My ComScore Optimization Brutha From Anutha Mutha
I previously wrote about ComScore Optimization, how valuable it was, and how media companies are beginning to abuse their ComScore & Nielsen ratings for a profit.
Today, prominent hedge fund strategist Barry Ritholtz wrote about the worthless accuracy of ComScore, as well:
What does this clause actually mean — to the new measuring metrics, to bloggers, and to the Media’s push onto the web? Let’s consider the ramifications:
1) This is nothing short of a naked grab to steal Blog traffic numbers, and artificially boost MSM web traffic numbers….
2) Nielsen Net Ratings and comScore Media Metrix data are soon to be — assuming they are not already – worthless bull$h%t.
3) This means that, very soon, web Advertisers will no longer be able to trust the data they get from publishers or these traffic rating agencies.
4) I don’t know the VCs behind the rating outfits, but I cannot believe the original pitch included anything like “And, our ratings can be easily traded and assigned, making them essentially worthless as a web metric.”…
I will bet you that the web traffic scores will soon be as informative and reliable as the S&P or Moody AAA ratings on sub-prime mortgage CDOs.
I’ll leave it up to you guys, my audience o’spammers, to figure out how to capitalize on all this in your own businesses.
Sexy topic Brian.
“how media companies are beginning to abuse their ComScore & Nielsen ratings for a profit.”
Not beginning - it’s been happening for years
“3) This means that, very soon, web Advertisers will no longer be able to trust the data they get from publishers or these traffic rating agencies. Ad revenue rates are based on click-throughs and page-views. However, CPM rates are negotiated — not measured. Hence, I assume is that this is for setting higher CPM rates (plus bragging rights).”
Most media sellers don’t care about HOW Nielsen/Comscore calculate their shit, all they care about is where their next commission comes from. It doesn’t matter if your SEO or web analytics guy understands how unwieldy Comscore/Nielsen methodology is if the media buyers and media advertisers choose to remain ignorant.
Sitting in on a media sales team is like being on Wall Street - “Ummm, gimme 4 months MSN messenger at 300″.
“We’ve got a guy on line 3 willing to pay 200% more for a home page text link that isn’t a redirect!”
“Marketing, we need more uniques - no, we don’t care where you get them from”
I’ve seen Nielsen Market Intelligence completely trash an entire classifieds category because of the blatant manipulation by the top players jockeying for #1.
Good stuff, Lucas. It’s a lot more rampant than ComScore or Nielsen cares to admit. Where you see a ton of it on the media buy side, I see a lot of it “coincidentally” occuring M&A phases. Thanks for the comment.