• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 19, 2013

Publishers have a new tool that helps to convince brands like AT&T, Garnier, General Motors, Olay, and Verizon to allocate advertising dollars on their sites, even paying higher prices for CPMs. Early tests have enabled sites to increase CPMs, based on strong performance -- viewability and interaction rates.

The opt-in eyeball ad-tracking tool from Sticky, formerly EyeTrackShop, measures the likelihood that consumers will view an advertisement. It also measures the length of time that consumers spent with an ad and the approximate cost of each impression based on that time.

The company worked with major brands comparing ads views across 25 major publisher Web sites to determine the number of times that ads were seen.

Advertisers should consider quality ad placement more valuable, especially for branding. It starts with brands having more control over ad placement. At least one major top-20 publisher caught on. The media publisher analyzed ad unit costs vs. impressions on their sites and competitors to raise ad-serving rates based on performance, according to Jeff Bander, president at Sticky. The tool identifies the sites that perform the best for specific brands and ads.

Data matter. Coca-Cola, for example, ran ads on bet.com, vcricket.com, vevo.com, radio.com and others. On bet.com, 56% of consumers saw for 0.5 seconds some of the 171 million ad impressions served at a cost of $13 cost per view (CPV) vs. the original estimate of $7 per CPM. On radio.com, 88% of the consumers saw for 2 minutes some of the 140 million impressions served at a cost of $11 CPV vs. the original estimate of $10 per CPM. From a branding perspective, Coca-Cola got more time in front of the consumer for less cost on radio.com.

Bander said "just because it's in the screen, doesn't mean it's seen." The radio.com ads were seen four times as long as those on bet.com. He hopes this insight will help to move more branding dollars from television online to sites that produce results.