In a prior post, the “% of local” vs. “% of national” was discussed as well as the influence these values have on a brand’s spend index.  DRMetrix plans to add something new to its reports that will provide even greater insight.  We call it the “Average Spot Duration” or “ASD” for short and it will help to explain one of the largest variables affecting advertiser spend.

When looking at our monthly ranking report, it helps to understand that DRMetrix considers ad lengths up to 2 minutes in the short-form category.  We feel this is reasonable as 90 and 120 seconds are often used by DRTV advertisers and the industry largely considers these formats to be short-form.

All other things being equal, the value of a 2 minute spot is worth a multiple of what a 30 or 60 second spot is worth.  Given that some brands may be airing a larger percentage of 2 minute spots, their spend index could be higher despite their aggregate ad units being lower.  This is difficult to understand in the absence of having an “average spot duration” value.

Accordingly, DRMetrix will include a single ASD value that will help to explain when certain short-form campaigns are using a higher percentage of 90 and/or 120 spots.  In such cases, the ASD value will be on the high side, ie: “115s”.  Another campaign running predominately 30 second spots would have a lower ASD value ie: “38s”. By referencing this one column it will make it clear to all the average spot duration that particular brands are airing. The effect that the ASD value has on the overall spend index will be also be better understood.

Even with an ASD value, we know that all campaigns are not executed equally with regard to network and daypart mix.  These differences can also affect a brand’s spend index and there is only so much DRMetrix can do to convey these types of variances on a one page report.   Hopefully, adding an ASD value is a step in the right direction and one that everyone will appreciate!

We’d love to have your input on this and any other questions or comments you may have.