to make the most of the new changes? Papoulias pointed to FIFA — the Matildas was “great exposure” and “they’re reaching people in all screens at all times.”
Coca-Cola, Audi, and Mercedes are all worth emulating, as well. Admittedly, they’re premium brands with correspondingly premium budgets. But, Papoulias believes that the relatively cheap CPMs available through video, due to buyers being “scared,” presents a potentially lucrative opportunity.
