Causal Conversion Metrics for Online Advertising Attribution

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing online advertising campaigns face challenges in determining the causal effect of advertising channels on conversion actions, as they often attribute conversions to channels without clear evidence of advertisement visibility, leading to inefficient budget allocation and ROI measurement.

Innovation Solution

The method involves categorizing consumers into control and test groups based on advertisement viewability, calculating causal conversion metrics by comparing conversion rates and ROI between these groups, and adjusting advertising strategies accordingly to optimize budget allocation across channels.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If conversion rate is used to measure advertising effectiveness, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates because it cannot determine causal effect

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of measuring advertising effectivenessVSAvoidprecision of conversion attribution

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the consumer population into control group and test group based on advertisement viewability. The test group consists of consumers who viewed the advertisement, while the control group consists of consumers who did not view the advertisement. This segmentation enables precise measurement of causal conversion effects by comparing conversion rates between the two groups, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of measurement and measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If multiple advertising channels are used to increase productivity, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple partners and channels

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadvertising reach and conversion volumeVSAvoidcomplexity of advertising channel management

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary measurement system that acts as a mediator between multiple advertising channels and the advertiser. This system standardizes the measurement of causal conversion metrics across different channels (direct publisher, marketer, demand-side platform, real-time bidding exchange) by using advertisement viewability as a common criterion for group assignment. This intermediary measurement layer simplifies the complexity of managing multiple channels while maintaining high productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Measurement precision

If advertisement viewability information is collected to improve measurement precision, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of information increases due to additional data requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprecision of causal conversion measurementVSAvoidadditional data collection burden

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential information needed for causal measurement - specifically, advertisement viewability status (whether the consumer viewed the advertisement or not). By taking out only this critical piece of information rather than collecting comprehensive consumer behavior data, the system achieves high measurement precision while minimizing information loss and data collection burden.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS10402853B1Methods, systems, and media for managing online advertising campaigns based on causal conversion metrics

Publication Date: 2019.09.03 INTEGRAL AD SCIENCE INC

AI summary

Methods, systems, and media for managing online advertising campaigns based on causal conversion metrics are provided.