Accountability is the number one focus for the industry according to an industry first research report released today by IAB Australia.

The “State of the Market: Marketing & Advertising Technology” report found that brand safety, ad fraud detection and viewability are the key areas of interest as the market matures.

Perhaps surprisingly the study noted that 48 per cent of Australian agencies are not using brand safety technology; 52 per cent of publishers are not using Ad Fraud detection; but that 76 per cent of respondents are using ad viewability tracking technology.

The report, which was commissioned by IAB Australia to understand the state of this often complex area of the industry, found that agencies, clients and publishers are taking advantage of a broad range of tools and technologies in the areas of analytics and measurement. The rate of uptake of attribution modelling, data visualisation and content personalisation technologies; and the self-declared understanding of these technologies was found to be relatively low. However many respondents indicated an intention to use these tools within the next six months.

According to Alice Manners, CEO of IAB Australia the report has identified a need for industry education.

“As more and more consumers are using mobile and engaging with online video, marketers and advertisers are acknowledging they need to better analyse and use a range of tools to understand and serve their customers.

“The industry has expressed a clear hunger for greater accountability and a growing sophistication in their needs so we will continue to work towards supporting their needs,” said Manners.

IAB Australia launched its AdTech Advisory Council earlier this year and has recently established a Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), a cross-industry compliance organisation focused on combating ad fraud, malware and piracy. The primary goal of both groups is industry education.

Key findings from the “IAB Australia State of the Market: Marketing & Advertising Technology” report include:

Planned areas of technology use this year

• Up to 15 per cent of clients or marketers intend to use mobile analytics or marketing tools
• 10 per cent of client, marketers and agencies intend to use video analytics
• 29 per cent of publishers intend to use attribution modelling

Priority Areas for Education and Information

• Clients nominate attribution modelling, platforms and Data visualisation as their priority areas for education and information
• Agencies nominate attribution modelling, platforms, ad fraud detection and data visualisation as their priority areas
• Publishers are focused on mobile analytics, ad viewability tracking and ad fraud detection
• Adtech companies are focused on attribution modelling and SSPs

The full report will be available at:  www.iabaustralia.com.au/research-and-resources/research-resources