Linear TV Overview
Rockerbox attributes Linear TV by performing a spike analysis, comparing on-site sessions to granular TV postlogs provided by TV buying agencies. By assessing lift on the spot level, Rockerbox is able to insert probabilistic touchpoints on users' paths to conversion. This allows markets to not only measure Linear TV performance alongside your other marketing channels, but also to understand Linear TV's role in a user's path to conversion, including its halo impact on bottom-funnel channels.
Methodology Overview
- Spike Visit Analysis: Rockerbox identifies if there was a statistically significant lift in the 5 minutes after a commercial airs compared to the previous 10 minute baseline.
- Dynamic Baseline Smoothing: if Rockerbox has measured historical lift for a given commercial, the impact of the lift if normalized.
- Inserting Touchpoints on a User's Path to Conversion: touchpoints are inserted on a user's path to conversions based on the measure and magnitude of lift for eligible sessions.
Spike Visit Analysis
Rockerbox receives data on all site activity, including sessions, from your on-site pixel or webhooks. We also receive postlogs from partner TV buying agencies that include further detail on when and where a spot aired.
Using this combination of data, Rockerbox determines if a spot had a statistical significant impact on your on-site sessions. This is done by comparing a 5 minute 'test' period immediately after an ad airs to a 10 minute 'baseline' period before the ad aired.
Null Hypothesis: Baseline (sessions/minute) >= Postlog (sessions/minute)
Aternative: Postlog (sessions/minute) > Baseline (sessions/minute)
Criteria: t-test (p-value < .1) is used to determine if the result is significant
National, Local, and Dual Feed Spots
To assess spike, sessions are filtered for where a spot aired. For example, if the ad is bought nationally all US session data is included in the analysis. If the ad is bought locally, only sessions within the target DMA and included in the spike analysis.
In the US, for Dual Feed spots, ads are aired at the same time in their respective time zones. For example, a dual feed ad that airs at 11AM ET in US/Eastern timezone, and it will also run again at 11AM PT (2PM ET) in US/Pacific Timezone. For dual feed ads, Rockerbox only evaluates sessions in the geographic regions where the ad ran at the time.
Rockerbox linear TV methodology is supported in the US and Canada only.
If we do not have any baseline traffic for a given geo where you are running a spot we will not attribute any touchpoints to that commercial. Meaning if you are running awareness campaigns in a net new market - there may be no lift observed here.
Dynamic Baseline Smoothing
For any commercial we’ve previously observed, we will perform lift smoothing based on historically observed impact. Not only does this allow us to reduce overstating impact due to natural volatility, but it also allows us to measure the impact on session traffic when there are overlapping commercials. This resulting impact is called the Effect Size.
Inserting Touchpoints on User Paths
If a statistically significant lift is observed, touchpoints are assigned to visitors who visit the site through based on the Effect Size measured for the spot.
Sessions eligible to have a Linear TV touchpoint inserted on a user's path to conversion must have occurred within a 5-minute window of the spot airing. The user must have arrived on-site directly or through a navigational channel (brand or organic search), meaning users who already have known marketing context attributed to their session are not eligible for having a Linear TV touchpoint inserted on their path to conversion.
Rockerbox uses a 14-day lookback window for Linear TV - meaning that a user must convert within 14 days from the spot time for Rockerbox to insert a touchpoint in their path.
The lookback window is limited as such to avoid over-attribution, given the probabilistic nature of Linear TV measurement.
TV Vendor Requirements
Rockerbox has existing integrations with many of the most commonly used TV buying agencies. For these partners, a standard postlog schema has been defined that includes required fields like timestamp, DMA, and network which are critical for attribution.
If you do not see a vendor listed as an existing partner, further scoping needs to be done to understand if technical requirements can be met. Please reach out to support@rockerbox.com if you have questions regarding support for new vendors.