Long ago, digital measurement started with quantity—impressions, visitors, conversions. Next, quality came to the forefront. A click was no longer just a click. That click had to show intent to engage with a brand.
Just like all clicks are not created equal, all impressions are not created equal. Imagine your brand buying a billboard standing next to a haunted house. You’d get a lot of eyeballs, because people can’t look away from a deteriorating Victorian, but it might not be the best place for your brand.
With user generated continuously growing adjacent to sensitive cultural and world issues, the digital landscape is plagued with more and more potential landmines.
Media Works partners with MRC-accredited IAS (Integral Ad Science) to audit the quality of delivered impressions for media buys. And the technology is always getting better. For example, YouTube, which is often vilified for its lack of filtering technology, just solidified a partnership with IAS. These kinds of specific integrations are key considering the variance in technology across so many platforms.
As COVID spread, Media Works was able to work with IAS to ban any negative COVID news content from media buys. This kind of real time control in a constantly helps advertisers sleep easier. Because the digital landscape is so much more fluid than the analog landscape (that haunted house next to the billboard opportunity can’t move anywhere else), ad verification partnerships should be part of every buy.
It goes beyond simply adding that layer of protection. Fraud, brand safety and viewability should appear in regular reporting. The next step is to negotiate makegoods with vendors that are unable to reach benchmarks for ad quality. Third party verification technology can help these negotiations and holding vendors accountable will help improve their performance and commitment to quality.
Media Works believes that ad verification is a necessary investment in any media plan, just like a third-party ad server or analytics partner. Digital haunted houses are constantly on the move, difficult to detect, and unpredictable. Safeguard your brand.