The user must come first. Throughout the numerous sessions, afterparties and open bars this was the topic of conversation among brands, agencies and publishers. While everyone I spoke with was excited about new viewability metrics and cross-device measurements, the common denominator was user-experience. As we in ad tech move forward with innovative technology, here are some points we should all consider.

The Flip-Side of Viewability
Agencies and brands are now requiring their ads to be 100% in-view. Publishers who strive to achieve this level of viewability could create an unpleasant experience for users. When monetizing publishers should balance user experience and viewability.

Regulating Native Advertising
The push-pull for clicks, time-on-page and engagement is making it hard to distinguish between journalism and advertorial. Reading content that appears to be editoral but actually sponsored, users are feeling “tricked.” With the lines being so blurred, it is no surprise the federal government has required the “sponsored content” disclosure included on native ads.

Time-In-View Takeover
Since the beginning of online advertising clicks were the focus, then came engagement. Now time-in-view is the hottest metric. Several discussions during AdWeek surrounded the correlation between brand efficacy and time-in-view. The new metric is showing potential in measuring brand engagement which is exciting.