“YouTube is looking to clear up some of the metrics mess for advertisers by focusing its attention on three data points: Unique reach, watch time and audibility,” says Garett Sloan in AD AGE (March 20, 2017).

“These are the core things marketers really need to focus on,” said Debbie Weinstein, global managing director for YouTube and video solutions. “We are trying to help them understand what really matters.”

On Monday, March 20 2017, YouTube announced it would update its reporting with these metrics during Europe’s Advertising Week. The emphasis of their new numbers would be chiefly on 3 distinct aspects of digital advertising:

1. Unique reach, as in the number of individuals who saw an ad;

2. Watch time, which shows how many seconds are spent with an ad in total and on average; and

3. Audibility, or how often it plays with sound.

“Sound has become an important sticking point for brands that are dealing with mobile consumption, which often occurs with sound off depending on the platform.

YouTube says that 60% of its videos are viewed on mobile devices and 95% are audible. YouTube also says that the mobile experience helps lead to a 93% viewability rate for video ads.

The new metrics in the YouTube reporting had been available to brands that use third parties and other measurement techniques, but now they come standard in the analytics dashboard.”