Over a third (38%) of UK advertisers have no idea where their display ads are appearing online, meaning they could appear on inappropriate sites, according to new research. The research, from content verification technology provider Project Sunblock, found that nearly half of senior marketers in the UK believe that online advertising is not transparent enough […]
Over a third (38%) of UK advertisers have no idea where their display ads are appearing online, meaning they could appear on inappropriate sites, according to new research.
The research, from content verification technology provider Project Sunblock, found that nearly half of senior marketers in the UK believe that online advertising is not transparent enough and that it doesn’t provide enough brand protection.
When asked about appearing next to negative content online, marketers voted pornographic websites as the most destructive to brand reputation.
More stats from the research:
• 38% of UK advertisers have no insight into where their content is appearing online
• Nearly two thirds (62%) of senior marketing professionals have no way of gaining access to real-time analytics on their marketing efforts
• Negative website placement accounts for 1% of all ad impressions bought in the UK, which amounts to 7.78 billion display impressions, appearing on sites from categories such as phishing, malware, illegal drugs, violence and pornography
• That means that each year around £2.5 billion could be being spent on advertising that is ending up on pornographic, illegal or abusive sites
In the study, nearly half of all marketing decisions makers reported that online advertising is not transparent enough and doesn’t provide enough brand protection. And when asked about appearing next to negative online content, pornographic websites were voted as the most destructive to brand reputation. This was closely followed by sites fuelling terrorism, and illegal sites such as video or music streaming services which came in third place.
Project Sunblock’s data shows that around 7.78 billion display advertising impressions are served alongside brand-damaging content each year, including categories such as phishing, malware, illegal drugs, violence and pornography.
Based on feedback from this research and its existing customers, today, Project Sunblock is taking its content verification tools to a new level to ensure greater brand safety online. There is a major transparency issue when it comes to online ad placement. But Project Sunblock’s new user interface offers access to analytics and automatically protects brands from appearing next to damaging content, all in around 3 milliseconds.
With the second generation of content verification tools, brands and marketers will get access to rich, accurate, granular data, designed to help them get the best possible value from their digital media spend.
Andrew Goode, COO, Project Sunblock said: “Now that technology like Real-Time Bidding is the norm, the buy and sell of digital advertisings is becoming more instantaneous and harder to track than ever before. If left unchecked, brands are leaving themselves open to a raft of potential threats and a proportion of the UK’s online advertising spend will continue to fund criminal activity. Big brands are effectively allowing their collateral to be hosted on illegal or sexually explicit websites, and each time that happens, brands are putting money in the back pocket of criminals.
“We’ve even seen examples of banks appearing on porn sites, or broadband providers appearing on peer-to-peer sites where visitors can illegally download the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Brands need to address the threat sooner rather than later, and with our new technology platform we’re offering them to chance to do just that.”
Methodology
The research was conducted on behalf of Project Sunblock, with 268 senior marketing decisions makers at mid-sized (50-500 people) UK brands.
www.projectsunblock.com
