Mobile & In-App Archives - Integral Ad Science

How Marketers Can Tackle Misinformation Across the Open Web & Social Media Channels with Industry-Leading Measurement

IAS Team — Fri, 10 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Why is everyone talking about misinformation?

Misinformation isn’t a new problem in media. Exaggerated and completely fabricated stories have existed for centuries. But this year, digital media experts named “ads delivering near misinformation” as their top concern.

So why is it such a hot topic right now?

We’re in the midst of a global election year, with voters in more than 60 countries heading to the polls in the coming months. Elections, and the flurry of news coverage they bring, lead to an influx of consumers spending more time with digital media. More consumers online means more opportunities for brands to be seen, but it’s crucial for brands to appear in the right places — after all, three-quarters of consumers say they feel less favorably toward brands that advertise on sites that spread misinformation.

Plus, the rise of generative AI in digital media has marketers worrying that it may play a hand in expediting the creation and dissemination of misinformation across the open web and social channels. In fact, some experts claim that as much as 90% of online content could be AI-generated by 2026.

Three major misinformation challenges

Misinformation has evolved over years. Today, marketers face three main challenges when it comes to misinformation on the open web and social media. These challenges exist in both generative AI and election-related content — and far beyond.

Fact checking: Fact checking has been a critical best practice in media for some time, and it’s more important than ever in the presence of increasing misinformation. But it requires effort and expertise from real humans, which can be time consuming and resource depleting when not accompanied by trained AI models.
Dynamic changes: Marketers are navigating new narratives that emerge every day across platforms. This revolving door of content can lead to reputation risk for brands if not monitored correctly and in real-time.
Nuanced classification: User-generated content (UGC) is incredibly nuanced. Given the range of content on the open web and social media — whether it be educational, comedic, sarcastic, or even violent — varied tone in UGC is a major challenge for marketers to accurately identify.

So how can advertisers overcome these challenges to detect and dodge misinformation with precision — and without limiting scale?

The importance of independent partnerships when tackling misinformation

One of the most critical components of misinformation measurement are the independent, third-party partnerships that set the parameters for what content is considered misinformation. Our misinformation capability on both the open web and social media is informed by the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), and an international fact checking network that enables misinformation categorization at scale, aligned with GARM standards.

Since 2021, we’ve partnered with GDI to help brands avoid misinformation, ensuring journalistic integrity and reaffirming support for quality news sites. Once IAS assesses which sites have strong correlations to sources of misinformation, GDI then evaluates the page to determine if it qualifies as misinformation or not, according to their proprietary methodology. In addition, GDI shares their list of organically detected domains for inclusion in our misinformation measurement capability. This unique combination of AI and manual review allows IAS to protect advertisers from risky content at scale. Our partnership with GDI builds on IAS’s expertise in brand safety and suitability, allowing us to align with a trusted, transparent, and independent industry body to identify any domains associated with misinformation.

Our misinformation analysis methodology, which we apply across both open web and social media channels, was trained and re-trained with always-on third-party data, and continues to evolve to include viral misinformation narratives and claims — meaning our misinformation methodology is always up to date with the latest misinformation narratives in market. With all of these signals, it’s important to note that IAS remains a neutral party.

Detecting misinformation across the open web

The internet is a big place. We’re talking billions of pages big. Hundreds of thousands of URLs are created every day, meaning new sources of misinformation can pop up at any time. The sheer amount of URLs created daily coupled with the automated nature of programmatic advertising can make it challenging for brands to completely avoid appearing on sites that publish misinformation.

Misinformation measurement across the open web is vital for advertisers to understand if their brand is protected during an election season. Most misinformation measurement solutions, however, rely solely on human review of URL lists. The issue with that is clear — it’s simply impossible for humans to be the only source of misinformation detection and do so accurately.

The single most scalable and efficient way to identify misinformation on the open web is through a combination of AI, human, and independent, third-party review, and IAS’s misinformation measurement is the industry’s most scientific and scalable solution. Our enhanced misinformation detection leverages trusted and safe AI and goes far beyond human-only review to detect emerging threats by determining which sites have a strong correlation to other well known sources of misinformation. Plus, our partnerships with GARM and GDI allow for trusted, transparent misinformation categorization that continues to evolve to bring the most sophisticated brand safety and suitability capability to market.

And we don’t stop there.

Identifying misinformation across social platforms

Social media is also at the forefront of advertisers’ minds as we approach global elections — and understandably so. With tens of thousands of thoughts, photos, and videos making their way to social media every second, it’s incredibly difficult for brands to gauge what their ads will show up next to.

Advertisers should look to independent solutions that help cut through the abundance of content and variability of social media. Without knowing where they’re appearing on the feed, brands risk appearing near content that spreads false narratives and masquerades fabricated content as real news.

IAS’s Brand Safety and Suitability measurement is the most effective way for advertisers to safeguard and scale their brand on social media during a major election year. Powered by AI-driven Multimedia Technology,* our solutions use frame-by-frame video analysis and speech-to-text conversion to analyze thousands of signals per video and identify misinformation with accuracy. IAS’s misinformation methodology has the advantage our 3+ years of experience analyzing open web misinformation data. This extensive training allows IAS to analyze the tone of content with precision — whether it be satire, sarcasm, educational, or fear-mongering — for the most accurate categorization of misinformation on the feed.

Our Brand Safety and Suitability measurement product includes the GARM 12th category for misinformation on select platforms and is consistent with the GARM Framework. With third-party transparency into ad adjacency, advertisers can now measure and take steps to avoid running alongside misinformation. Combining our Multimedia Technology with trusted third-party misinformation assessment providers creates a market-leading misinformation methodology that more accurately identifies misinformation at scale.

How can misinformation be avoided?

Advertisers have traditionally turned to keyword blocking in an attempt to avoid appearing near words and phrases that don’t align with their brand — but this outdated approach doesn’t cut it anymore.

Keyword blocking doesn’t take into account the context, sentiment, or emotion of a given webpage. Without an understanding of the true intention behind a piece of content, brands miss out on reach and block diverse content, diverse content creators, or other information that consumers seek out.

While measurement gives transparency needed to detect misinformation, advertisers can go even further to avoid misinformation with more accuracy and scalability than keyword blocking. Products like IAS’s Context Control Avoidance helps advertisers actively avoid sources of and topics about misinformation on the open web while still providing the opportunity for expanded reach. Context Control Avoidance technology leverages IAS’s semantic intelligence engine, which advertisers can then use to exclude not only the sources identified as misinformation, but all content relating to misinformation, fake news, and conspiracy theories.

Only IAS offers the ability to choose from GARM-defined risk levels and media types, like entertainment, politics, news, and more, to give advertisers a tailored approach to avoiding harmful misinformation that still allows for scale and support for quality journalism.

Additionally, Brand Safety and Suitability measurement through our flagship Total Media Quality product suite on social platforms can inform advertisers’ suitability strategies. While the approach varies by platform due to tools available, brands can identify trends and optimize away from misinformation with granular reporting insights.

Here’s how brands can avoid misinformation as a result of misinformation measurement on social:

Shift media budgets: Test shifting budgets from placements where misinformation may be more present and measure the impacts.
First-party tools: Where available, consider activating platform first-party tools to avoid certain GARM risk levels, inclusive of misinformation, and monitor performance to ensure brand safety and suitability performs as expected.
Third-party optimization products: On select platforms, consider Brand Safety Exclusion or Block Lists, which offer protection to avoid running ads next to unsuitable content or publishers.

And we offer brands a number of methods to avoid misinformation on open web:

IAS Brand Safety: Automatically avoid misinformation through IAS’s partnership with the GDI by simply setting your risk threshold to moderate or stricter, for our standard Offensive Language & Controversial Content category. We recommend that clients only interested in avoiding sources of misinformation activate via brand safety.
IAS Context Control: IAS Context Control misinformation segments are ideal for advertisers who wish to extend protection beyond just sources of misinformation and include protection for topics related to misinformation. With Context Control, you have more granularity, as we have seven different segments available depending on your risk threshold and content types (such as news, entertainment, and video gaming), all aligned to the GARM framework.

Taking action on misinformation today

Advertisers will always want to avoid misinformation — but not all methods of doing so are created equal. An overly risk-averse approach, like stopping ad spend in news, prevents your brand from appearing in highly scalable contexts and hurts quality journalism. A strategic and thoughtful approach to avoiding misinformation allows brands to scale confidently on channels where it matters most this election season.

Here are the three key ways IAS gives you the most comprehensive and accurate approach to detecting and avoiding misinformation:

We’re everywhere: Our misinformation capability is built to scale across channels. Starting with open web and social, our model is engineered to rapidly expand soon to CTV and other emerging channels.
We’re more accurate: Our trusted AI-driven frame-by-frame analysis delivers up to 74% more accurate brand suitability reporting across social media platforms vs. limited sample frame analysis across GARM categories.
We partner with independent networks: We leverage a network of third-party service providers and fact checking agencies from around the world, including human fact checkers.

A comprehensive solution that protects all ends of the digital ad cycle is critical. End-to-end, AI-driven measurement coupled with optimization solutions that are tailored to each brand’s respective needs are key to detecting and avoiding misinformation on the internet’s most prolific and unpredictable environments. Ensure you’re choosing a partner who can safeguard and scale your brand — and stay away from point solutions who can’t cover open web or provide limited misinformation capabilities:

You can avoid misinformation, protect your brand, and continue to scale this election season. Keep reading about how IAS helps you avoid misinformation, and reach out to an IAS representative today to get started.

*Methodology may vary by platform.

The post How Marketers Can Tackle Misinformation Across the Open Web & Social Media Channels with Industry-Leading Measurement appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

IAS Expands Meta Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement

IAS Team — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 12:05:00 +0000

Identify misinformation and accurately classify content at scale on Facebook and Instagram with expanded capabilities

IAS has expanded the Total Media Quality for Meta Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement to include the 12th GARM category, Misinformation. You can now run with confidence across Meta by ensuring your ads are appearing next to content aligned with your brand’s suitability goals.

This ability to measure for misinformation in ad environments on Meta allows marketers to safeguard and scale their brand for some of 2024’s most critical advertising opportunities — global elections and the Olympics.

IAS and Meta are expanding the Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement coverage to support five additional languages, providing advertisers even more global coverage. Plus, for more actionability IAS is expanding its dashboard reporting capabilities. Key highlights include:

Granular insights with expanded content-level reporting to all eligible posts, with insights aligned to the GARM framework for expanded transparency into your content adjacency
Efficient filtering of all metrics within the Signal UI to selected dimensions and date range, including campaign, ad sets, and inventory type for more actionable insights
Easy-to-use visuals to understand how your campaign is performing across the GARM framework, enabling easy validation and adjustment to your Meta 1P inventory filter

Avoid misinformation to safeguard and scale on Meta platforms. Download the one sheet or reach out to an IAS representative to get started.

The post IAS Expands Meta Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Enhanced Brand Safety & Suitability Reporting Now Available on TikTok

IAS Team — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 13:35:57 +0000

IAS’s industry-leading Brand Safety & Suitability measurement now provides expanded insights and coverage

TikTok has grown rapidly — and so has our measurement. IAS is pleased to share that our AI-driven Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement, as part of Total Media Quality for TikTok, now includes Vertical Sensitivity and Category Exclusion segment measurement to help you protect your brand on one of the largest and fastest-growing short-form video platforms in the world.

Along with this enhanced measurement, we’ve expanded Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement coverage to another 11 markets across the globe. Now 62 countries worldwide can access IAS’s cutting-edge Multimedia Technology to accurately classify content on TikTok’s For You Feed, at scale. Our reporting now provides advertisers insights into the GARM Framework, Vertical Sensitivity, and Category Exclusions.

Starting today, here’s what’s new with Brand Safety and Suitability, as part of Total Media Quality for TikTok:

Third-party validation: IAS provides measurement that the TikTok Category Exclusion and Vertical Sensitivity segments to validate your ads are appearing in brand suitable environments.
Customized reporting: Automated Suitability Profiles provide you bespoke insights based on your TikTok campaign settings, automatically mirroring your Category Exclusion and Vertical Sensitivity segments within TikTok Ads Manager.
Expanded coverage: 11 additional countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Norway, and Panama now have access to industry-leading Brand Safety and Suitability measurement on TikTok

Safeguard and scale your brand with Total Media Quality for TikTok. Download the one sheet or reach out to an IAS representative to get started.

The post Enhanced Brand Safety & Suitability Reporting Now Available on TikTok appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

How to Protect Your In-App Ads In 2024

IAS Team — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Protect your mobile strategy and optimize your impact

Consumers — and their devices — are constantly on-the-go. With users depending on mobile more than ever, daily activities are condensed into one device — from shopping and purchasing, to listening and downloading, and even for gaming and chatting. It’s estimated that the average consumer spends a third of their day on their mobile device, and 90% of that time is spent within mobile apps.

With millions of eyes locked on the screen every day, marketers have the opportunity to drive quality impressions where consumers are looking. But, with bad actors who also recognize the power and popularity of mobile, it’s crucial for marketers to ensure their ads are engaging real users and are protected from fraudsters.

So how can marketers properly protect their in-app campaigns?

Are my ads being seen?

That’s the first thing marketers should be asking. As many as a third of digital ads go unseen — and that includes mobile ads. It’s simple: If your ads aren’t seen, they can’t make an impact.

Viewability measurement is a highly effective and actionable way to understand if your mobile campaigns are being viewed by real people — and to make sure your ad spend isn’t going to waste. By monitoring the viewability of your mobile campaigns, marketers can adjust ad placements to top-performing formats and streamline their campaigns to reach their goals.

Are my ads serving in safe spaces?

Would an adult beverage brand want to advertise near in-app content that’s aimed toward kids? Probably not.

Brand safety is a crucial measurement for marketers to implement as they promote their brand via mobile campaigns. It helps verify that campaigns are showing up in environments that align with their brand’s message and values — something that can make or break consumers’ perception of a brand.

IAS’s in-app brand safety measurement evaluates mobile apps to ensure complete verification of suitability. Having complete control over your media investments protects your brand — and your budget will thank you.

Are my ads free from fraud?

Mobile advertising can amplify brand messaging and strengthen impact — but the dangers of in-app spaces still lurk. Fraudsters and bots can infiltrate mobile strategies to skew media campaigns and drain ad spend, and can even result in negative impressions of your brand.

In-app fraud can be persistent. Some of the most common patterns detected today are malicious apps, app name spoofing, location fraud, and cloud hosting fraud. Protecting your media quality can be a tricky feat, but understanding the possible dangers and how they can affect your ad spaces can equip you with the right tools to fight back.

Utilizing efficient verification tools is vital in ensuring that your ads are protected in their suitable environments. For example, IAS’s Three Pillar Approach verifies ads based on behavioral and network analysis, targeted reconnaissance and malware analysis, and overall device analysis to detect in-app fraud. While most solutions rely solely on an automated check to detect any invalid traffic, IAS’s unique in-app pre-bid segments are powered by unmatched scale and machine learning, providing the most accurate detection and prevention for complete in-app protection.

How IAS can help

Maximize your ad spend and protect media buys with the right technology — and the right partner. IAS provides unbeatable protection and growth opportunities in mobile spaces with capabilities including:

Comprehensive coverage across programmatic buys in-app with pre- and post-bid Viewability, Brand Safety, and Invalid Traffic measurement
A single-tag solution that supports monitoring and blocking for display and video across mobile in-app and mobile web
MRC-accredited viewable impression metrics, sophisticated invalid traffic detection and filtration, and customizable reporting

Protect your in-app mobile ads with IAS’s industry-leading measurement and optimization solutions that drive superior results, no matter where your consumers are. Contact an IAS representative today to begin building safeguarding and scaling on mobile.

The post How to Protect Your In-App Ads In 2024 appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

What Is In-Game Advertising?

IAS Team — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000

We’ve seen advertisers hit every area, from CTV and mobile to the open web — but what about mobile game advertising?

Mobile gaming is a lucrative industry, even in 2024. Recent IAS research found that 82% of gamers turn to their mobile devices to play games — which is more than desktop or even console. Today, there are more than 1.92 billion mobile gamers worldwide, with mobile gaming revenue accounting for as much as 77.7% of total revenue within the gaming industry. This massive reach is likely because mobile games are highly accessible to consumers on smartphones, meaning more opportunities for advertisers to break into the niche.

But before you start planning your next in-game ad campaign, here’s what you should consider.

How do in-game ads work?

In simple terms, mobile game ads are used to present a brand or product to a gamer when they download and begin using a gaming app.

But there’s more to it. Mobile game advertising begins when an advertiser buys ad space from a game developer. Most games incorporate ads as videos between levels, lobby of a video game, but some game developers may include banner ads on their games that are visible as the player engages with the app.

Why do developers use in-game ads?

If you ever browse through your phone’s app store, you’ll notice an influx of free-to-play games that don’t require upfront costs.

Free-to-play games allow developers to draw in a larger audience, and through charging advertisers for inventory, they can continue to keep their apps running. In exchange, advertisers get exposure to a new market. Like ads on websites and streaming platforms, they’re designed to be a win-win for the entity hosting the ads and the brand paying for ad space.

But, as an advertiser, it’s important to remember that there are a variety of game genres out there. Choosing genres that closely relate to your brand is critical, especially when considering the demographics playing the game.

Types of in-game ads

Like any other platform, advertisers need to choose the right ad format for campaigns. Here’s a breakdown of what the different game ad formats look like:

INTRINSIC IN-GAME: Sometimes referred to as native in-game or in-play, these ad placements, product placements, and experiential branding environments are in the game, and a seamless part of gameplay.
ADJACENT:The ad placement is next to the game, such as a banner image ad below a mobile puzzle game.
INTERSTITIAL: The ad placement is around the game, as gameplay stops and the ad itself becomes the focus.
AUDIO: The ad placement is purely audio in nature, overlaid during gameplay without pausing the game.
REWARDED: The ad placement provides an opportunity for users to watch a video or engage with a playable ad in exchange for a reward within a gaming environment.
ADVERGAMES: A custom game designed around a specific product or brand.
SPONSORED: A brand can sponsor gameplay through special levels and brand themed in-game events.
SKINS: A brand can create a “skin” item that players can acquire in-game which changes the appearance of their avatar (the character that represents the player in-game).
BRANDED WORLD: A brand can develop a fully immersive, branded experience such as an island, an independent gameplay experience, or a branded level.
HARD CODED: The ad placement is built into the game and unchangeable, meaning it can only be changed by modifying the source code and recompiling.

Depending on what you’re looking to get out of the gaming market, deciding which in-game ad format is the most beneficial to your brand will lay the groundwork for the rest of your strategy.

After you’ve decided on a format, you can begin to dive deeper into your campaign.

How to craft an effective mobile gaming advertising strategy

The global in-game advertising industry is set to see growth upwards of $14 billion in revenue by 2028 — meaning there’s no better time to get started on a strategy than right now.

But where do you begin?

Your strategy should be more than just throwing ads at popular genres like candy-matching games (though you shouldn’t completely write them off). When setting up an in-game ad strategy, consider the following.

Who is your audience?

Another survey found that the mobile gaming market is more diverse than you might think, with 55% of women in the United States accounting for a majority of the player base in terms of gender, and 60% of Gen Xers dominating this platform.

It’s easy to correlate video games with young males, but statistics and data are the best way to get a clear idea of your audience before you spend your ad budget. Understand who your target audience is within the mobile game market and strategize when your ad will be seen.

Carefully consider ad placement

Let’s face it, ads can be frustrating to the player if they’re not placed properly — and even advertisers will admit that. While banner ads are an option, advertisers may want to consider other placements that don’t interfere with the user experience.

Advertisers should know that 69% of gamers say they’re open to non-disruptive in-game ads. With that in mind, more seamless placements may include running your ad before gameplay, during a natural break, such as a level change, or after gameplay.

After all, a player who isn’t frustrated with the app’s usability is more likely to engage with your ads.

Monitor your campaigns

Finally, you need to verify your in-game ads to see if they’re viable for your business.

The video game industry is competitive and rigorous, and the mobile sector isn’t an exception. You first want to make sure your ads are being seen by real people and are free from invalid traffic, and from there attribute and collect data to get a complete view of your campaign performance.

Ad fraud on mobile apps is commonplace. Tracking your ad performance and having a prevention plan in place will boost your progress.

Get in the game with IAS

Mobile in-app advertising — especially in mobile games — isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. IAS is here to help you step up your game so you can take advantage of one of the fastest-growing advertising platforms without wasting your valuable ad budget.

Measure mobile traffic and viewability using our tools to enhance your advertising effectiveness. With in-game viewability and invalid traffic measurement from IAS, marketers can access key benefits including:

Innovative, global intrinsic 3D in-game Viewability and Invalid Traffic measurement
Global viewability and invalid traffic (IVT) measurement for a holistic view of your media buys
Comprehensive coverage across formats and environments
Trusted, third-party reporting with daily reporting in the IAS Signal UI

Reach out to an IAS representative to get started on an in-game ad campaign to reach real people and drive engagement using actionable data today.

The post What Is In-Game Advertising? appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

IAS Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement is Now Available Across Meta Platforms

IAS Team — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:05:00 +0000

Safeguard and scale your media on Facebook and Instagram

IAS launched its new Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement with Meta to provide advertisers with campaign insights across Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels, as part of Total Media Quality for Meta. With Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement for Meta now available across Meta platforms, you can have confidence that your media is appearing next to content aligned to your brand values and goals.

With Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement for Meta, you get:

AI-driven classification: IAS measures adjacent posts to your campaign using our Multimedia Technology to provide unique insight into video content. It does this through frame-by-frame analysis of images, audio, and text to provide the most accurate measurement at scale.
Trust and transparency: Our analysis is aligned to the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) framework, giving you third-party validation with trusted and transparent industry metrics.
Third-party validation: With IAS’s third-party validation, you can better understand how your Meta Inventory Filters are performing for your campaign goals and optimize as needed.

Access the one sheet now or contact an IAS representative to get started.

The post IAS Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement is Now Available Across Meta Platforms appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

How to Prevent Mobile Ad Fraud

IAS Team — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Protect your advertising spend from fraudsters in mobile apps

Millions of consumers across the globe engage with mobile apps everyday. Whether it’s for social media, convenience, productivity, or pure entertainment, mobile apps have become an essential part of people’s daily lives — and marketers have followed suit. But fraud has become a billion dollar problem across mobile, with marketers losing nearly $35 billion in mobile app ad spend to fraud globally in 2023.

With the increasing threat of in-app fraud, marketers across the globe are adopting sophisticated anti-fraud tools to defend against these covert operations and protect their advertising budgets.

What is mobile app ad fraud?

Mobile app ad fraud refers to any kind of deceptive practice that manipulates advertising in mobile apps to generate revenue or unfairly disrupt competitors. This form of fraud rears its ugly head in multiple ways, including app spoofing, out of context ad rendering, and geo masking, among others. The goal? These fraudsters aim to generate fake ad impressions and steal revenue from digital advertisers, publishers, or supply partners. This malpractice exploits one of the most active channels in digital advertising, undermining its credibility and financial potential.

Mobile app ad fraud is a major challenge for marketers. This issue not only drains advertising budgets but also risks damaging brand reputation and jeopardizes potential collaborations with publishers and platforms. Brands in particular face the threat of wasted ad spend and diminished trust among consumers, impacting their brand equity.

What are the common types of ad fraud within apps?

There are many common forms of mobile app fraud — here are some of the most prevalent:

App Spoofing: App spoofing is a deceptive practice in mobile ad fraud where an app’s identity is falsely represented. It often involves lesser-known apps presenting themselves as popular ones to command higher ad rates, rogue exchanges listing well-known apps to inflate inventory value, and mislabeling mobile ads as premium CTV ads. App spoofing causes advertisers to pay premium rates for misrepresented ad placements and erodes trust throughout the supply chain.
Out of Context Ad Rendering: This form of fraud occurs when a mobile app displays ads while not in active use or visible to the user, disrupting device functionality and leading to unintentional clicks. This practice degrades the user experience and wastes ad spend, violating guidelines that require ads to be non-intrusive and easily dismissible.
Geo Masking: This is a deceptive tactic in mobile ad fraud where fraudsters disguise their geographic location to simulate traffic from high-value markets. By doing so, they can command higher ad rates or meet specific campaign requirements targeted at certain regions. Geo masking misleads advertisers about the actual origin of ad engagement, leading to inaccurate targeting and wasted ad spend.
Device Farm Exploitation: Device farms are setups that may use virtual machine (VM) devices or even real people to simulate ad interactions, like clicks and views. These farms generate artificial ad traffic and falsely inflate engagement metrics, which leads advertisers to unknowingly pay for fake engagement.

How can I prevent ad fraud within my apps?

Protection on mobile app campaigns is essential — after all, the average consumer spends a third of their day browsing mobile apps, making it one of the most prolific channels for advertising. To combat fraud and prevent fraudsters from re-entering apps, media quality partners are key. In fact, IAS recently found that campaigns that are not optimized for fraud tend to encounter levels of fraud up to 16x higher than those that are optimized against ad fraud.

Media quality partners, like IAS, employ teams of specialized analysts, engineers, and data scientists to address ad fraud from every angle. Their expertise ensures that ad spend is allocated correctly, enhancing campaign safety and effectiveness. Using the right measurement solutions to detect fraud and optimization solutions to prevent it can ensure safety, security, and confidence when driving your brand’s message across mobile apps.

How IAS can help

As a leader in detecting and mitigating fraud in mobile campaigns, IAS knows how important mobile protection is. IAS uses AI and machine learning to identify potential fraud behavior and uncommon patterns in marketers’ campaigns. Plus, IAS’s ad fraud detection and mitigation system is designed to effectively stop more bots compared to competitors, while ensuring that real human interactions are never blocked.

With mobile usage growing each year, standardized mobile measurement for Invalid Traffic and Viewability is crucial. That’s why IAS provides independent, trusted verification at scale on mobile and in-app. Our solutions include Brand Safety and Suitability, verification for insight into Viewability, optimization for in-app efficiency, and unmatched anti-fraud products that will boost real engagement from real users.

Here’s a look at the in-app ad fraud tools that IAS offers:

Comprehensive coverage across programmatic buys with measurement and optimization support to ensure Viewability, IVT, and Brand Safety
Customizable reporting, including Brand Safety with content risk categories and inclusion/exclusion lists
Single tag solution that supports monitoring and blocking for both display and video

Drive superior results in your mobile app campaigns with IAS’s industry-leading suite of ad fraud products. Learn more about how IAS fights and prevents fraud, and contact us to stop fraud in your mobile app campaigns today.

The post How to Prevent Mobile Ad Fraud appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Where Do Consumers Spend Most of Their Time?

IAS Team — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Marketers are on the hunt for that sweet spot where their audience spends most of their time. It can be tempting to throw money at every platform in an age where consumers are glued to multiple devices — but there’s more to it than that.

So where are consumers spending most of their time online? Let’s navigate the different platforms and identify strategies to help you target your audiences.

Are computers the new television?

In some ways, yes. Recent research by Accenture examining consumer media consumption patterns reveals a noticeable uptick in internet users watching TV content on their personal desktop rather than on an actual TV. And while watching TV was the number one rated leisure activity for people in the U.S. accordin g to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer-related activities, like gaming and socializing online, emerged as a close second.

Let’s look deeper into time spent on desktop. On average, consumers allocate 34 minutes per day to using a computer for gaming, leisure, and socializing. The labor statistics study found that consumers double their time socializing online on the weekends, dedicating 53 minutes in contrast to 25 minutes on weekdays. Here, we see a shift in leisure patterns — weekends foster increased social interaction compared to the typical work week, helping marketers understand where their audiences can be found online throughout the week.

For marketers navigating desktop environments, it’s crucial to understand the motivations behind the surge in computer usage. For example, what should marketers consider as they craft strategies to effectively connect with this growing audience of PC-oriented TV viewers?

It’s all about convenience.

While CTV interactivity and customization is becoming more common, desktops are still leading the charge in user personalization. What sets the computer experience apart is the seamless accessibility of these features when a viewer transitions across different devices, offering a level of personalized engagement that elevates the overall viewing experience. So, in a time when computers are giving consumers a reason to shift their media consumption away from more traditional methods, marketers should focus on ad formats that fit their needs.

The mobile divide: apps vs. browsers

People are scrolling on their phones everywhere you look. Insider Intelligence tells us that in the U.S., mobile consumption consistently overshadows traditional channels in both viewership and listenership. Beyond merely seeking entertainment on smartphones, consumers are dedicating more and more time to mobile apps, with an emphasis on social media and messaging apps.

This shift in preferences underscores the evolving media consumption landscape, with mobile serving as a primary conduit for entertainment and communication. Consumers are dedicating a greater portion of their time to mobile apps versus browsers — mobile app usage is estimated to reach 3 hours and 28 minutes per day this year, while browser usage is expected to remain at a much lower 52 minutes per day.

This is where mobile-first campaign strategies and transparent in-app media quality become crucial for marketers to ensure their valuable investments are truly reaching consumers where they are and driving engagement.

CTV and linear — where will ads have the most impact?

In 2023, the CTV wave swelled, with a staggering 88% of U.S. households owning at least one connected TV device. This transformation is most pronounced among Gen Z and Millennials (yes, CTV has won over Gen Z), with over 110 million CTV users in their ranks. As viewers pivot from traditional linear TV to streaming alternatives, advertisers are eagerly harnessing the potential of this digital migration. In fact, marketers surpassed $25 billion last year in CTV ad spend.

So what’s the deal with linear TV? While U.S. adult usage by the hour continues to drop annually, expanding CTV viewing time is actually backstopping the decline in traditional TV, which is helping to maintain (and grow) TV-based budgets. Plus, consumers are still spending time with linear TV — especially in 2024 with an upcoming political election and the Summer Olympic games.

Consumer perception of CTV ads has painted a positive picture. Over 60% of CTV viewers express a preference for watching ads if it means saving money. They also welcome targeted ads to enhance their viewing experience. Plus, nearly six in 10 CTV users think CTV ads are more relevant compared to linear, and recent IAS research found that relevant ads drive higher brand impact than those that are irrelevant.

How IAS can help

In a world where the already complex digital advertising landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, seizing opportunities on different media platforms has become more critical than ever. But not all platforms should be utilized equally.

Consumers are increasingly on the go, and so are our products. Whether consumers are watching a video, playing a game, or reading an article, IAS offers the same level of accuracy and insight into mobile media quality as we do for desktop, including MRC-accredited Viewability and Invalid Traffic measurement, plus Brand Safety and Suitability optimization solutions.

IAS is the first and only partner to work directly with the largest video publishers to validate that ads on CTV are played to completion and free from invalid traffic. Our CTV product gives marketers the insight to know exactly what they’re up against with comprehensive video metrics, protection against all major fraud scenarios, and our first-to-market CTV valid quartile consumption metrics that give insight into campaign viewability. Additionally, we’ve launched the industry’s first video-level brand suitability measurement for CTV in partnership with IRIS.TV to help marketers protect and grow their brand through frame-level video analysis, GARM industry alignment, and unmatched transparency.

Reach out to an IAS representative or contact us now to get started.

The post Where Do Consumers Spend Most of Their Time? appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

RESEARCH: The 2024 Industry Pulse

IAS Team — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Media experts weigh in on advertising opportunities in 2024

As the industry reflects on the past year, IAS conducted our annual deep dive into the trends and technology that will shape the future: The Industry Pulse.

In 2024, industry experts will follow consumer behavior. Marketers plan to invest in well-established environments with high potential for innovation, like social media and digital video. Responsible media practices are also on the rise, with media experts increasingly prioritizing placing ads alongside media that promotes trustworthy journalism and ethically responsible content.

Shifts in advertising priorities can bring unexpected media quality challenges. So how are top industry experts planning for success in 2024?

Here’s a sneak peek at what we found:

Social media: The number one channel media experts plan to prioritize in 2024

Digital video & CTV: 84% of media experts say machine learning that can classify multimedia content will be important to ensuring brand safety in digital video ads

Responsible media: 74% of media experts say they will prioritize responsible media investment when buying or selling digital ads over the next 12 months

Top industry experts are investing in advertising opportunities that will drive superior results next year. Download the 2024 Industry Pulse to find out how.

The post RESEARCH: The 2024 Industry Pulse appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

IAS Brand Safety & Suitability on TikTok Reaches 50+ Markets Worldwide

IAS Team — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 13:00:00 +0000

IAS Total Media Quality for TikTok is global

In today’s tech-driven world, it’s more important than ever for marketers to engage with users and ensure their ads appear next to brand safe and suitable content on a global scale. That’s why IAS is expanding our TikTok Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement, as part of Total Media Quality for TikTok, to 21 more markets, for a total of 50+ supported markets globally.

Powered by our advanced machine learning and AI technology, IAS has scaled from seven to 50+ markets in just over a year to arm marketers with an increasingly comprehensive set of solutions to measure and optimize campaigns on TikTok. IAS brings end-to-end solutions to TikTok with optimization (pre-bid) and Total Media Quality measurement (post-bid), powered by our industry-leading multimedia technology and aligned to the GARM Brand Safety & Suitability framework.

IAS's Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement for TikTok gives marketers:

Global coverage across 50+ markets for complete confidence in your TikTok media strategy
Sophisticated tech to accurately classify the feed with industry-leading multimedia technology, which combines image, audio, and text at scale
Trusted, third-party measurement of the content your ads appear adjacent to in the TikTok feed
Clear insights with industry-aligned safety and suitability reporting aligned to the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) categories and floor

Download the one sheet to learn about how IAS leads the industry in providing end-to-end support for marketers on TikTok — worldwide.

*To note, IAS TikTok optimization solutions are currently available in select markets.

The post IAS Brand Safety & Suitability on TikTok Reaches 50+ Markets Worldwide appeared first on Integral Ad Science.