DWELL TIME – One Metric to Rule Them All

Today’s complex campaigns include a variety of interactions and placements, with different methods of engaging users; and trying to find your way through the tangle of campaign metrics, complex analysis and a mountain of data is no easy task. Using traditional metrics to evaluate complex, non-traditional engagement creates a hodge-podge of metrics that require a puzzle master and a decoder ring to decipher.

Many branding campaigns, whose primary goal is to establish a brand presence and build affinity with consumer, can be highly successful without racking up huge numbers of clicks. In fact, these campaigns often include elements like video, which engage users without requiring explicit mouse interaction. As a result, advertisers and agencies running large campaigns with extensive use of video or other non-explicit interactions need a way to measure their success rate.

Enter: Dwell Time. Dwell Time is Eyeblaster’s unique metric that measures user engagement with large branding campaigns without relying on clicks and constant mouse activity. It’s the rich media metric that allows for the best comparison across various formats and creative implementations.

To best understand Dwell Time, consider two creatives – both expandable ads with video that are pieces of the same branding campaign. Ad A runs in browsers and includes several advanced interactions in addition to the video. Ad B runs in IM Buddy Windows, a format that generally leads to different types of engagement from the in-browser expandable. While these two creatives may be very similar and incredibly engaging, standard metrics will tell a very different story. Due to the varying characteristics of the individual creatives and placements, one may have a very high click-through rate and lower interaction rate, or the video start rate and interaction duration might not tell cohesive stories.

So on your next branding campaign, make sure you’ve got an all-inclusive metric that can give you an accurate, intuitive analysis of your campaign engagement.