On 21 February, Google announced on the Google Agency Blog that they are to build trust and increase transparency using MRC-accredited measurement on YouTube. What this doesn’t mean is that Google will finally be allowing third-party verification platforms to report on viewability on YouTube. As the blog states, since 2015, they’ve completed integrations with Moat, Integral Ad Science, and DoubleVerify; so the ability for advertisers and agencies to use third-party measurement is already in place. What is does mean, however, is that these platforms will be independently audited for MRC accreditation. According to the blog: “The audit will validate that data collection, aggregation, and reporting for served video impressions, viewable impressions, related viewability statistics, and General Invalid Traffic (GIVT) across desktop and mobile, for each integration, adheres to MRC and IAB standards.”

The announcement comes hot on the heels of Facebook’s recent news that they would agree to MRC auditing measures, after a string of self-reporting errors last year. Babak Pahlavan was quick to quash rumours that Google’s move was reactive to Facebook, confirming to The Wall Street Journal, which originally broke the news, that this move has been in the works for years.

Advertisers have been incredibly vocal about the so-called walled gardens marking their own homework. It's something that P&G’s Marc Pritchard also raised in his keynote at the IAB Leadership Council and a topic that has been very high on the list of priorities for the ANA.

This announcement from Google signals good news for them, as they strive for more openness and transparency with their media investments. But it does leave some advertisers questioning what has taken them so long. A source, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed with ExchangeWire: "We shouldn't necessarily be praising Google for this, we should be chastising them for taking so long to adopt a process that other publishers and media owners have had in place for years. As an advertiser, the battle I face is that I don't necessarily feel I have much choice but to invest in Google [and Facebook] properties, as that's where my consumers mostly are, despite being fully aware that I may be doing so blindly. This is a step forward, a sizeable one, but that doesn't make the way they've approached this right."

It's a major development for the industry; and one that means the cries for transparency in measurement and media buying are finally being heard. However, the fight is not over; it's only just beginning and will hopefully be a stepping stone to greater transparency across the web and greater trust between parties.

ExchangeWire hear from industry thought leaders about what Google's announcement means for the wider industry and the future of measurement.

With improvement in buying accuracy, can focus shift to delivery?

"The recent announcement from the 'duopoly' on allowing a third party, the MRC, to independently review and audit their methodology and measurement of media metrics is a positive step towards a demand-side approach to measurement and providing transparency to advertisers. In the current climate, where trust is at an all-time low, and procuring media value is a priority for advertisers, the MRC stamp will provide some comfort when investing in Google and Facebook. With Facebook and Google moving away from 'marking one’s own homework', this butterfly effect may be considered as a shift to greater trust and transparency in the industry, creating a more welcomed environment for collaboration. If there is an improvement in the accuracy of buying, can the focus then shift to delivery? For example, what measurement matters to a business, and how can we use similar clout to procure media on said business’s terms? Finally, and most importantly, we need to ask ourselves what this means for consumers. Can we use the consistency in measurement across platforms to deliver trust to those who matter to a brand?  This could create a shift to better and more engaging content formats that are highly relevant and are non-intrusive in design. These elements, powered by data and signals, will ultimately bring trust through to the people who matter most: the audience."

Fern Potter, Global Digital Partner, Carat

The onus is on all industry participants to mitigate risk

“Google, like many other large media owners, are finally coming to the realisation that third-party verification is not a luxury, it is a necessity – especially since monitoring content across large media environments that heavily depend on user-generated content, like YouTube, is very difficult (even for highly sophisticated tech companies). The onus is on all of us industry participants – both on the buy side as well as on the sell side – to do our best to mitigate risk, adopting uniformity of measurement across viewability and GIVT. These are just a few examples where independent standards can be leveraged. Open and consistent measurement is a step towards collectively supporting a ‘cleaner’ internet, where bad actors find it difficult to profit. As part of GroupM, Mindshare have long been focused on this as a means to provide the highest possible level of brand safety to our clients; so we welcome the news, whilst being acutely aware that there is lots to be done still.”

Ruth Zöhrer, Head of Programmatic Marketing, Mindshare

It's a trust-building trend of positive change for all publishers

“There has been a growing dissatisfaction with the lack of consistency in digital advertising and we are seeing a trend of positive change. The IAB, MRC, and numerous other industry bodies, have put a lot of effort into creating standards by which all publishers can be measured equally, giving advertisers common currencies through which to trade, and measure the effectiveness of digital advertising. We welcome YouTube into the fold of publishers that offer transparency to advertisers and, consequently, build trust in the medium of digital as a whole.”

Ben Walmsley, Digital Commercial Director, News UK

The industry needs more pressure applied to it

"The need to build trust and increase transparency has never been greater. In my opinion, this needed to happen a long time ago. There needs to be greater pressure on the likes of Google to increase transparency and provide more thorough auditing. It is, therefore, unsurprising to hear that Google have finally agreed to have their campaign metrics accredited by third-party sources. This announcement seemingly follows the recent demands from P&G around viewability measurement standards. The demands are very fair and should indeed be welcomed. It will start to filter the quality of providers in the ecosystem. The industry needs to provide more transparency, accountability, and a higher standard of how ad dollars are invested. This is how we continue to evangelise and promote advertiser confidence. Anyone falling short of the accountable standards being set needs to face commercial penalties. And this should be felt across the entire supply chain. The industry needs more Mark Pritchards applying more pressure."

Paul Silver, COO, Media iQ