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Since data can be too good to be true, verification is key: MRC exec

Author

Brielle Jaekel
NEW YORK ? An executive from the Media Rating Council at the MMA Mobile Automation and Programmatic Leadership Forum emphasized how important it is for researchers to value verification and transparency, especially when it comes to location data.

During the session, "Mobile Measurement: An Update on MRC Initiatives and Guidelines," the executive explained that while mobile location offers up a huge data opportunity for marketers, it is vital that this information is accurate. There is a wide range of ways to collect data in terms of location such as Wi-Fi triangulation, cellular services, Bluetooth, beacons and geofencing, and it is important to determine where the data is coming from and what that means. 

"If you have KPIs and good data that you trust that meets your expectations in terms of performance, if it is too good to be true, it is likely that you need to investigate further to make sure that effective protocol with the data you are using," said Ron Pinelli Jr., vice president of digital research and standards at Media Rating Council, Inc. "It is important to determine whether or not all this information is necessary in terms of the demographics you want to target, behaviors you want to target, or whether you want to look at the location of the user. 

"The demands are there and the measurement is there," he said. "A lot of this measurement is being done without transparency because the guidelines are not there to attribute demographic information." 

Best practices

Making sure that the data being used has strong controls is significant for filtering out invalid traffic. When looking into programmatic data, it is important to keep the wide range of variables in mind, such as how robust is the information and how big of a footprint there is on the data being collected. 

Full disclosure should be practiced for viewable mobile ad impressions platforms to data users, and should include third-party measures as well. It is vital to divulge measurement methods and key metrics from publishers, portals, ad-servers, ad networks and exchanges.

Counted views

"Consider the relative accuracy of the information that is being used, whether it is directly collected information or modeled information," Mr. Pinelli said. "Consider how recent that data is, how long ago was it collected and depending on the demographic category, that can determine how relevant that information is to how you are using it."