# View-through rate

VTR (view through rate) is an estimation of the number of impressions viewed during the advertising campaign, (as well as estimation of realized advertising contacts).

$VTR=100%*Views/Shows$

It gives the subjective attraction of the advertising medium, which consists of medium and advertisement messages. Moreover VTR has direct relations with indexes:

$CTR=100%*Clicks/Shows$

CTR reflects the subjective informativeness of the advertisement message (high - click, low - familiarization).

$CTI=100%*Views/Clicks$

CTI reflects the subjective consumer's interest in the advertising message.

$CTR(v)=VTR+CTR$

CTR(v) (contact through rate based on a view) has objective nature and lets estimate the effectiveness of capture of the consumer attention as a whole (three in one).

## Theory

### Old scheme and problematic

It is well known that Internet is interactive area, but almost all current versions of media advertising technologies can't get answer about the moment when an advertising contact was released. In typical situation banners clicks determine - has watched a visitor some advertisement or no, in others words - has been advertising contact occurred. Evidently the contact should be completed before a click because the click is the result of advertising effect. That process may be represented by the scheme:

$Show \rightarrow Contact \rightarrow Click$ (A1)

However not all banner shows (the more suitable word - loads) crown the advertising contact. As a matter of fact when an advertiser uses standard banner advertising he has some choice between 2 criteria (shows or clicks), he does not evaluate the amount of real happening advertising contacts because:

$Number Of Shows \ge Number Of Contacts \ge Numbers Of Clicks$ (A2)

or

$Contacts = \begin{cases} \lim_{shows\rightarrow 0} Shows \\lim_{contacts\rightarrow clicks} Clicks \end{cases}$ (A3)

Evidently, in this case the advertiser has vast interest to be ruled with number of clicks. The opposite situation for a publisher, he is interested to sell banner shows. The compromise way is - to pay for the time of distribution banner ad (static), but in the same time this way isn’t optimal from the standpoint of media planning.

The golden mean has been found when the index Click-Through-Rate (CTR) been invented. Although that index tries to find any answer question about advertising effectiveness but it lets to escape the matter about amount of real happening contacts.

An ideal decision of the matter could be possibility to control perception of the advertising consumer, but it hasn't a current realization.

SI-A-SI first offered and developed a new conception (as part of Video Field), which decides the question about contact counting. The base of conception is video advertising and control of views.

A) The Show. While visitor is browsing a site, Video Field plays preview of some video.

B) While video is played, the user additionally gets some messages. For example, do the cursor over Video Field for watching the video.

If user pays attention to Video Field (wants to watch a video) and he doesn't move a cursor away within 2 seconds, so this act is considered as The View.

C) After a click by Video Field the consumer is redirected to web page of advertiser. It is registered as the click.

The logic of a contact with advertisement may be explained in that way:

$Show \rightarrow Contact \rightarrow View \rightarrow Click$ (B1)

As a result of the test of 10 million shows (impressions), it has relations:

$Number Of shows \ge Number Of contacts \ge Number Of Views \ge Numbers Of Clicks$ (B2)

or

$Number Of Shows \ge {\color{Red} Number Of Contacts} \le Number Of Views$ (B3)

or so

$Contacts =\begin{cases} \lim_{shows\rightarrow contacts} Shows \\lim_{contacts\rightarrow views} Views \\\lim_{clicks\rightarrow views} Clicks \end{cases}$ (B4)

Thanks to Video Field conception, it is possible to measure as well abstract index of efficiency - CTR as others four advanced indexes. There are three subjective indexes - VTR, CTR, CTI for each aspect of interaction with advertisement consumer and one resumptive (integrated and objective) index - CTR(v).

1. Attracting the attention of consumer

VTR (view through rate) When cursor is placed over the Video Field (for fixed amount of time), it has been considered as released advertising contact.

$VTR = 100% * \dfrac {Number Of Views} {Number Of Shows}$ (C1)

2. The informativeness of some video advertising (high - click, low - familiarization).

CTR - familiarization or motive for the click.

$CTR = 100% * \dfrac {Number Of Clicks} {Number Of Shows}$ (C2)

3. The interest of a consumer to get more information

CTI (click through interest)

$CTI = 100% * \dfrac {Number Of Clicks} {Number Of Views}$ (C3)

CTR (v) (clicks + views through rate)

$CTR (v) = 100 %* \dfrac {Number Of Views + Number of Clicks} {Number Of Shows}$ (C4)

According to formulas B2, B3 and C1, C4, the correct ratio of the type of CTR (v) may be presented in that way:

$CTR (v) = \dfrac {Views + Clicks} {Shows}$ (C5)

it means

$CTR(v)= VTR + CTR \,\!$ (C6)

and

$Contacts =\begin{cases} \lim_{clicks\rightarrow views} Shows* \left( \dfrac {CTR(v)}{2}\right) \\lim_{contacts\rightarrow views} Shows*VTR \\\lim_{clicks\rightarrow shows} Shows*CTR \end{cases}$(C7)

These formulas (C5, C6 and C7) demonstrate some correlation between the advertising appeal and informativeness and consumer's interest to any advertisement.

${\color{Red}\ lim_{contact \rightarrow shows} CTR = \dfrac {CTR(v)}{2} = \dfrac {VTR*(CTI+1)}{2}}$(C8)

The last formula (C8) demonstrates the limit value of CTR if CTR(v) or VTR, when CTI has maximal value.

Also formula C8 demonstrates that consumer's interest has more effected to clicks than attractiveness of advertisement[clarification needed].

## Praxis

### A table of dynamic of indexes VTR,CTR,CTI,CTR(v)

How you can see from the table:

VTR – more exact index, which reflects subjective attraction of the advertising medium (advertising medium = medium + advertisement messages).

CTR – shows subjective informativeness of the advertising message (high - click, low - familiarization).

CTI – shows subjective consumer's interest to the advertising message.

CTR(v) – has objective nature, lets estimate the effectiveness of capture of the consumer attention as a whole (three in one).

### Concordance of levels

The concordance of levels of interaction and objective integrated index of efficiency of advertising message - CTR(v).

The effectiveness of advertising message depends on the attraction of advertising medium, informativity of advertising message and consumer's interest.

The objective integrated index CTR(v) enables us to estimate levels of advertisement interaction.

## References

"The Effectiveness of Video Ad Campaign" R.Artemov, Grand Palace, 130 Years of Advertising Conference, Report, Russia, October 2008.

"How Online Advertising Works: Whither the Click?" Gian Fulgoni, Wharton Empirical Generalizations in Advertising Conference, Article, US, December 5, 2008