Medialets

It’s been two years since Medialets and OMD created rich media history with the launch of The World’s First Shakeable Ad® for Dockers. Since then, more advertisers, agencies and publishers have embraced the opportunity to connect with consumers on their smartphones, tablets made their way into the mix thanks to the launch of the iPad, and Android became a contender among mobile operating systems.

Through the rapid evolution of in-app rich media, one important aspect has remained a constant: its exceptional performance.

We took a close look at Medialets campaign data from January and February of 2011 (based on data from the more than 1200 creatives trafficked during this time period) to determine how a mobile rich media creative typically performs. The result is the latest Medialets Data Spotlight Report: Medialets Mobile Rich Media Benchmarks.

How is Mobile Rich Media Measured?
There are a number of ways to measure performance of rich media ads. Engagement Rate is the most effective metric because it measures whether or not a rich media creative inspired a consumer to interact with the brand. Click-Through Rate (CTR), though an important metric, only measures one aspect of the campaign. Medialets reports on CTR, as well as other performance indicators like Expand Rate, Time On Screen, Actions and an unlimited set of Custom Events for mobile rich media.

Together, these data points provide detailed insight into the success of a rich media campaign.

What Exactly Is Engagement Rate?
Engagement boils down the goal of a creative to a “yes” or “no”, and one can reach the “yes” or “no” by one of many different paths. Did the consumer watch a video preview? If the answer is yes, then they engaged. Did the consumer tweet about the new CPG product? Yes again? Engagement.

Medialets Engagement Rate is established by measuring the actual number of “yes” or “no” actions against the number of instances the call to interact was exposed. For Medialets Interstitials, Engagement Rate is measured against the total number of impressions. For Medialets Expandables, Engagement Rate is measured against the total number of expands.

This approach allows for more effective comparisons of Interstitials & Expandable banners in a campaign. (“Expand Rate,” which represents the # of expands against the total impressions provides additional insight into Medialets Expandables.)

How Does Mobile Rich Media Perform?
Now that we’ve established how ads are measured, the next question is how do they perform? Highlights from Medialets Mobile Rich Media Benchmarks, gathered from data from over 1200 creatives trafficked during January and February of 2011, include:

• Medialets rich media ads regularly deliver double-digit Engagement Rates, with Medialets Interstitials averaging 10% and Medialets Expandables averaging 17%, post-expansion.
• Even Click-Through Rate, an important metric that is perhaps too often used to gauge the success of a campaign, reaches an average above 2%.
• Full-Screen iPad Interstitials perform above average, with an average Engagement Rate of 10% and CTR close to 5%.
• Automotive, the vertical that represented the biggest ad spend in our Q4 2010 Data Spotlight, is the highest performing vertical to date in 2011, with an average Engagement Rate of 18%.

Mobile’s exceptional value could be attributed to a range of factors: unprecedented creative capabilities, intelligent ad placement, consumer-friendly share of voice, the unparalleled intimacy of the mobile experience and the sophistication of mobile marketers that have benefited from both the success and missteps of digital advertising.

At Medialets, we believe that it is a combination of all of these factors, and we work hard to provide the technology that continues to take advertising to new heights in performance.

Download Medialets Mobile Rich Media Benchmarks.

View examples of Medialets creative executions in Medialets Showcase.

For more on measurement, read this post from our CEO Eric Litman in Digiday.

To learn more, contact us.