Media Management

Finding the metrics that matter in online media measurement

Adaptive Mindset

“You need to rely heavily on your agency to get your campaigns online so it’s hard, but procurement can be the one that says,´OK, here are the specifications we need you to measure against”

Online media buying is a significant investment area. However, marketing procurement teams face a major challenge in ensuring funds are spent wisely. While it’s easy to think procurement is all about cost savings, the truth is more complex. The real issue lies in the transparency and quality of the online media purchased and how procurement can measure its true value.

The growing issue of wasted spend

Many marketers and procurement teams worry about wasted spend in digital campaigns. Research shows that up to 60% of digital media budgets can be wasted. This happens because of poor buying practices, a lack of transparency, or fraud. Cost-per-impression (CPM) is a popular way to assess online media buys.

However, it can mask the real value of those impressions. Procurement teams may pay for impressions that don’t reach the right audience or aren’t acted on.

“We shouldn’t have to live in a world where we don’t know what’s working,” insists Fredrik Kinge, Global CEO, ECI Media Management. “Everything is measurable.”  And yet, there is still a failure to understand media buy effectiveness. Traditional media, like TV, has clear metrics. But online media can be confusing with its cost structure and measurement.

Consequently, procurement teams often struggle to assess the true value of their purchases. “We are buying return on investment but that’s not really what you’re paying for. It might be hard to attribute what is really driving sales. You can’t go to an agency and ask to buy 10% more sales for your brand. It’s a spectrum,” Kinge explains.

The challenge of defining “quality” in media

Defining quality is a major obstacle. Procurement usually focuses on cost-per-unit metrics—what you pay per item. However, for online media, quality must also be considered. Kinge explains that quality is not just about looks; it’s about meeting specific performance standards. For instance, if a restaurant buys meat and half is spoiled, it affects its overall ability to serve good food. It’s the same principle if half of digital impressions are fraudulent or non-viewable.

Procurement teams need to realise that, while they focus on CPMs and discounts, they should also understand what defines media quality. What criteria ensure that a media buy meets its goals? What characteristics must be present so that the audience sees and interacts with the ads?

The role of marketing and procurement collaboration

Closing potential gaps between procurement and marketing is crucial to reduce inefficiencies in online media buying. Procurement teams aim to secure the best deals, while marketing focuses on campaign strategy and brand consistency. However, this intersection is where waste often occurs.

Kinge argues that procurement teams should collaborate with marketing to define media buy value. Just like in other industries, where procurement evaluates the quality of materials, they must understand digital media. Collaboration can help shape actionable KPIs that reflect the true value of purchases.

For example, procurement shouldn’t just look at the CPM rate or campaign cost; they must ask deeper questions about media quality. Is the ad reaching the right audience? Are the impressions valid and viewable? Is the exposure time long enough to be impactful? 

“It’s more about finding a technical checklist,” Kinge advises, “and then procurement needs to highlight that we need to qualify the value of what we’re getting through the lens of these specifications. This is a process of coaching both marketing and procurement to define the common terms.”

These factors are essential for marketing procurement teams to avoid paying for wasted media or ineffective campaigns.

Defining the right KPIs for procurement

To tackle wasted spend, Kinge suggests redefining KPIs to align with both marketing and procurement needs. He highlights several critical KPIs for evaluating online media campaigns, including:

1. Fraud prevention: Fraud is a persistent source of wasted spend in digital media. Fraudulent sites and non-human traffic can inflate impressions without delivering value. Procurement teams must identify and eliminate fraudulent impressions to ensure effective use of funds.
2. Viewability: “Viewability” measures whether an ad is visible to people. Impressions in unseen places (e.g., below the fold) are wasted. Kinge highlights that viewability metrics should be central to any procurement strategy.
3. Exposure length: Short exposure times, especially on social media, diminish ad impact. An impression lasting only a fraction of a second is less effective than one shown for longer. Procurement must consider both how long the ad is visible and whether it’s displayed for long enough to create the intended impact.

Redefining the cost per impression (CPM) metric

A key change Kinge proposes is moving from traditional CPM to a “True CPM” that considers both cost and quality. Traditional CPM only captures impression cost without factoring in viewability or engagement.

“It’s different to buying a widget for a technical device. In a scientific way, you can check whether it’s working or not. In marketing, you can’t always know exactly what’s working but advertisers need to own this,” Kinge warns. 

“You need to rely heavily on your agency to get your campaigns online so it’s hard,” he acknowledges, “but procurement can be the one that says, ´OK, here are the specifications we need you to measure against´. Focusing just on CPM may be able to get you savings, but you’re potentially sacrificing all your impact and effectiveness too. 

By adding metrics like viewability, exposure length, and fraud prevention, procurement teams can better gauge the real value of impressions. This ´True CPM´ offers a clearer picture of campaign performance and aids in better decision-making. “We’re not throwing them out, we’re just rebalancing the equation,” he emphasises. 

The importance of independent audits

Kinge also stresses the need for independent audits to ensure KPIs are met and procurement gets true value from media buys. Working with third-party auditors can provide transparency and objectivity in assessing media performance. By comparing campaign results to market standards, procurement teams can spot inefficiencies and ensure they’re getting a good return on their media investments.

Kinge cites a major advertiser as an example. They have used financial and media performance audits to combine cost and quality metrics and measure against benchmarks. “Agencies have never been more important, you just need to work with them in the right way. You need transparency and clear KPIs so they can drive your marketing performance.

We don’t just track costs or compare them year on year, or look at cost performance versus agency commitment, we benchmark the cost and quality versus the market.

That’s what procurement wants, someone to help quantify. It’s not just ‘our viewability improved’. What’s that worth? An auditor will translate that to money.” This approach helped them improve media performance and find savings opportunities. Independent auditors can quantify wasted spend and reveal hidden savings, making them vital to the procurement process.

As digital advertising evolves, marketing procurement’s role is increasingly crucial for wise investments. Procurement teams can cut waste and boost online media effectiveness, by redefining KPIs. They should focus on quality metrics like fraud prevention, viewability and exposure length. Also, using independent audits helps improve results.

It’s time for procurement and marketing to work more closely together to define real value in the digital space and ensure every dollar spent delivers measurable results.

Fredrik Kinge is Global CEO, ECI Media Management