View-through rate

Viewthrough rate (VTR) measures the number of latent responses or viewthroughs from display media impressions viewed during and following an online advertising campaign. Such post exposure behavior can be expressed in site visits, on-site events, conversions occurring at one or more Web sites or potentially offline:

$VTR=100\%*Viewthrough/Impressions$

$CTR=100\%*Clicks/Impressions$

VTR is related to the popular Click-through Rate(CTR) measurement, but differs in that it is not an immediate measure of response - it is instead time-shifted and passive, i.e. no click is required.

Also, viewthroughs lack a specific predetermined landing page since the visit can come through a direct type-in or via another click-based digital marketing channel, e.g. search, email or social media.

TRR is the sum of both viewthrough and clickthrough response that resulted from the display media campaign.

$TRR=(Viewthroughs+Clicks)/Impressions$

Viewthrough to click ratio reflects the relative response between time-shifted and immediate impact.

$VCR=Viewthroughs/Clicks$

Theory

The Problem with Clicks

It is well known that the Internet is an interactive medium supported by banner advertising. Digital media, search engines, social networking sites and forums sell and deliver advertising to generate revenue. Measuring the response to display advertising includes immediate response (clicks) and latent response (viewthrough), which help determine whether the advertising was successful or not.

Historically, the digital advertising business has relied on the easy to measure Click-Through Rate (CTR) typically provided by the ad server. Most ad server platforms also measure unique or reach impressions based on deduplication of browser cookies.

Click-through rates have been known to be on the decline since the advent of the display banner. It has become a popular means to determine the success of display media but often underestimates brand impact, suffers from significant biases and can often be manipulated through fraud. However not all banner ad impressions realize a benefit. Some ad impressions are never seen, some are seen and clicked while others are seen and while never clicked realize a subsequent response - this post-exposure behavior is viewthrough.

See also

• Banner Ad - Display Banner Ad
• CPM - Cost Per Mille
• eCPM - Effective Cost Per Mille
• CPT - Cost per thousand
• CPI - Cost Per Impression
• PPC - Pay per click
• CPA - Cost Per Action
• Ad serving
• Click fraud
• Cost Per Click

External links

1. Lilypad White Paper 1997
2. DoubleClick Continental Airlines Viewthrough Study 2004
3. Natural Born Clickers Update 2009
4. Viewthrough Measurement Consortium
5. Standardizing the Definition of Viewthrough