Clear as Mud

Ad Fraud has become one of our industry’s most prominent concerns and with the considerable amounts of bad press over the last year, we must explore the major efforts being initiated to stop ad fraud and use agency knowledge to determine what the industry should do to make a difference.

One significant example of online fraud is illegal websites, which stream stolen content. With labels like Marks and Spencer removing their ads from YouTube, we as marketing and media intellects must ask ourselves what we can do to prevent such a malpractice.

Youtube’s plan to solve such an issue is to address brand safety concerns, by looking at all brand issues, and analyzing unsuitable channels that should not exist, let alone advertise. Yet, no-one knows what to do in an immediate sense to stop this from happening. Until YouTube lets verification specialists within, advertisers and agencies will still be unsure to trust the company

According to Pinion, 2018, a major problem we face is that advertisers and companies just conform to the norm and don’t push any industry boundaries. We don’t push for data that can assist in transparency and lessening of fraudulent behaviour and maybe we need to start.

Head image: Photo by prianka via Getty Images