IAB survey says inconsistent view counts hurt creator deals
Platforms each count a view their own way, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) says that mismatch is the "fault line beneath the creator economy." It wants one shared definition.
A split in confidence over the numbers
One finding stands out. Most of the organizations that produce metrics, including platforms, marketing agencies and measurement companies, say they are very confident in the accuracy of their figures. Brands and talent agencies, who receive those figures, both reported zero percent confidence.
Measurement providers, the group closest to the problem, were unanimous that a common definition of a view should be a top priority. Offered 11 possible standards, 66% of respondents picked a common definition of a view and exposure metrics across platforms.
What the 53 respondents flagged
Asked what is not working, 67% said measurement is a top issue. The IAB adds that measurement hides inside problems that look like something else. Even groups that disagree on creator pricing share one problem: without agreed measurement they cannot say what creator content is worth, or whether creators are paid fairly. One in eight respondents linked budget fights with leadership to measurement gaps, and a similar share said organizations hold back results because the numbers are not solid enough to publish.
The survey and a set of interviews run by the IAB's Creator Economy Board fed a report called The Creator Economy's Next Chapter, which calls for wide standardization of what counts as a view.
The YouTube change behind the push
YouTube reworked its public view counts in August and said the change would help creators land more brand deals and be paid more for them. Data from Agentio showed the public counts over-reported actual views by 40%. Individual creators such as John Green compared the backend count of one video with its public count and found a similar gap.
Tubefilter argues that marketers overpay when views are inflated, because brands pay on reach. It also says creators lose out. In its reading, a creator who lands a deal on inflated views sets a high bar for engagement that the sponsored content almost certainly will not clear. That gap could cost the creator the relationship with the brand, or with an agency that represents other brands in the same niche.
The IAB's plan
The bureau says it will work with the Media Ratings Council and other engaged industry bodies. The aim is for content platforms and measurement providers to settle on shared cross-platform definitions for four terms: view, impression, reach and watch time. The IAB hopes for one to two platform agreements in the first year of the effort.
Other pain points came up as well. 35% of respondents said creators' work split across teams and tools is not working. 33% said brands do not understand creators' channels, 31% cited pricing inconsistency, and 25% said agreeing on contract and deal terms is difficult. Suggested fixes include standard terms and contracts for creator and brand deals (66%), transparency standards for agency fee disclosure (38%) and a unified creator taxonomy (31%).
Source: Tubefilter