2013 was the year of the completion rate. This is a great foundational metric that allows the marketer to, at the very least, know that their video assets are being played in a video player somewhere online. It’s a good start, but the completion rate on its own is simply not enough. Video is the king of brand marketing formats, so let’s start treating it that way. Here are 10 metrics that every marketer should measure for every video campaign.

1. The 10 Video Ad
Metrics to Measure
2014

2. REACH
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It’s essential for marketers to measure the total number of unique
consumers exposed to their ad campaigns because this defines the
audience that is being influenced to consume and share a brand.
Reach is the foundation of scale.

3. FREQUENCY
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The number of times a consumer is exposed to an ad campaign
has a huge impact on that consumer’s likelihood of processing and
retaining a brand’s message. Different messages resonate with
different consumers at different frequencies of repetition.
This is not a one-size-fits-all metric. Greater frequency does not
always equal greater effectiveness. In fact, excessive frequency can
actually harm the way a brand is perceived.

4. GROSS RATING POINTS
The GRP factors in reach and frequency to give context to a
marketing campaign’s piece of its relevant media universe.
This decades-old metric quantifies the size of a brand’s slice of the
overall audience-attention pie. 2014 will mark a new era when the
GRP becomes standardized as digital currency.
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5. DEMOGRAPHICS
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It’s critical for marketers to understand exactly who their marketing
message is reaching. Age, gender and household income are solid
foundational pieces of the demographic composition puzzle, but
there’s always more to be discovered.
Good marketers always push to understand what’s unique about
their brand’s target audience. Any opportunity to measure or target
a custom demographic segment should always be explored.

6. TIME SPENT
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Consumer attention is the single most valuable currency there is.
Measuring the exact amount of time a consumer spends with an ad
is the only way for a marketer to truly understand exactly how much
attention is focused on their brand message.

7. COMPLETION RATE
Every ad impression is an opportunity for a consumer to watch an
entire video ad through to its end.
It’s essential to measure the number of times a video creative is
consumed in its entirety.
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8. DROP-OFF POINT
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Let’s face it, every video ad impression does not result in a
completion. Not even close.
For those consumers who do not watch an entire video ad, knowing
the exact point in the creative that lost their interest is essential. This
is the drop-off point.

9. BRAND LIFT
Nobody buys a bag of chips or a new car via the internet. Clearly,
video ads can psychologically influence these purchases offline.
Savvy marketers understand that it’s critical to measure the true
impact of their ads by constantly gauging the audience’s
perception and retention of a branded message.
Brand lift quantifies the influence that a video ad has on a
consumer’s perspective about a brand and its message.
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10. OPTIMAL FREQUENCY
The intersection of brand lift and frequency tells a very powerful
story. Not all brands or even video creative are equal.
Optimal frequency tells the marketer exactly how many times a
consumer needs to be exposed to a campaign, or a specific video
creative, to achieve maximum brand lift.
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11. VIEWABLE CPM
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While the viewable impression has not become currency yet, the
writing is on the wall. Marketers know that paying for an ad
impression that nobody sees is the definition of wasted media budget.
The vCPM is the true CPM. Dividing the budget spent by only
viewable impressions is a powerful way for marketers to gauge the
true cost of reaching real consumers.