The Hypha team is back from Cannes after an illuminating week meeting with the best and brightest of the media business. In celebration of the creativity that our industry bolsters, we heard from the voices that ensure those creative stories make their way to the right places.
Here’s what we learned.
Media is always changing.
There is no getting comfortable in today’s fast-paced media world. While past years have emphasized mobile, streaming, and cross-device viewing behaviors, this year showed that in the future, anything is possible. Devices like Telly demonstrated that the forms and formats for content and advertising delivery are always changing, providing new ways for marketers and storytellers to share messaging with their consumers.
In today’s hyper-personalized media environment where every single consumer turns on the TV or opens their phone only to choose their own adventure, technology and automation aid in the precise measurement of that journey. To accurately measure these specific journeys, across legacy, current, and emerging technologies, it is crucial to employ commensurate technologies with the flexibility to change with the consumer. Without the flexibility to continually keep pace with consumer behavior, entire spheres of behavior risk being unmeasured (and therefore, unmanaged). Hypha’s Unified Neuromedia Identification Engine (UNIe) uses AI and ML to read exactly what is occurring on the screen, no matter if that screen is an analog TV, a CTV, or whatever new device or experience media geniuses come up with next. If consumers can see it, we can measure it.
Actionable currency requires accurate measurement.
Our industry is at a crossroads where new standards are being set for what defines a transactable currency. As networks sign deals with emerging currencies, the U.S. Joint Industry Committee (JIC) presented the scoring criteria for certifying measurement companies as transactable currencies in media deals, taking a step towards approving new currencies for standard use in the 2024 upfronts. The JIC will rate measurement based on criteria such as transparency, privacy compliance, cross-platform capability, interoperability, big data usage, cross-media transparency, planning and optimization, and governance.
The effort to standardize new trading mechanisms signals a need for cross-marketplace stability. This stability can only occur through this mutually agreed upon value. To understand the comprehensive picture of the modern media landscape and price it accordingly, it is crucial to understand the “what,” “who,” “where,” “when,” and “how” of media consumption. Those metrics are the driver between the buy and sell sides negotiations. Hypha provides the most granular cross-media measurement covering historical blindspots such as streaming, video gaming, walled-gardens, and Spanish language. By integrating Hypha’s data, cross-marketplace efforts for standardization can ensure they incorporate the most detailed information possible.
The definition of cross-media value is actively being defined.
Despite the ongoing demand for interoperability, the mechanisms that fuel media delivery across linear TV and digital (inclusive of CTV) remain siloed. From disagreements on what constitutes an impression, to discrepancies in ratings across currency providers, the rules are being written in real-time on how to accurately measure, value, and deliver media accurately across the many platforms, channels, and devices inherent to modern viewing.
But subjectivity is not scalable. For these issues to be resolved, we need a precise understanding of the holistic media experience. Hypha’s UNIe enables the unification of TV and digital, by measuring every single touchpoint along the individual consumer journey. The first step toward accurately valuing reach is understanding how media makes its way across these varios video options.
Technology and automation must be used with an intended purpose.
AI was the buzzword of the week. Many celebrated what the technology is capable of, while others criticized the hype. So what is the true value of the technology? While advanced technology can create automation that streamlines processes and saves time, it can become empty hype if it fails to solve business problems.
At Hypha, we leverage AI to automate media detection and provide more robust data at a fraction of the cost of ACR. While building out an ACR library increases in cost over time (due to its size, and maintaining the processes to match what is detected to what exists in the library), UNIe becomes less costly as it scales. The more data we analyze, the easier that analysis becomes. The result is increased accuracy at a fraction of the price of ACR or watermarking.
Collecting consumer data is a responsibility
With an increasing supply of data sources being collected, transported, and commingled, privacy must be a top priority at every stage of the data supply chain. The regulatory landscape is only becoming stricter, and legacy solutions for understanding how consumers behave across devices are becoming more scarce. Panel-based measurement solutions de-risk data strategies by providing data that is obtained in a fully permissioned manner.
Hypha’s data is obtained in a clear value-exchange with consumers in an opt-in, consumer centric environment. Panelists sign up and understand how they will be monitored, exactly what will be monitored, and how they will be compensated for their data. This approach is a win-win because our users have transparency into our methods, and this consent allows us to monitor an unprecedented breadth of different data points, all in connection with one another.
In conclusion
The festival of creativity reminds us of the importance of sharing insights, debating emerging trends, and gaining a deeper understanding of the ever-changing media landscape. We were thrilled to see so many friendly faces and learn how the marketplace is evolving. HyphaMetrics exists to support decision makers across the media landscape with the consumer-centric holistic dataset needed for communication, collaboration, and commerce.
Our fully-consented panel underpinned by technology on-par with consumer experiences enables full measurement of the modern consumer in a cost-efficient, passive, complete, flexible, and fast manner.