Big Data is driving the ad industry away from measuring real people

The surge of cross-media and ad effectiveness measurement companies to innovate has led to the use of big data to expand measurement coverage as the media landscape continues to fragment. 

The shift to Big Data requires reliance on IDs, identity graphs, machine learning and viewer assignment techniques to develop modeled consumers that are matched to ad exposures. Modeled consumers are becoming the norm, making it difficult for advertisers to know if they have reached their target audiences and the true impact of their campaigns.

Consumers are moving seamlessly across platforms in search of the best content. However, channels are still measured in silos with the need to integrate various Big Data sets and deploy fusions and deduplication methods. This makes it nearly impossible for advertisers to holistically evaluate the performance of their media investments across their ad campaigns. 

Many measurement companies are still reliant on digital identifiers such as Pixels, Cookies, IP addresses, and PIIs, which open up the door to potential ad fraud as they purchase third-party data. The FTC reported in 2023 that 1 million consumers' identity was stolen. 

Deterministic vs. modeled: Brands can now rely on deeper holistic campaign insights based on accurate single-source measurement 

Beatgrid, the global cross-media ad effectiveness currency, has addressed these challenges with an innovative solution designed to more accurately measure cross-media campaigns, including linear TV, CTV, YouTube, online video and out-of-home. Leveraging a single-source panel comprising 35,000 real people (not IP addresses, devices, set-top-boxes ...), Beatgrid integrates passive mobile Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) and geofencing technology. The groundbreaking approach enables the global ad effectiveness currency to measure deduplicated reach and frequency, as well as incremental reach and brand effectiveness of cross-media campaigns, all at a person's level.

With video marketing investments at a yearly $84 billion and rising, the age-old question persists: Is it preferable to rely on vast, modeled yet inaccurate Big Data, or opt for more compact datasets grounded in accurate consumer insights, akin to a real-person single-source mobile panel? Can CMOs and brand marketers still afford the luxury of relying on inaccuracy given the complexities and fragmentation of today’s evolving landscape?

Daniel Tjondronegoro has an international business background in the broadcasting and cross-media advertising industry. He is an expert in effectively converting industry problems into innovative product-to-market fit solutions. His experience expands from creating and evolving adtech products to developing long-standing commercial partnerships across the US, EMEA, and APAC. Daniel started his career in the media and advertising industry in 2008, and in 2012 he got involved in the radio tech startup, MyRadio (the EU variant of Pandora radio). After a successful business venture at MyRadio, Daniel teamed up with Leon van Zantvoort, as a co-founder to build Beatgrid into what it is today. At Beatgrid, Daniel is responsible for product and business growth, closely involved in commercial partnerships and supporting tier-one clients with tailor-made audience measurement solutions. He is often invited to conferences, where he talks about what the future of cross-media measurement will look like. To this date, his main focus is on commercial and product strategy and operations, steering Beatgrid to becoming the industry's ad effectiveness currency.