DCM: Marin Integration and Data transfer

Marin integration can be done by using piggybacking dynamic pixels with DCM floodlights, and in this case, Marin records conversion data (including revenue) directly using their piggybacked pixel.

If the integration is done in this method, I’ll also need to corresponding floodlight IDs which has the piggybacked Marin pixels. I’ll pull up a report for these activities for the dates in question, and verify if there were any conversions for those days.

Alternatively, Marin could also use DCM Data transfer files, and extracting data using their own system. Just to give you an overview, DCM generates server logs for the data transfer enabled network, and generate 3 log files daily. One for impressions, one for clicks and one for Floodlights(conversions). These contain data for the all the advertisers within the network. As these logs are generated daily, if there’s no impression/click/conversion activity for a specific advertiser on any given day, its ID won’t populate in the log file.

There are referenced using match tables, and the required data is extracted/attributed using separate tools. Just to let you know, the naming convention for the data transfer log files is below:

NetworkImpression_[network_ID]_MM-DD-YYYY.log.gz

NetworkClick_[network_ID]_MM-DD-YYYY.log.gz

NetworkActivity_[network_ID]_[Floodlight_ID]_MM-DD-YYYY.log.gz

If you could let me know the name of the log file that Marin is using for any of the date, I’ll be able to lookup using the same in your Google cloud storage (GCS) bucket, and confirm availability of the log files. Based on the above naming convention, your GCS bucket has all the three log files added for the dates in question. I've attached two screenshots for your reference.

It’ll be helpful to know how Marin is setup, in order for me to pinpoint the issue. Please let me know if it’s possible to discuss this over a call, and if so, the time that works best.

DCM: Video completes are exceeding video starts, and impression counts.

The below response could be useful when we have any issue wherein the video completes are exceeding video starts, and impression counts.

I understand that, we’re seeing discrepancies for in-stream Placements, I’d like to share that, the root cause of the issue here is related to our enhanced traffic quality filters. This is a known issue, as we aren’t filtering the enhanced video events, however, we’re filtering impressions (I’ve seen similar issues reported to us earlier), that’s why the video completes are high than the impressions.

DoubleClick has developed a sophisticated set of algorithms that determine which clicks/impressions are invalid. According to an analysis, there’re three major reasons for these invalid events:

Spiders, robots, crawlers and other automated agents
Programs that download websites for offline use
Link analyzers and code validators

Spiders, crawlers and other automated programs are often, though not always, designed to first check for a file called robots.txt before sending a request to any server. This file sends instructions to the automated program that can tell the program not to make any requests to that server.

DoubleClick uses robots.txt files to help prevent clicks from automated programs. This file doesn’t, however, prevent downloading programs and link analyzers from generating automated clicks. If DC receives repeated, successive clicks/impressions from the same user within a set time frame, then it concludes that the user is an automated agent and not an actual person. These clicks/impressions are determined to be invalid, and thereby designated to be discarded.

An analysis has shown that very few impressions by real users are discarded using this algorithm. Once a user is identified as an automated agent and the impressions are invalidated, all subsequent clicks/impressions that occur are also discarded.

Further, to give you more details, our number one priority was to implement enhanced spam filtering for impression and click data then the enhanced metrics.  Our internal teams are aware of the discrepancies, and working to resolve them over time. That being said, we're working towards resolving these discrepancies in Q2, though, we don't have a more official timeline. Once these filters are in place, I'm pretty sure, there won't be any mix up

Floodlight tag can't be implemented in email

If you are trying to implement the Floodlight tag in email body. Please read this article completely before proceed.

I'm afraid that won't work in most cases. The mail stage is an exposure, not a conversion. The Floodlights are recommended to stay on the site because a "conversion" by definition is an action on the site or a buy.

Additionally, the email campaigns are never tracked 100% correctly. Please see the explanation below:

- IMPRESSIONS ON 1x1:
Only a fraction will be recorded since in many mail systems the images are not displayed by default. When called the tags, they can't have a random number anyway (no JS), so you will undercount in any case. For both these reasons, a massive underestimation of the opened mails will be produced.

- CLICKS:
If the user clicks on links tracked by click trackers, this action will be indeed counted. However, it is not guaranteed that the following conversions will be recorded, since the user can click from an email client (Outlook, Thunderbird etc.) and open a default browser (IE, Firefox etc.) which could have a different cookie set.

Apart from this, implementing Floodlight tag into the email body is not recommended because:

1) Only Image Floodlights will have a chance to be fired.
2) No possibility to generate random numbers (under counting).
3) By default, many clients are blocking images anyway.

abr=!ie

The abr=!ie parameter tells the DFA ad servers not to serve JavaScript content if the browser is Internet Explorer. This parameter is included only in the Iframe/JavaScript combination tags, not in JavaScript tags without Iframes. According to HTML conventions, browsers are not supposed to read any content between tags. As such, any browser that recognizes Iframes should read only the DFA Iframe tags, not the JavaScript tags. However, some obsolete versions of Internet Explorer read both sets of tags. The abr=!ie parameter ensures that these browsers are served only one ad for each set of DFA ad tags. This parameter is included only in the Iframe/JavaScript combination tags, not in JavaScript tags without Iframes.

If you are using the correct and the complete Iframe tag provided by DFA, then abr=!ie would not cause any issue.

You can check the Floodlight implementation on your website

Floodlight is one of the important tagging feature to record the conversion for the advertisers. If any advertiser implements floodlight tag on their website and check whether it's implemented correctly, they can check the tag implementation at their own by following steps:

Floodlight activities are conversions, and you can't have a conversion without a campaign driving it there. So if there is no DFA tracking at all, there will be zero Floodlight conversions. Same with revenue.

In Report Builder, you can pull a Floodlight impressions report. This will give raw data for how often the Floodlight tag fires, regardless of any activity.

Checking Floodlight

> Go to FireFox > Install HTTP Fox add on.
> Once the add on is installed, run it ( by getting under Tools button)
> In the search bar for HTTP Fox, put FLS to filter out floodlight tags firing on the page.
> Load the url into the browser.
> Any floodlights firing on the page will show up in the add on window.
> Compare the tag firing on the page with the respective tag in DCM. For example, the below highlighted portions (values) of the tag firing on the page should match with the respective tag generated in DCM:

http://123456.fls.doubleclick.net/activityi;src=123456;type=abc123cat=abc345;ord=4360688670599.461?

If you want to fire the tag correctly, please make sure the comment section is correctly closed and also the ord Id should not be zero. In sales tag the ord Id can be the Order Id of the transaction.

Additionally,  the sales tags are usually set on the final page where the transaction is completed successfully. If you want to track how many people visited the page, you can just use a standard floodlight tag on the initial page.

Also, if you want to track the details like the donation amount, you can use the standard tag with custom variables to track the value and then implement it on the submit button.

You can refer to the help center article here to know the different floodlight tags. You can also pass the link here to your webmaster that would help him in understanding different methods of implementing floodlight tags.

Google Tag Manager, basic knowledge

Now a days Google Tag manager is very useful tool and I recommend to use this  tool to manage your tagging technology. If you don't have any idea on GTM please follow the go through the steps below:

1. Google Tag manager is a free tool. In order to signup and create a new account, please visit the link below:
http://www.google.com/tagmanager/

Refer our resources to learn more about Google Tag Manager:
Google Tag Manager
Setup and Workflow

2. Using the GTM container ID you would be able to link the DFA Advertiser with Google Tag Manager. Once the Advertiser is linked to Google Tag Manager you would be able to push the Floodlight activities from DFA to Google Tag Manager.

For more information on Floodlight Integration and approvals, click here.

3. Before publishing the tags you would be verify the tags using preview and debug mode. In order to verify the tags, please refer the link below and follow the instructions.

https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/2695660

4. As of now we do not have specific link to track the release notes. Our team is going to start posting release notes weekly to the help center soon.

Audience List

What is an Audience List?

Remarketing is a free feature of DCM that enables you to create lists of users who have been exposed to your Floodlight Activity Tags, and target ads to those lists.

Audience Lists use Cookie-ID’s which identify users (browser specific), in order to know which pages (Floodlight Activities) they have visited.

Audience List Targeting can be performed during both inventory buying and for creative messaging.

A Remarketing Contract with DoubleClick is required to signed before Audience Lists are enabled for your DCM Account.