programmatic transparency

Marketers know that quality matters – and here’s yet more proof. But breaking old habits in digital media is easier said than done.

The programmatic open marketplace is designed to sustain the business models of ad tech, agencies and consultancies, rather than serving the interests of advertisers, audiences and media owners. It cannot be fixed. It must be rebuilt.

What does programmatic media have in common with toilet paper? A lot more than you might think, says Sherine Ebadi, managing director of forensic investigations at Kroll. It’s a question of quality (or the lack thereof).

Many of the factors that contribute to opacity in the supply chain – low-quality MFA placements, frequency caps run amok, messed-up measurement and brand safety problems – are the result of human error.

The ANA and TAG TrustNet released a new programmatic transparency benchmark so advertisers can see how their campaigns stack up compared with the broader industry.

Laptop fans can rest a little easier. A network of well-known MFA sites operated by Perion-owned Content IQ have been taken offline.

Quad Media President Joshua Lowcock asks all ad tech partners for log files as a matter of course. And if a company isn’t willing to hand them over, that’s a sign it’s probably hiding something. Plus: The fallacy of scale and pondering the true role of a third-party verification partner.

Programmatic transparency is achievable in theory, but elusive in practice, says Sherine Ebadi, managing director of forensic investigations and intelligence at risk management services provider Kroll.

Looking for unvarnished, sharp views on transparency, the lack thereof, defining ad quality and the industry’s new obsession with made-for-advertising websites? Then this is the episode for you, with guest Tom Triscari, CEO and founder of programmatic advisory firm Lemonade Projects.

The TV term du jour is supply-path optimization. And SSPs in particular are under intense pressure to carve out competitive edges.