Integral Ad Science

3 Things Marketers Must Know About Emerging Media

IAS Team — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Retail media, digital audio, and virtual reality are growing in popularity. Where should you start?

Digital media never stands still. Staying ahead of the curve is crucial for marketers. As new forms of media emerge, they bring both challenges and opportunities. Emerging media channels in particular are skyrocketing in popularity across the globe, compelling advertisers and agencies to consider these channels in their media budgets.

Why is everyone talking about emerging media?

The buzz surrounding emerging media is impossible to ignore. From retail media platforms and gaming to virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR) experiences and digital audio, emerging media channels are reshaping how brands connect with their audiences. But what exactly is driving all this excitement, and why should marketers pay attention?

Diverse engagement opportunities

Emerging media offers a diverse array of engagement opportunities that traditional channels simply can’t match. By leveraging emerging media, brands can build stronger and more meaningful relationships with their customers.

Engagement metrics such as click-through-rates, dwell time, and social shares provide valuable insight into consumer behavior and preferences, allowing marketers to refine their strategies for maximum impact. Ultimately, emerging media not only improves customer engagement but also drives brand loyalty and advocacy through innovative and personalized experiences that resonate with today’s digitally savvy consumers.

Evolving consumer behavior

Consumer behavior is constantly evolving, driven by technological advancements and changing societal norms. Media experts cite dwindling consumer trust as a top concern for advertising on social media and other traditional channels. Today’s consumers demand seamless, personalized experiences from brands. Emerging media channels not only meet these expectations but also anticipate future trends, providing marketers with the opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and connect with their audience in meaningful ways.

As the conversation around emerging media continues to intensify, marketers are increasingly drawn to the unique opportunities these platforms present. From expanding reach through innovative channels to leveraging advanced targeting capabilities, emerging media is reshaping the advertising landscape in profound ways.

Emerging media channels offer distinct advantages that traditional advertising methods often cannot match.

Here are three essential aspects marketers need to know before investing in emerging media.

1. Future-focused marketers are including emerging media in their ad budgets

Marketers are increasingly focusing on advertising through emerging media channels to stay competitive and engage with their target audiences effectively. Over 85% of marketers have already ventured into advertising on emerging media channels, recognizing the opportunities these platforms offer to reach and connect with modern consumers. Looking forward, 69% of marketers are planning to ramp up their investments specifically in virtual reality (VR) and retail media networks within the coming year. This proactive stance reflects a strategic approach to leveraging cutting-edge technologies and expanding reach across innovative platforms.

In today’s dynamic and competitive landscape, staying ahead of the game is crucial. Marketers are constantly challenged to achieve more impactful results with constrained budgets and resources. As such, 42% of marketers prioritize the potential for technological innovation when evaluating whether a new media channel is ready for investment. This forward-thinking mindset ensures that investments align not only with current consumer behaviors but also with future trends in digital engagement and advertising effectiveness.

By embracing emerging media channels and harnessing the power of technological advancements, marketers can not only enhance their brand visibility but also foster deeper connections with their audiences. This strategic shift toward innovative platforms underscores the industry’s commitment to evolving alongside consumer preferences and technological advancements, ultimately driving growth and competitive advantage.

2. Marketers must consider media quality, inventory, and performance factors when investing in emerging media

As the digital landscape continues to expand, so does the array of channels available for marketers to reach their target audiences. Emerging media channels, including digital audio, gaming, and virtual reality, offer unique opportunities for brand exposure and engagement. However, investing in these new avenues requires a strategic approach to ensure resources are allocated effectively.

Media quality is more important than ever

64% of marketers look to media quality as a top consideration for advertising on emerging media channels. Ensuring high media quality is paramount when venturing into emerging media. This involves selecting ad placements that guarantee high viewability and relevance. Ads should appear in prominent positions where they are likely to be seen by the target audience, ensuring that the surrounding content aligns with the brand’s values to maintain a safe advertising environment.

Collaborating with reputable publishers known for delivering high-quality traffic and engagement is also essential. Quality media placements help in building brand credibility and ensuring that advertising efforts resonate with the intended audience.

Optimize inventory for maximum impact

Effective inventory management is crucial for maximizing the reach and impact of campaigns in emerging media. 68% of marketers look at inventory factors as a top consideration for advertising on emerging media channels. Inventory considerations include the potential for future technological innovation on the channel, as well as the availability of interactive ad formats and price of inventory. Diverse inventory that provides broad reach across different channels and platforms maximizes exposure and engagement opportunities.

Ad performance is a top factor for consideration

It’s no surprise that six-in-10 marketers look to performance factors as top considerations of advertising on emerging media. These factors involve evaluating the cost per acquisition and return on investment to ensure media spend is justified by the results. Monitoring engagement metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and overall engagement levels also helps marketers assess ad effectiveness.

By carefully considering these three factors (media quality, inventory, and performance), marketers can make informed decisions about their investments in emerging media, increasing the impact of their marketing efforts while mitigating potential risks like low-quality inventory and fraudulent activity.

3. Measurement and optimization solutions are critical when deciding to invest in emerging media

No digital advertising campaign is complete without the actionable data to match — especially on emerging media channels. A substantial 52% of marketers prioritize the measurement of invalid traffic, aiming to ensure that their advertising budgets are protected from fraudulent activities that could skew performance metrics and waste resources. Marketers also place importance on contextual avoidance and targeting within digital audio, ensuring that ads are placed in safe, appropriate contexts to enhance relevance and effectiveness.

Attention measurement is also climbing the ranks as a top consideration, with marketers commonly turning to this metric on both digital audio and gaming platforms. On the latter channel, 44% of marketers consider high-risk content identification a must, considering the fact that gaming content can often be risky.

These metrics, and the ability to optimize toward them, underscore the growing emphasis on accountability and effectiveness in the realm of emerging media investments, guiding marketers toward informed decision-making and superior business results.

Stay ahead of the curve with IAS

The buzz around emerging media is well-deserved. Its ability to reach vast audiences, offer innovative advertising formats, adapt to trends, and foster authentic consumer connections makes it a powerful tool in the modern marketer’s arsenal. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, staying informed and embracing emerging media will be key to achieving marketing success.

Download IAS’s Emerging Media Outlook to find out more on:

How expert marketers determine if a media channel is ready for investment
Where marketers plan to increase investments this year
What common barriers prevent marketers from investing in emerging media

Gain insights from industry leaders and make informed decisions for your next campaign — download the study today and learn more about our emerging media partnerships.

The post 3 Things Marketers Must Know About Emerging Media appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

End-to-End Ad Measurement is Super Valuable — Here’s Why

IAS Team — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

It’s no secret that measurement is a crucial component of successful advertising campaigns. Advertisers and publishers alike have been measuring digital impressions for decades. But ad measurement has evolved significantly since its inception, and impressions aren’t the only metric that matter anymore.

So how comprehensive and actionable is the measurement you’re relying on today?

The right measurement tactics enable you to ensure greater brand protection and impact on valuable media inventory — especially in environments like the open web, where your display and video campaigns are highly visible. In this blog post, we’ll explore why end-to-end ad measurement is invaluable and how it can transform your advertising strategy.

The key ingredients of end-to-end ad measurement

Despite its simplicity in nature, end-to-end ad measurement on the open web can get complicated fast. The advertising ecosystem is complex and busy, with consumers tuning in every day to different formats via multiple streaming platforms, and often in very different contexts. To navigate this complexity, end-to-end measurement must cover several key areas.

Viewability

For advertising to make an impact, it has to be viewed —not just served. Ensuring that your digital ads have the opportunity to be seen by consumers, wherever they are, is critical. All digital ads — desktop, mobile, in-app, browser, display, video — have unique requirements that need to be met when measuring for viewability.

As advertising becomes more sophisticated, brands want to not only prove ROI but also transact on viewability, and that’s why it’s more important than ever to have full-flight data on whether or not an ad was seen. IAS provides coverage for display and video placements across desktop, mobile web, and mobile app, and provides actionable data that reports viewability, fraud, and overall user experience.

Measuring viewability is paramount, so IAS ensures it doesn’t come at the cost of efficiency. We deliver the same set of data to both buyers and sellers so that no time is wasted on reconciliation. Additionally, our predictive data makes it possible for brands to target the most viewable ads available, all before ever placing a bid. Our pre-bid video and display viewability segments are easily accessible within the world’s largest demand-side platforms.

Ad Fraud

There are more than 5.35 billion internet users worldwide using the internet everyday. But unfortunately, sometimes digital ads are delivered to anything but a real person.

Advertising fraud is a persistent threat in the digital space, draining resources and diminishing campaign effectiveness. According to our 19th Edition Media Quality Report, campaigns that are not optimized for fraud tended to encounter levels of fraud up to 14 times higher than those optimized against ad fraud. In fact, 8.4% of non-optimized ad campaign impressions were served to anything but a real human in the second half of 2023.

End-to-end ad fraud measurement can significantly increase transparency to help identify fraudulent inventory. By leveraging ad fraud metrics, marketers can measure the amount of activity their ads are generating from fraudsters, and subsequently use this data to optimize ad spend toward real users via IAS pre-bid solutions. Access to actionable invalid traffic data throughout the entire campaign is key to effectively allocating ad spend and confidently ensuring your ads have an opportunity to reach real users and make an impact.

Brand Safety and Suitability

Brand safety must go beyond the binary. Black and white brand safety and suitability measurement can unnecessarily limit scale and doesn’t give the context marketers need to understand the effectiveness of their ads.

That’s why it’s critical for marketers to build on the power of brand safety with the innovation of suitability. IAS contextual targeting technology reviews all elements on a given page and takes additional steps beyond URL analysis to understand the meaning of the content. Before a bid is even placed, IAS’s predictive science pre-screens pages to filter out content that isn’t suitable for a given brand. Only IAS gets to the true meaning of the content, so marketers can ensure they’re aligning campaigns with consumers who will connect the most with their brand.

End-to-end brand safety and suitability measurement and protection gives marketers the most accurate picture of the content near their ads, and provides brands with the opportunity to safeguard without limiting scale.

4 steps to improve your brand’s performance on the open web

Leverage measurement partners who follow industry standards for viewability
Keep up with benchmarks for viewability, invalid traffic, and brand safety and suitability
Employ AI-powered prevention solutions for invalid traffic and brand safety and suitability to ensure your ads are seen by real people in the right context
Reallocate ad spend based on viewability, invalid traffic, and brand safety and suitability data

Drive superior results today with IAS

By incorporating end-to-end measurement into your digital advertising strategy, you can protect your brand, optimize your ad spend, and achieve superior results. Reach out to an IAS representative today to learn how we can help you harness the full potential of your advertising campaigns.

The post End-to-End Ad Measurement is Super Valuable — Here’s Why appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Taking Action on Attention: Volume II

IAS Team — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Deep dive into the impact of attention on ad performance

Attention continues to be a crucial focus in the digital media landscape. As marketers aim to capture and maintain consumer interest, the methods and metrics for measuring this elusive concept have evolved. While traditional metrics like viewability have provided a foundation, it’s clear that a holistic approach to measuring attention is essential for driving meaningful results.

To better understand how attention is related to performance, Integral Ad Science (IAS) conducted extensive research, incorporating data from billions of impressions and millions of conversion events.

Download Taking Action on Attention: Volume II to find out:

How attention metrics differ from traditional engagement metrics
The impact of high attention scores on conversion rates
Insights into consumer behavior and interaction with ads
Strategies for optimizing ad campaigns using attention metrics

DOWNLOAD WHITE PAPER

The post Taking Action on Attention: Volume II appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Watch On-Demand: Mastering Context Control Webinar

IAS Team — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:44:54 +0000

Harness the power of positive sentiment to drive superior results

Did you know that 93% of consumers feel more favorable toward brands with ads near positive sentiment content? Sentiment is powerful with consumers — and if your brand is stuck relying on traditional contextual technology that often misclassifies content and can’t detect sentiment, it’s time to make a change.

Watch our webinar, Mastering Context Control: How to harness the power of positive sentiment to drive superior results, where you’ll learn:

Why consumers respond better to contextually relevant, positive sentiment ads
How IAS’s Context Control works, including real results from IAS customers
Top tips on getting started with Context Control today

SPEAKERS:

Michael Parker, Director, Programmatic Development, IAS
Brandon Rick, Programmatic Development Manager, IAS
Emily Healy, Product Marketing Manager, IAS

Don’t miss the opportunity to drive positive connection between your brand and consumers. Watch the webinar on-demand now.

The post Watch On-Demand: Mastering Context Control Webinar appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Effectively Validate Media Quality Across the Microsoft Advertising Network

IAS Team — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Safeguard and scale with Viewabilty, Invalid Traffic, and Brand Safety & Suitability Measurement across Microsoft

Delivering your ads to the right places and driving impact to the right audience has never been easy — until now. Starting today, IAS and Microsoft are joining forces to provide new levels of transparency into ad performance across the Microsoft Advertising Network including Audience Ads and Microsoft Invest.*

Through this expanded collaboration, you can access Viewability, Invalid Traffic, and Brand Safety & Suitability measurement to ensure that your Microsoft ads are running adjacent to brand safe and suitable content and engaging users.

With IAS's Microsoft Advertising Network Measurement, you can:

Validate your campaigns with measurement using trusted third-party reporting and analysis for Audience Ads
Access actionable insights such as viewability, time in view, % completed, invalid traffic rate, and brand safety pass and fail rate
See a holistic view of performance across desktop, mobile web, and in-app for display, video, native, and CTV campaigns

Effectively validate your media quality and maximize engagement with real users across the Microsoft Advertising Network. To get started, download the one sheet and reach out to an IAS representative.

*Powered by Xandr

The post Effectively Validate Media Quality Across the Microsoft Advertising Network appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Safeguard & Scale Your Business Across Snap

IAS Team — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 13:05:52 +0000

AI-driven Brand Safety & Suitability measurement is now available on Snap

IAS has partnered with Snap for first-to-market, Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)-aligned Brand Safety & Suitability measurement, as part of Total Media Quality for Snap. With Total Media Quality for Snap, you get Viewability, Invalid Traffic, and Brand Safety and Suitability measurement to ensure your media is appearing next to content that truly aligns with your brand’s goals and objectives.

In addition, we’re also expanding coverage of Viewability and Invalid Traffic measurement to AR Lenses and Filter, as well as Discover Feed Story Ads Tiles on Snap.

With Total Media Quality for Snap, you get:

Transparency to validate content adjacency with trusted third-party analysis, aligned to the GARM Framework and inclusive of Misinformation
Best-in-class Multimedia technology that utilizes AI for frame-by-frame analysis, combining image, audio, and text signals to accurately classify content on Snap at scale
Holistic global coverage with 90+ languages supported across video and display campaigns

Protect your brand to safeguard and scale on Snap. Access the one sheet and reach out to an IAS representative to get started.

The post Safeguard & Scale Your Business Across Snap appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

IAS Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement Now Available for Performance Max and Demand Gen Campaigns

IAS Team — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

IAS Expands Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement for YouTube

Performance Max is Google’s latest campaign type that allows advertisers to access all of their Google Ads inventory from a single campaign. Advertisers who adopt into Performance Max see an average increase of 27% more conversions or value at a similar CPA/ROAS, even when they’re already using broad match and Smart Bidding in their Search campaigns. (Source: Google Data, Global, Ads, October – November 2023.)

Demand Gen is a new Google ad solution that helps advertisers find and convert consumers with immersive, relevant, and visual creatives that grab attention and spur action in the right moment. Demand Gen reaches up to three billion users monthly, combining the best of Google and YouTube’s visual surfaces, powered by Google AI. (Source: Google Data, July 2023.)

Starting today, IAS is expanding our partnership with YouTube to bring Brand Safety and Suitability measurement to Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns on Google Ads, as part of Total Media Quality for YouTube.

With this industry-leading product, IAS provides you with:

Valuable third-party verification that your ads running on Performance Max and Demand Gen appear alongside brand-safe and suitable content, aligned to the GARM framework*
Ability to accurately analyze brand suitability trends to make data-driven decisions
Comprehensive verification of YouTube content in over 30 languages

Performance Max helps you find more converting customers with a single, consolidated campaign. Through Performance Max, you don’t have to manage multiple campaigns to reach your goals — instead, you can promote across the Google Network in a single campaign.

Get the most actionable data to maximize your brand safety and suitability reporting for Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns with Total Media Quality for YouTube.

To get started, simply follow your standard IAS campaign set up. Download the one sheet to learn more.

*Note: IAS Brand Safety & Suitability verification is inclusive of YouTube in-stream, YouTube Shorts, and Google Video Partners for Performance Max, and YouTube in-stream & Shorts inventory for Demand Gen.

The post IAS Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement Now Available for Performance Max and Demand Gen Campaigns appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Transition with Ease to IAS: A Message for Oracle Customers, Partners, and Employees

IAS Team — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:04:30 +0000

Oracle’s recent announcement to shut down its advertising business comes at a time of rapid transformation for the industry. We understand that this is an unsettling time for Oracle Advertising’s customers, partners, and employees. Our teams are committed to providing support and enabling a smooth transition during this period of change.

For Oracle Advertising customers and partners, IAS is here to facilitate your smooth transition to our Measurement and Optimization solutions. Our teams are ready to help you maximize ROI while serving as a reliable and innovative partner throughout this moment. We offer a comprehensive suite of solutions designed to deliver superior results and accelerate your progress.

Discover more about our offerings below:

Maximize ROI with Measurement and Optimization solutions for Brands & Agencies
Drive Yield with Media Quality solutions for Publishers
Forge the Future of digital media as our Partner

Additionally, we have a wide range of roles available at IAS and are eager to support Oracle Advertising employees affected by this change. If you find a role that aligns with your expertise, we encourage you to apply directly. Please highlight your skills and that you were impacted by this change.

Our mission at IAS is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality. We are here to support you and ensure a smooth transition to IAS during this turbulent time.

The post Transition with Ease to IAS: A Message for Oracle Customers, Partners, and Employees appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

RESEARCH: Emerging Media Outlook

IAS Team — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0000

How marketers are planning for and investing in digital media's newest channels

The digital landscape evolves every day — and marketers, whether we like it or not, are forced to follow. As new media channels gain traction, marketers often shift their plans, and their budgets, without knowing if it’s worth the investment.

So is jumping onto the latest digital trend worth the gamble?

In this study, IAS and YouGov partnered together to take a close look at marketers’ investment plans in emerging media channels, including virtual and augmented reality, retail media, digital audio, and gaming. Plus, we examine what may be preventing marketers from investing in these channels — and what can be done about it.

Download IAS’s Emerging Media Outlook study to find out:

Where a majority of marketers plan to increase investments this year
How expert marketers determine if a media channel is ready for investment
What barriers are preventing marketers from advertising on emerging media

Forge the future of digital media with IAS and drive superior results on any emerging digital media channel. Download the Emerging Media Outlook study today to find out how.

The post RESEARCH: Emerging Media Outlook appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

DRIVE SUPERIOR RESULTS THIS ELECTION SEASON

IAS Team — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 11:31:43 +0000

Six steps marketers can take to safeguard and scale their brand in an election year

As the UK General Election approaches on 4 July, challenges like brand risk and misinformation become amplified and marketers need sophisticated technology to confidently cut through the noise and reach their ideal consumers while staying brand-safe.

The IAS Political Guide deep dives into six actionable steps marketers can take to ensure brand protection, support quality journalism, and drive superior results this election season. With IAS Measurement & Optimization solutions, you can expect:

Brand-specific protection with curated contextual avoidance down to the sentiment & emotion level
Contextual targeting to reach your audiences with curated segments for political related content
Ad fraud protection across programmatic, social, and CTV buys
AI-powered protection against misinformation

Download the IAS Political Guide now to access the six steps you can take to drive superior results across major political events.

The post DRIVE SUPERIOR RESULTS THIS ELECTION SEASON appeared first on Integral Ad Science.