FLUZO at the FOA event: 3 ideas for a more trusted advertising industry

Two weeks ago we had the pleasure of participating in [FOA 2023] (https://eventos.marketingdirecto.com/evento/foa-2023-edicion-barcelona/) in Barcelona, one of the most important events for the advertising industry in Spain. Specifically, Vicente, co-founder of FLUZO and responsible for the Spanish market, participated in a round table that aimed to be the voice of conscience of the industry and invite a critical reflection on the role of the consumer in advertising.

In FLUZO we are constantly present in forums on measurement, the future of television or new media, among others, but we do not always have the opportunity to comment on strategic issues such as this. But we think we have a lot to say. Here are three ideas.

1. The frequency problem is serious

Over the last two decades, the reputation of the advertising industry has been falling below that of other sectors, as reflected in reports by Gallup in the United States or the think-tank Credos in the United Kingdom.

Creativity - or the lack of it - is usually the first nominee when it comes to looking for the culprits behind this weariness. However, Credos' Public Trust in Advertising research suggests that it is more of a reason to value advertising positively when it is funny or entertaining than to hate it when it is not.

However, in all editions, including this year's 2023, there is a negative driver that remains in the Top 1: advertising 'bombardment' or, in other words, repetitive, irrelevant, intrusive advertising... In short, advertising that is not optimally planned, because ends up impacting the public too many times, and especially certain profiles, which are not always the commercial target of the brand nor do they have any interest in the product advertised.

As the World Federation of Advertisers has explained, the situation is caused by the coexistence of a myriad of very different media and platforms, producing measurement data that is not comparable and often inaccessible - walled gardens. Without a global snapshot of the impact of advertising on a single-source, it is impossible for advertisers to have visibility on the total frequency of their campaigns.

2. Privacy concerns go beyond cookies

Another of the roundtable's topics, and one of the big topics in the industry for a long time, is the protection of users' privacy and their data. The history of scandals and problems in this field is undoubtedly one of the great sources of mistrust that have caused the industry's reputation to fall.

Now that it seems that we are about to enter a cookieless environment, we must remember that 'recovering' the user goes beyond developing technical patches that allow us to continue doing basically the same thing -tracking the behavior of consumers at an individual level-, but in a different way. Of course, this will not improve people's perception of the industry.

Rather, it is about changing the mindset and putting the audience and the protection of their information at the heart of advertising activity. To this end, there are many alternatives, such as contextual advertising, which has experienced a very significant boom in recent years, or methodologies based on panels, in which all measurement is carried out in a secure space and in which the management of consent and data protection and anonymity of the panellists is carried out with the most rigorous quality and control standards.

3. Audience-centric measurement to improve the industry

And what does measurement have to say about all this? As we conveyed at the FOA, we believe that measurement that meets certain requirements can be strategic to address many of these challenges and help rebuild trust in advertising. What requirements are we talking about?

• Cross-media: Provide overall and de-duplicated Reach & Frequency for the entire campaign to optimise media plans and control over-frequency.
• Single-Source: Get all data from a closed and continuous user group.
• Audience-centric: Shift the focus of measurement from the medium, device or platform to the audience and their actual, fragmented, cross-cutting ad consumption.
• Privacy-first: With a methodology that safeguards one hundred percent the privacy of the audience and their data, without cheating.
• Independent, neutral, transparent: That has no interests at stake beyond providing the best service to the advertiser.

Such a measurement becomes a much more relevant role in improving user trust in advertising. At FLUZO, we are convinced that this industry plays an essential role in informing our purchasing decisions, and that it can be enormously valuable to individuals, businesses, media and society as a whole if it works in a healthy and sustainable way. And that certainly starts with putting the consumer back at the center.