Amanda Wigginton, audience strategy and insight specialist, stresses the importance of trusted brands, quality editorial and credible measurement, and the value of putting return on quality at the centre of investment decisions.

You know, it’s funny, when you look at what’s happening in advertising, it’s not just one big thing going wrong. It’s more like a series of critical tipping points all happening at once. Think of it like a domino effect or, even better, a chain reaction.

Things like the end of the third-party cookie and growing consumer frustration with intrusive ads have reached a breaking point. Now, those issues are triggering a cascade of other problems, from a race to the bottom in content quality, a serious lack of audience trust, and massive brand safety risks for advertisers.  

And don’t even get me started on the fact that a lot of this is self fulfilling – a significant proportion of advertising investment is actually fueling this lower-quality content and these problematic environments.

Quality is the superpower of trusted editorial brands. We are trusted beacons of quality and reliability because we commit to rigorous editorial standards, our brands are built on expertise, and because we forge strong and deep relationships with passion based communities. And because we deliver this value to our advertising partners too.

This quality advantage extends to measurement. We invest in and are committed to measurement that helps us to shift from a focus on sheer quantity to a focus on a genuine return on quality. Having solid, reliable data is the only way for advertisers to prove their investment is actually working and not just getting lost in the chaos. 

This is where PAMCo, the joint industry currency for published media, plays a vital role. By producing readership estimates across print and digital platforms, PAMCo underpins advertising decisions with consistent, transparent and independently verified data. 

And this is why I am really excited about the integration of Barb’s Establishment Survey into PAMCo. This evolution of measurement methodology is built on quality to ensure greater representation of UK audiences. This in turn will help us deliver a more accurate picture of today’s multi-platform consumer. 

For advertisers, putting quality first, leads to smarter planning, stronger partnerships and increased return on quality. It provides confidence that investment decisions are based on evidence, not assumptions, and that there is fair and a consistent evaluation of media brands.

In an industry facing a chain reaction, it is this measurable value, not just reach, that will prove to be the ultimate currency for quality and trusted editorial brands.