Overview
With the 6.35 Release, scheduled for April 14, 2020, FreeWheel will be making changes to accredited metrics within FreeWheel Analytics.
To align with Media Rating Council (MRC) guidelines and maintain FreeWheel's General Invalid Traffic (GIVT) accreditation for Desktop, Mobile Web, Mobile In-App, and OTT metrics, the following video ad impressions will be removed from Gross Delivered Impressions and Net Delivered Impressions counts as of April 14, 2020:
- Impressions that are not client-initiated, and;
- Impressions that cannot be verified as compliant with "Count on Begin to Render" measurement standards.
These changes are part of FreeWheel's commitment to maintaining the integrity of MRC-accredited metrics.
Please note that impressions will not be lost or discarded with this change. These impressions will remain available in Analytics under Gross Counted Ads and Net Counted Ads.
This article will cover the following:
- Impactful Reporting Change in 6.35 Release (Apr 14, 2020)
- Updated metric definitions
- Potential client impacts
- Recommended steps to help ensure your traffic remains in MRC-accredited metrics
Background
IAB Digital Video Impression Measurement Guidelines provide general guidance on how to count valid ad impressions:
"A measurement of responses from an ad delivery system to an ad request from the user's browser, which is filtered for invalid traffic and is recorded at a point as late as possible in the process of delivery of the creative material to the user's browser. The ad must be loaded and at minimum begin to render in order to count it as a valid ad impression."
Important distinctions between client-initiated and server-initiated beaconing are also defined. The MRC considers server-initiated impression counts too far removed from the actual delivery of the ad to the end user. As a result, only client-initiated impression counts are compliant. (Client-initiated measurement that passes through to server-side collection is also valid.)
Outside of integrations using FreeWheel AdManager, it is difficult to verify which traffic complies with MRC's client-initiated Begin to Render (BTR) counting requirements. Because of this, all non-AdManager display traffic was removed from accredited impression counts in March 2019. (This traffic can still be found in Analytics under the Gross Counted Ads and Net Counted Ads metrics, but is no longer reported in Gross Delivered Impressions or Net Delivered Impressions.)
With the 6.35 release, we will expand our MRC compliance efforts. Specifically, video ad impressions that cannot be verified as client-initiated and compliant with BTR measurement standards will be removed from Gross Delivered Impressions and Net Delivered Impressions. (As noted above, these impressions will remain available in Analytics under Gross Counted Ads and Net Counted Ads.)
SSAI Integrations
Because Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) integrations typically use server-initiated impression counting, FreeWheel is required to remove SSAI traffic from accredited metrics as part of the 6.35 release in order to remain compliant with MRC standards.
Delivery Metrics and Definitions as of 6.35 Release
Targeted Release Date: April 14, 2020
| Metric Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Gross Counted Ads | The number of ad impressions counted, including all Invalid Traffic (IVT). This measurement includes display impression events that fired before the ad started to render, as well as video impression events from integrations which have not been verified as client-initiated and BTR-compliant. |
| Gross Delivered Impressions | The number of client-initiated, BTR-compliant ad impressions delivered, including all IVT. Gross Delivered Impressions is a subset of Gross Counted Ads. |
| Net Counted Ads | The number of ad impressions counted, with IVT filtered out. This measurement includes display impression events that fired before the ad started to render, as well as video impression events from integrations which have not been verified as client-initiated and BTR-compliant. The Net Counted Ads metric is used for MRM system calculations, UI indicators, client billing, and other business applications. |
| Net Delivered Impressions | The number of client-initiated, BTR-compliant ad impressions delivered, with IVT filtered out. Net Delivered Impressions is a subset of Net Counted Ads. |
Additional information regarding Analytics metrics and calculations can be found here.
Impact Assessments
The impact of these changes will vary based on client integration. However, all networks with unverified endpoints can expect Delivered Impressions counts to drop (while Counted Ads should remain the same). As a result, business intelligence tools, billing systems, and downstream metrics using Delivered Impressions will be affected.
FreeWheel is assessing the potential impact of these changes to individual networks and will be providing custom estimates via their Account teams in the near future.
Integration Update Recommendations
Business Intelligence (BI) Updates
To help reduce the risk of possible disruption to reporting and billing systems, FreeWheel recommends clients review this information with their BI teams and make any relevant changes to delivery data ingest methods prior to the 6.35 release.
Endpoint QA
FreeWheel is available to work with networks directly to test most endpoints for BTR compliance via the Endpoint QA process outlined here.
Existing integrations using FreeWheel AdManager do not need to be resubmitted for Endpoint QA tests as AdManager already adheres to BTR requirements.
Next Steps
Additional communications on these upcoming changes will be sent out in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, please reach out to your FreeWheel Account team with any questions.