The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) presented a definition of "engagement" at its Re:Think conference in New York last week, and ClickZ offers up a roundup of various marketers' thoughts on the implications. "Engagement is turning on a prospect to a brand idea enhanced by the surrounding context," ARF's chief research officer, Joe Plummer, told the conference. Most professionals deemed it a step in the right direction.

Nielsen BuzzMetrics CMO Pete Blackshaw told ClickZ News, "My sense is that many of the ARF attendees were relieved to see further definition and perspective put on the 'engagement' metric." Madeline Hammill, managing director at Market Evaluer, said she is "highly skeptical that a metric alone is actually going to change the industry…getting our engagement metric is the start of our journey."

"I think it was a good statement but it's overly broad, especially how it applies to interactive media," Jack Smith, VP of product strategy for 24/7 Real Media told ClickZ News. "What will make it meaningful is if you have the ability to measure and model it."

"The absolute key is to keep up the momentum on this work, quickly enroll other key stakeholders in the process such as media planners, and aggressively line up 'reason to believe' case studies with large clients," concluded Blackshaw.

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- 'Engagement' May Supplant 'Frequency' as Metric