We were at IAMAI’s 4th Digital Marketing Conference yesterday at the ITC Grand Central, and though we planned to get these posts up yesterday, the content was incredibly vast to sit and analyse at the end of the day. So seeking apologies for the delay, presenting the what and who of the first session of the conference before moving on to the four others in the pipeline later.

Session 1:Standards and Norms: Are Some Norms and Standards Required to Ensure the Next Round of Growth?

The session moderated by Anupam Mittal, Chairman & MD of People Group, spoke on whether there is a need for standard accepted measurements and metrics on all aspects of digital media marketing. So we were looking at standards and norms in terms of audience measurement, ratings and accreditation , credit recovery, online advertising standards and others.

Do we Need Standards and Norms in Digital media to Scale Ahead?

The resounding answer of the panelists was yes, which to me somehow beat the purpose of having a panel asking the question. The discussion though had interesting perspectives on the current state of affairs and how standardization fits in to the picture. So Anupam Mittal who opened the session stressed on how it will lend credibility and improve legitimacy of the business, Farokh Balsara of Ernst and Young pointed out that there has to be systems and norms in place for audits to happen and performance evaluated. Harish Bahl and George Gallate voiced vociferously that we have in fact missed the bus and quickly need to set standards rolling. While Parag Bose pointed out it is important to have standards so that Internet planners get off their over-ambitious expectations from the web.

Mittal spoke on how this is the right time to discuss considering that over the last few years the industry has began to come together, which is the first step towards standards. Some of the salient points that he included in his opening adress included:

• Measurement systems provides legitimacy and hence bargaining power for the publishers, and hence multiply revenue manifold
• Lends credibility to the players involved
• And that the question is how the implementation would happen besides agreeing if there is a requirement in the first place

So How Can Standards Be implemented?

The question itself was suggested by Anupam Mittal when he begant he session, saying that while it is important to decide if there is a requirement the more pertinent question is the implementation if there is a need. The following were the recommendations that were put forward by the panelists in this regard.

Harish Bahl ( MD and CEO of Smile Interactive Technologies)

• A standard performance report that all parties agree pre-campaign
• Standardization of banner formats to do away with numerous creative orders and improve quality and not seem B-grade
• An IAMAI approved release order document, which basically helps agencies get supporting documents from the publisher without which advertisers don’t make payments.

George Gallate (Global CEO of Euro RSCG)

• Top publishers and top advertisers have to take the responsibility of setting up and deciding standards
• Improve quality of production while not making the cost of production higher than that of the media itself
• Integrity issue with publishers is critical and bringing them to task the way they have been in other countries

Farokh Balsara (Head - Media and Entertainment, Ernst and Young)

• Consolidation of all industry players to agree on time lines for payments
• Acceptable measurement standards
• Reporting standards on various individual formats

Parag Bose (COO Mudra Group)

• Industry has to arrive at a uniform metric standards and you need benchmarks and basic levels of engagement
• A Body to monitor performance

As we can see, the suggestions bordered on the mundane and the oft said than getting any conclusive or should I say tangible set of recommendations as Anupam Mittal suggested the panel arrive at the beginning of the session. Though what can be expected is some news on the headway on this front in the coming months perhaps.

What are the Hindrances Towards Standardizations and Norms?

While a lot of obvious reasons came up during the discussions, some of the more serious ones that stand in the way of standardization are:

1. Publisher Integrity:

Harish Bahl controversially brought out the problem child of digital media - the fraudulent publisher. He pointed out that there is a serious lack of integrity among publishers. The reson for this being the tremendous pressure on sales guy to bring in the moolah. So he commits practically impossible numbers and then works backwards to meet the commitments which essentially puts a question mark on the integrity of the industry.

2. Banners and Creatives Standards:

The creatives side is often given the wrong end of the stick, for it is actually a very small part of the entire campaign budget. Harish and George spoke on the ridiculous and unorganised production quality in digital media. Harish mentioned that in an actual scenario we have a few 100 variations of the creatives you have. Because of the above reason the quality suffers and people think that digital is not creative and that the medium is B grade. George insisted on improving production standards and bringing the glamour back in the industry if it is lost and stressed on education as the driving point for this.

3. Lack of Awareness:

Taking off from the education requirement that George mentioned, Farokh Balsara and Parag Bose brought the picture of lack of awareness and over expectation in the open. Balsara noted that Internet doesn’t get its share because advertisers believe that internet is about transactions or for those who have a sizable internet presence. Parag Bose spoke on how brands and marketers over emphasize on measurementstop comparing media and compare media ridiculously, which they don’t do with other media. He also spoke on how no one really knows how to put together a digital brief in agencies to highlight lack of awareness. And that the solution to this was to tell planners to stop comparing media.

The Other Set of Ancillary Debates That Happened

The entire panel with its wealth of experience brought out quite a few numbers, instances and anecdotes on the table which made the entire session most interesting including contradictory view points. Harish and George for instance spoke loudly (not literally) on the need to set the ball rolling and that we have already missed the bus in terms of not setting standards. Anupam Mittal on the other hand opened the session by stating how now the IAMAI is in a position to speak for the industry and how therefore it is the right time to discuss standardization on this platform. And that it was important for the industry to come together cohesively as it has now for standards and norms to be discussed.

George also gave the example of China’s mobile market which killed itself by not regulating itself, and how Indian digital media is heading the same path. Farokh Balsara compared the current Indian scenario to that of the US in 2004, when the standards were essentially put in place there.

There were questions from the audience as well as that have been doing rounds before the event as well, as to why don’t we accept IAB’s standards (something I have also stressed on and therefore covered on WATblog before personally). The panel though felt that an Indianised version of metrics and measurements is required instead of blindly following the IAB standards.

In between the session, Balsara, mentioned that the basic problem is that the Internet, the most measurable medium is also the least understood one. Anupam concluded the session with the same thought that let us all make an effort to understand this most measurable medium. It was interesting to note though that the same about the need for a TAM like measurement system is needed to bring in advertiser money into digital in the previous IAMAI event at Bangalore, and here they had a complete session on how to go about it.

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