CMOs need to shift their focus towards more concrete metrics to drive business decisions

A growing number of advertisers' funds are being lost in the age of ad fraud on ad impressions that appear on shady websites, fail to reach the targeted audiences, or are improperly displayed in the user's browser. Ad verification, which involves identifying the barriers preventing the advertising from reaching the largest audience feasible, has emerged as a partial solution to the issue.

mFilterIt, a new-age company caters to protecting digital integrity across platforms. It is one of the first companies in the space of Ad Traffic Validation (ATV), Brand Hygiene Protection, and Ecommerce Analytics making it one of the most essential tools in a digital marketer's handbag.

We spoke to Amit Relan is the CEO and Co-Founder about Ad Traffic Validation (ATV), Brand Hygiene Protection and Ecommerce Analytics. Excerpts from an interview:

What do you think about the issue of ad fraud and how the demand for better traffic validation will change the digital ad marketplace?

The estimated loss of ad spends due to ad fraud globally is expected to reach $100 billion by the end of 2023. In India, the losses due to ad fraud were estimated to be 4300 crores in 2022. Over time, ad fraud techniques have evolved and become more sophisticated and harder to detect. The bots have evolved, and they can now successfully imitate human behaviour and are capable of filling out a form or making a purchase. 

To combat this pertaining issue, the need for ad traffic validation solutions has increased. Without clarity of the data, the advertisers often end up wasting their ad spends on invalid traffic. Furthermore, it impacts the overall growth of the advertiser’s brand as they take business decisions basis the skewed data. With an ad traffic validation solution, the advertisers will get transparency of their ad traffic and will be able to take efficient decisions to optimize their ad campaigns and overall digital strategy of the business.   

What is Ad Traffic Validation (ATV) and the role of AI and ML in it?

mFilterIt’s Ad Traffic Validation solution detects and eliminates invalid traffic coming from suspicious sources across the web, app, programmatic and walled gardens. Using the capabilities of AI and ML, the solution is capable of combatting the threats of sophisticated bots. The AI, ML technology can detect the randomized patterns of bots and capture the anomalies of sophisticated bots and eliminate them across the funnel. 

This ensures that the ad campaign is holistically protected and eventually reduces the penetration of sophisticated bots.  

Could you highlight some recent Ad frauds happening in Industry?

Ad fraud has evolved with time and become more advanced. The early techniques of ad fraud were click spamming and location spoofing which were easy to detect. However, the recent ad frauds happening detected by us event spoofing where 2369 sign-ups have occurred from a single device. There is another instance where 64 logins have happened by spoofed email addresses in a span of a few seconds. 

This means that the fraudsters are capable to spoof not just a click, but they have become capable of spoofing events like sign-up activities or purchases. Therefore, it has become essential for advertisers to go beyond validating one KPI and focus on a full-funnel approach to protect every stage of the ad campaign.     

How can CMOs be careful while building a strategy?

To combat the threats of ad fraud and improve the efficiency of digital ad campaigns, the first step for CMOs is to be aware of the problem. They need to analyse their data vigilantly to detect anomalies and take the required action. 

On top of that, the CMOs need to shift their focus from easy-to-manipulate metrics like impressions and clicks and move towards more concrete metrics to drive business decisions. And at the end, whether the advertisers are making a payout on clicks or hard KPIs like purchase or sign-up, they need a shield to protect their ad campaign. 

As fraudulent activities have become more sophisticated, it has become easy for bots to imitate human behaviour and meet hard KPIs. Therefore, while building a strategy the CMOs need to validate the ad traffic across the funnel to ensure that they are getting clean traffic to optimize the campaign efficiently.  

How Data can help in upholding the Brand’s loyalty?

Data can be a powerful tool in upholding a brand's loyalty. Data gives transparency to understanding customer preferences and helps the brand to get valuable insights into what their customers want and need. It can further help to personalize the marketing efforts and communications to capture the attention of the right audience. Clear data helps marketers build strategies based on the customer's preferences and ensure that they are able to gain the trust of the consumer. 

Data transparency is a crucial component for advertisers to uphold the brand’s loyalty. However, due to ad fraud, the ad traffic ends up being skewed and the business decisions are taken based on that impact on the overall efficiency of the brand.     

A Digital Marketplace or your own website: Which Is Better for Ecommerce?

To ensure the growth of an eCommerce brand, there should be an optimal balance of both marketplace and the brand’s own website. The brand’s own website helps to create a clear brand image and perception in the consumer’s mind. It also helps to gain the trust of the consumers and gain first-party data. 

On the other hand, a digital marketplace helps to get better visibility and access to a wide audience which is limited in terms of marketing with a brand’s website. According to a Bain & co report, it is estimated that the retail media market will grow by 25% per year to over $100 billion in the next five years. Therefore that brands have to maintain a balance of both possibilities and ensure that they don’t miss the opportunity to be seen by the right audience.