Defining the New Media Currency

I loved the cheek of this panel.  This session was promoted under the assertion that our digital marketplace demands a new, “universal currency” to measure online effectiveness.  Once the moderator, David Carrel - VP, Director Strategy & Analysis at Digitas introduced and set up the proposition, the panelists proceeded to vilify the idea of a universal currency of measurement. It was actually pretty entertaining as they made forceful, yet persuasive arguments for the “debate” to go away.

The panelists included Kate Sirkin, Executive VP, Global Research Director, Starcom Mediavest Group, Karen H. Ebben, Director, Marketing Effectiveness and Enabling Analytics, GMIA, General Motors Corporation and Charlie Buchwalter, SVP Industry Solutions, with the newly formed Nielsen Online.  Kate launched into the different stages of the consumer buying cycle and how “they each provide a different role and provide a different value.”  While her slides were wholly unreadable, her message was intuitive.

Charlie Buchwalter agreed that we should pursue an industry standard of measurement, but he warned that changes were occurring so quickly that any standard might be irrelevant by the time it takes to become accepted. He said “There is TONS going on in the digital world,” and his use of “TONS” made me laugh given the precise metrics that drive Nielsen Online. Charlie also said that historical measurement of online media cannot touch the kind of cross-platform measurement that is now being accomplished and “the fact that we can start connecting the results now is really significant.” 

My favorite panelist, however, was Karen Ebben from GM (not a brand we immediately associate with innovation).  Karen said flat-out “I don’t think it’s possible to create a new media currency, especially online, because it’s getting more fragmented, not less.” Her suspicion of a universal formula of measurement seems born from years of experience and testing. I asked her how she manages each channel and if she used channel modeling to formulate her media mix. She said they don’t dive too deeply into any one device or discipline because “the more narrow you mine with a hammer in your hand, everything starts to look like a nail.” She busted several myths including “people who request marketing materials do not necessarily represent new customers” (a significant portion are current customers), and ” people who reject your offers may be on the verge of becoming your next customer.”

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