I started my career in the performance-driven television industry back in 1989.  Back then, we called it “Direct Response Television”.  Heck, 33 years later, I still call it that.  In fact, the “DR” in DRMetrix stands for “Direct Response” although some affectionately refer to us as “Doctor Metrix“.

As many of you know, I sold “the Doctor” to iSpot.tv back in October of last year.  This month, I’m celebrating my one year anniversary with this incredible company.

One of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on this past year, has been enhancing iSpot’s ability to detect and measure impressions on national cover-up (DPI) units.

Where do these impressions come from?  Historically, iSpot has partnered with Vizio to detect ads running on over 20 million opted-in smart TVs.  Add another 20 million plus, thanks to iSpot’s recent deal with LG, and another 12 million set-top boxes under license, brings the total size of the iSpot panel to over 52 million!

On these smart devices, iSpot can detect ads delivered via linear, CTV, and OTT.  iSpot can also measure business outcomes when consumers are exposed to TV ads and take action by visiting a website whether that be direct, via QR code, or via a mobile text exchange.  No more “last touch”, as iSpot’s deterministic measurement allows advertisers to measure true reach and frequency, and the performance of TV schedules with greater precision than ever before.  Both Fortune 50 and the largest D2C brands are using iSPot’s Real-Time Measurement Platform to better inform and optimize their media placements with amazing proven results.

As iSpot becomes DPI compliant sometime in 2023, our best of class solutions will help the DRTV industry to address measurement and attribution for previously unsupported DPI ad units.

If you haven’t scheduled a time with us already, we’d love to meet with you at PDMI West on October 24, 25th, or 26th.

Representatives from both iSpot.tv and DRMetrix will be available to meet.  Our booth will be located in the main “Legends” meeting hall at the Hard Rock Hotel.

If you’re interested in learning more about iSpot.tv, please book a time with Robert Hoffman by clicking here.

Or, to learn about some of the new and exciting advancements coming to DRMetrix, including our detection and support for QR codes, please book a time to meet with Joseph Gray by clicking here.

If you’re not attending the PDMI event, please send an email to [email protected] and we’ll setup a Zoom call!

Thanks to Covid-19, the use of QR codes was popularized by the restaurant industry for accessing menus. This has helped to create mass consumer awareness of QR codes and how they work. Both iPhone and Android devices have integrated QR code readers into their native camera apps further popularizing the use of QR codes.

The rich data that can be included within the QR code can serve many purposes including tracking which TV network and specific creatives consumers are responding to. QR codes are great for tracking digital activity and also provide advertisers with a novel way to engage consumers. Over the years, there have been far less elegant solutions used such as visible codes appended at the beginning or the end of a URL. Examples include: www.brand.com/TV1, www.brand.com/TV2, 1brand.com, 2brand.com, etc. Advertisers using this approach have struggled with various problems. For example, consumers would often ignore the appended codes. Also, many advertisers feel that messing with the visible URL dilutes brand awareness. In comparison with such approaches, the QR code is arguably a more elegant and versatile solution.

The team at DRMetrix has been working to be able to detect when QR codes are used in television ads and to be able to extract and report the data contained within the QR code at the airing level. This supports the use of differing QR codes running on the same network / creative where additional segmentation is required.

We are excited to announce that this capability has already been integrated into DRMetrix’s Airing Verification Service (AVS) system. A new “QR Code” field can be enabled in any AVS output or pulled via API.

Later this month, DRMetrix plans to add a new response type filter for “QR Code” in AdSphere which will allow subscribers to better understand the use cases and growth of QR codes. At the time of this writing, 374 creatives using QR codes have been identified across the 140+ networks monitored by DRMetrix. To provide some context, that is roughly 2% of traditional direct response airings including long form 28.5m infomercials.