Dear Tech Support: Can't programmatic count as a line item?

Dear Xaxis, 

I wonder about the data my agency is using in the services they sell me. How do I know if it’s accurate?

Thanks,

—Data Skeptic

Dear Data Skeptic,

Many advertisers place a lot of trust in their agencies and take what is reported based on the strength of the working relationship—that usually enables execution of great work. But with increasing pressure all around for transparency and accountability thanks to persistent issues of fraud—trust is no longer enough.

Rohan Philips

For advertisers who transact online, ensuring accuracy is relatively straight forward. One could measure the accuracy of the data by measuring the cost of acquiring a new or existing user: typically you will find re-targeting, models of re-targeting, CRM and certain intent data sources outperform others. However, when you start to measure behaviour, demographics, cross-device data amongst others it starts to get a lot more complex.

Using a third-party to audit will give you the best measure of accuracy. Xaxis recently went a global audit of our DMP Turbine using comScore, which measured the accuracy of the data in comparison to other data sources in the market. In this audit, comScore assessed segments for accuracy by validating Turbine’s audience data against the 1.9 trillion interactions observed by comScore’s global census monthly.

The results were heartening, with Turbine outperforming its benchmark in accurately predicting consumer purchase intent and interests across its proprietary, real-time audience segments. It proved that our solution precisely mapped to the intended targets across all addressable media.

Audits are daunting exercises, and the industry is still at a stage where such measures are voluntary rather than mandated.

So ask your digital agency if its solutions have been independently tested and audited, or whether it has plans to do so. The proprietary nature of such solutions means you can’t let everyone under the hood but if a trusted and knowledgeable third-party is involved, it is the best reassurance any advertiser can ask for.

Rohan Philips
Vice-president, products and strategy, Xaxis Asia-Pacific