Three Truths That Help Confront the Digital Ad Fraud Crisis
Digital advertising fraud truly is a huge industry problem. Fraud estimates range from $6 billion to $16 billion annually, and the current supply chain structure makes it easy and attractive to commit ad fraud with little chance of retribution.
Marketers, agencies, publishers and technology suppliers are frustrated. Trust is at an all-time low. The industry is nearing crisis stage as marketers are seriously questioning, rethinking and redoing their digital investments.
Ad fraud is a confusing topic because it is technically complicated and certain underlying issues have not been openly discussed. As an independent auditor, the Alliance for Audited Media sees the underbelly of the media supply chain where little transparency exists. This paper addresses key issues and illuminates three truths that can help us confront the ad fraud crisis:
- Fraud occurs on both fake and legitimate websites.
- Illegitimate traffic sourcing is the main cause of fraud.
- Ad fraud measurement is used to transact but does not minimize ad fraud.
By looking deeper into each of these topics and the business of fraud — how the money is made and how it leaves the ecosystem — it's clear that ad fraud is conquerable. The war on fraud is winnable. Marketers can steer their budgets away from fraudulent sites to legitimate sites with veri ed human audiences, but the way marketers buy digital audiences must change. The entire supply chain needs to take steps to change how it operates. The way the entire supply chain operates must change.
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Source
"Three Truths That Help Confront the Digital Ad Fraud Crisis." AAM, 2017.