Advertisers must show caution when it comes to brand safety in mobile advertising, with research suggesting the bad guys have moved to mobile.
Authenticating platform DoubleVerify’s Global Insights Report finds the biggest increase in brand safety incidents has been in mobile – up 194 per cent in the past 12 months.
In 2017 the rate of brand safety issues affected just 0.8 per cent of mobile ad placements. Today it is 5.2 per cent.
“This year’s increase is part of a growing trend, as content consumption and ad spend on mobile apps increase in tandem,” says DoubleVerify.
The majority of fraud (54 per cent) being seen in mobile apps is App Fraud.
“App Fraud describes ad impression fraud or invalid traffic practices such as misrepresentation, laundering, and hidden ads,” DoubleVerify says.
It also revealed that the number of apps classifed as fraudulent has more than doubled in connected TVs and mobile in the past year.
So what’s the solution?
According to DoubleVerify, higher standards regarding visibility are what drive effectiveness.
“We believe it’s time to demand more – specifically, that every impression is fully viewed, by a real person, in a brand-safe environment, in the correct geography,” says the report.
The research highlights the discrepancies between authentic rates and viewable rates – showing a four per cent ‘waste’ in display ads and six per cent in video.
“While many consider it to be a proxy for performance, not all viewable impressions are brand-safe, fraud-free and in-geo.
“This discrepancy can result in higher block rates and, ultimately, campaign waste.”
