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DoubleClick Impression Count Methodology Update for 2017. Are You Ready?

3 MINUTE READ | February 15, 2017

DoubleClick Impression Count Methodology Update for 2017. Are You Ready?

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Addison Wheeler

Addison Wheeler has written this article. More details coming soon.

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With the start of 2017 well underway, DCM is rolling out a new method for impression counts. This new method is important in that it will count based on download vs. served. Count on download means that DCM will count an impression when a user’s device pings the creative download to begin. Up until now, DCM has counted impressions when DCM receives a request for content. DCM will be rolling out this tracking method in phases to ensure advertisers are prepared.

Why is this important? 

This is the latest counting methodology from the IAB and MRC and will follow the latest industry standards. It will save you media dollars as advertisers will no longer count impressions for content that never makes it to an end user’s browser. Fewer discrepancies will be had with viewability partners as this methodology is adopted. The counting methodology used for Downloaded Impressions will become the method for the regular Impressions metric in Q3 2017.

Below is the posted timeline for the roll-out (via DoubleClick):

A new Downloaded Impressions metric is available in DCM. This metric is a preview of the new count on download calculation methodology that will be used in the existing Impressions method in Q3 2017.

Data for the Downloaded Impressions metric is available from February 1, 2017. There are a few things that are not changing at this time:

  • There’s no change to the Impressions metric.

  • All billing and attribution that’s based on the Impressions metric will continue to use the Impression metric.

  • There’s no change to the metrics in Bid Manager.

  • The Downloaded Impressions metric is not available in Data Transfer.

  • It’s expected that Downloaded Impressions will be lower than Impressions, but the exact difference will depend on the publisher and the serving environment.

How to prepare: We strongly recommend that you start using the new metric in your DCM reports since the counting methodology used for Downloaded Impressions will become the method for the regular Impressions metric in Q3 2017. You can start to work with publishers and clients based on these numbers now ahead of the changes coming to Impressions in Q3 2017.

Active View calculations will begin to use downloaded impressions for measurable and eligible impressions, causing viewability rates to increase.

Starting on March 1, Active View calculations that are based on impressions will start to use downloaded impressions. Overall, the change to Active View calculations will likely result in an increase in viewability rates.

Since Active View data is used across DoubleClick Digital Marketing, you’ll see updates throughout the platform wherever this data appears, including Verification in DCM.

The DCM standard ad tag will be deprecated because it does not support downloaded impressions.

DCM standard ad tags (tags with /ad) are incompatible with downloaded impression counting and will be deprecated in Q3 2017. Standard tags will still serve content after the deprecation, but will no longer be counted in Reporting.

The calculations used for the Impressions metric will be updated to the count on download method. At this point, attribution and billing that uses impressions will be based on downloaded impressions.

In the final phase of the transition, the count on download methodology becomes the measurement of record for DoubleClick Digital Marketing in Q3 2017. At this time:

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  • The Impressions metric will be computed using the count on download methodology that you can preview with the Downloaded Impressions metric.

  • Billing and attribution that is based on the Impressions metric will use the count on download methodology.