Trust Index Recognizes Best Performing Ad Companies – Ad Networks are Proving to Be Brand Safe, and Advertisers are Finding Value in Top Platforms
NEW YORK – DoubleVerify, the pioneer and worldwide leader in online media verification and compliance, today published its 1H 2011 Trust Index. The report found a significant reduction of non-compliance among the industry’s best-performing ad networks and platforms. The findings illustrate that advertisers and networks are continuing to standardize their brand protection and compliance practices, ensuring their online media spend brings the highest return on investment. The worst-performing online advertising companies continued to demonstrate inconsistency in their ability to comply with advertisers’ preferences.
According to the report, the most compliant ad networks from January to June 2011 were (alphabetically): AudienceScience, Casale Media, Dedicated Media, Epic Marketplace, interclick, Microsoft Media Network, Specific Media, Spectrum, a Centro product, Undertone, and Yahoo! Network Plus. Advertising platforms that were most compliant include (alphabetically): DataXu, Invite Media, The MIG’s Zeus Advertising Platform.
As advertisers have increasingly demanded verification to be included with third-party buys from ad networks, exchanges, DSPs and agencytrading desks, the Trust Index has provided advertisers with in-depth data about partner compliance and brand safety trends in online advertising. Other key findings from the report showed:
– In the first half of 2011, the non-compliance rates for ad networks were at their lowest ever, since 18 months ago. The best-performing networks had an average non-compliance rate of 0.6 percent, but the bottom tier’s rate was 26 percent (compared to 2 percent and 35 percent respectively in 2H 2010).
– The most compliant ad platforms (DSPs and agency trading desks) maintained an average non-compliance incident rate of 4 percent, and the lower tier platforms decreased their average non-compliance rate to 20 percent – showing that ad exchanges can provide great value when verification is applied.
– All publishers saw decreases in the average international traffic incidents in their campaigns. Top performing publishers had a 0.1 percent non-compliance rate. The publishers that struggled most had an incident rate of 18 percent, which is an improvement from 40 percent in 2H 2010.
“The Trust Index has emerged as the industry standard for measuring advertising compliance and is a strong indicator of the positive impact media verification has had in online ad campaigns. Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen the continual decrease in the incidence rate of non-compliance when verification is applied,” said Oren Netzer, CEO of DoubleVerify. “Advertisers, networks and platforms that actively and consistently use verification on all of their campaigns and inventory are experiencing vast improvements in brand protection. This further indicates that online advertising needs to integrate verification on a long-term basis so that trust is permeated throughout the ecosystem.”
The Trust Index examined the industry’s overall progress against non-compliance. In analyzing how non-compliance on specific campaigns changed over time, DoubleVerify saw that advertisers who monitored, remediated and blocked non-compliant impressions witnessed a 53 percent decrease in inappropriate content and an 86 percent decrease in internationally targeted traffic (up from 77 percent in 2H 2010).
Other key highlights around advertising delivery normsinclude:
– 47 percent of ads on verified campaigns were served below the fold (compared to 37 percent in 2H 2010)
– 14 percent of advertising pages includedmultiple ads by the same advertiser (compared to 11 percent in 2H 2010)
– 5 percent of ads in verified campaigns were shown alongside a competitor’s ads (same as in 2H 2010)
DoubleVerify examined metrics from hundreds of advertisers, thousands of verified campaigns and more than 150 billion impressions to produce this bi-annual report, which can be downloaded at: www.trustinadvertising.info and www.doubleverify.com/trustindex.
Methodology
DoubleVerify used a robust set of data analysis tools to analyze online advertising campaign activity across more than 150 billion advertiser campaign impressions from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011. Multiple types of non-compliant incidents were analyzed, including instances of ads served off white lists, on black lists, alongside inappropriate content, multiple ads from the same advertisers, ads alongside competitors’, ads served below the fold and ads served to out of geographically targeted audiences. Incidents were then weighted according to the severity of the impact that the incident had on the brand’s compliance score. The data in the analysis was carefully normalized to the best of our ability. Advertising delivery providers into three main categories: advertising networks, platforms and publishers. Impression thresholds were applied to each group to ensure the highest level of accuracy.
About DoubleVerify
DoubleVerify (www.doubleverify.com) is the worldwide leader in online media verification and compliance, and the top choice of marketers, agencies, ad networks and publishers looking to ensure brand safety, campaign transparency and regulatory compliance. DoubleVerify verifies over 40 billion advertising impressions per month for hundreds of leading Fortune 500 marketers, advertising networks and platforms. DoubleVerify is headquartered in New York City, with sales offices in London and engineering offices in Tel Aviv, Israel. Investors in DoubleVerify include JMI Equity, Institutional Venture Partners, Blumberg Capital, First Round Capital and Genacast Ventures.
