Measurement. Metrics. Data. Independent, third-party verification. Viewability. Trust. Transparency. These keywords will probably determine the future of digital spends for marketers, going forward. The social network had last year come under the scanner for repeated inaccuracies in its tools measuring ads. The West has MRC and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) for cross-platform measurement. However, things are quite different in India; there is no formal agency accrediting audience measurement services for platforms other than TV and print. Digital, which is the fastest growing medium in the country, has seen a tremendous increase in ad spends from brands across categories. However, the lack of a uniform measuring body makes advertisers question, “What is the RoI?” Though independent digital measuring agencies have been working in the field, as digital ad spends rise at an exponential pace, it is imperative that stakeholders help fulfil the promised advantages that digital has over other channels in terms of RoI and segment identification. This is possible through robust transparent measurement systems that effectively filter fraudulent traffic, but the cost for this currently is rather high for, say, small advertisers.

(Financial Express)