A new report by the CMO Council found that 62% of marketers are reconsidering spending with Facebook and Google due to ‘false and faulty metrics’.

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council found that marketers are becoming increasingly skeptical of spending with Facebook and Google, with 24% already reducing their spend due to “false and faulty metrics.” The report, ‘Engage at every stage: An investigation of video activation’, conducted in partnership with video company, ViralGains, surveyed 233 ‘marketing leaders’ on industry attitudes toward insufficient campaign data from platforms such as Facebook and Google.

“The frustration across the marketing ecosystem is palpable, and new headlines that breach trust and showcase systemic carelessness have inflamed the issue,” says senior vice president of marketing for the CMO Council, Liz Miller. “The industry as a whole must align on transparency and reliability. If we don’t live up to these expectations, we will see more accounts up for review and more orders being pulled.”

Marketers are becoming frustrated with insufficient metrics from media partners, according to the CMO Council 73% of marketers want total transparency into traffic, viewers and engagement. Specifically in regards to Facebook and Google, the top priority for 44% of marketers is real-time access to customer data and intelligence.

ViralGains CEO Tod Loofbourrow says, “Marketers can’t continue to judge success through superficial metrics like impressions when they are increasingly held accountable for driving meaningful bottom-line results.

“Unfortunately, current industry solutions and standards are failing to facilitate this change on a number of levels – from antiquated definitions and measurements to massive breaches of data privacy.”

According to the report, marketers also recognise different metrics when measuring campaign success against career success – 56% of respondents say click-through rates are the best metric of success for digital advertising campaigns, while 78% say the best measure for a CMO’s career is his/her impact on sales.

Brands are becoming more wary of where they show their names – earlier this year Unilever threatened to pull advertising from platforms that fail to combat the spread of fake news and material that ‘breeds division’. CMO Keith Weed said Unilever would only be investing in “responsible platforms that are committed to creating a positive impact in society.” In 2017 YouTube faced an advertising exodus during the so-called ‘adpocolypse’, brands fled as they feared appearing next to ‘non-advertiser-friendly content’.

Further Reading:

• Unilever CMO threatens to pull ad budgets in push to combat divisive material »
• YouTube boycott gains momentum as Telstra and Tourism Australia pull advertising »

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