Dhiraj Gupta

Digital Advertising Ecosystem

Need For Frequency Capping and Transparency in The Digital Advertising Ecosystem

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Reach and Frequency are the two key metrics on which the success of a brand campaign hinges. It’s like instead of conveying your message to 50 people 2 times, you are just sharing the same message 5 times to just 25 people. That results in more impressions but less reach. Therefore, ensuring frequency caps are enforced becomes paramount. So, are your ads getting served to the same audience too many times? Did you know a significant number of impressions are being served on a small number of devices? This challenge prevails across the OTT environments and other mobile app-based placements. This is simply due to a lack of cookie-based measurements on these (cookies don’t work on apps). Let’s demystify the intricacies surrounding metrics like Reach and Frequency and unveil how monitoring frequency capping violations can not only enhance campaign performance but also instill trust in the audience. The Deceptive World of Frequency Measurement Traditionally, marketers have relied on Ad Servers for accurate frequency measurement. Yet, the intricacies within the digital space world present a different narrative. Cookies, which have long been the stalwart of web tracking, lose their efficacy, necessitating a shift to more elusive identifiers like Device ID (Google Advertising ID or IDFA) which can be triggered by the publisher platforms (apps and OTTs). Here is an example of a recent campaign on a LEADING OTT player for a leading meat and seafood brand. As you can see 76.70% of the impressions were violating FCAP thresholds, which means that roughly half of the consumers saw the campaign much more than the required frequency. Another interesting angle is that as the campaign becomes longer, the FCAP violation keeps increasing. Within 11 days it was 76.62% but in the second part of the campaign, it increased to 83.82% in just 3 days [Ref. Fig:1.1]. This means that if you have a longer-running campaign, your control on FCAPs becomes lower and the campaign ends up reaching the same set of audiences. Fig 1.1: F-breach detected for Advertiser #1 Advertiser #1, utilizing a DSP, believed in the presumed capabilities of the publisher. When this is broken down with Device ID-wise numbers, you can see that some consumers saw the ad 15,145 times. Compared to the client threshold of 3, this is a MASSIVE violation of the cap. Imagine the consumer who saw the same ad 15,145 times! The person might remember the brand, but maybe not in a very friendly manner. Fig. 1.2: Top Device ID Frequency Observation What did the DSP’s FCAP report show? It masked this reality, showing an average of 3, leading to wasted ad spend and irritated consumers. Why? Since they didn’t consider Device ID as the parameter (even though it was passed) but used IP. User Agent as a way to measure FCAP. Also, they reported on AVERAGE FCAP which is misleading and doesn’t show the spread of the wastage. The Problem Seen by All Fig. 1.3: Findings by Fou Analytics The problem of frequency violations prevails and can be attested as a genuine issue in the digital ecosystem. According to an analysis done by FouAnalytics, there have been grave scenarios where invalid traffic was seen loading ads and taking active measures to defeat frequency capping. Bots are detected to be rotating device IDs and cookies to trick the ad servers into serving more ads to the bot. And the number of times bots see an ad is surprisingly shocking. As per the findings, there have been instances where as many as 342 times an ad is seen by a bad bot. [Ref to Fig:1.3] Thereby, Frequency Capping intelligence emerges as a critical solution. It serves as a safeguard against overexposure, preventing users from being bombarded with the same ads repeatedly. The efficacy of this practice, however, relies on advertisers actively engaging with publishers and fostering a transparent ecosystem for advertising on Mobile app platforms. Solution to Frequency Capping in Mobile App Platforms One effective strategy involves tracking Google Advertising ID (GAID) and device ID to validate genuine users and identify frequency capping violations. We at mFilterIt recommend playing at Australian casinos with a minimum deposit of $10. You can find a list of such casinos on the page https://casinoau10.com/10-dollars-minimum-deposit/. Inexpensive casinos with many bonuses are waiting for you. At mFilterIt, we set a VAST tag-based campaign where in real time the VAST requests which were violating the threshold were blocked and the wastage controlled. Here in another case of a leading consumer goods brand, the publisher tried to push up to 10% of requests which violated the FCAPs, but due to VAST request blocking in real-time, the campaign was protected and impressions were prevented on repeat users, money was saved and the campaign performance improved. Table 01: A multination consumer goods company ads on a social networking/short video platform The mFilterIt ad fraud solution also identifies the trends in VAST distribution trends and request blocking trends along with impressions distribution by location and impression and event trends. Way Forward As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, the need for frequency capping and transparency becomes increasingly apparent. Navigate the complexities of the app-based ecosystem and ensure that campaigns are not only impactful but also delivered with integrity and transparency across the digital ecosystem.

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contextual-advertising

Adapt or Fail: Contextual Advertising in a Post-Cookie Landscape

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All over the world, the rising concern about data security and user privacy has led to a major transformation in the way online marketing is conducted. Regulations like GDPR rendered cookies less effective, and now the third-party cookies which are the backbone of behavioral tracking for marketers, are being removed by browsers. By 2024, marketing campaigns will no longer be run by tracking using the third-party cookies that helped to identify the customers online and show them ads wherever they go. The ad placement in the cookie-less world will be defined by contextual advertising. What Is Contextual Advertising? Contextual advertising is a practice wherein marketers place ads that are relevant to the content of the web pages where they will be shown. For instance, a car ad would be shown on a website related to automobiles, and you might see a toothpaste ad on an oral healthcare portal. There might also be an advertisement for pens in a news article about school exams. Contextual Advertising targeting programmatic is not based on cookies, but on keywords or the topic of the website. This is not only going to make targeting more efficient for the marketers, but it will also improve the experience for the consumers as they will not be bombarded with irrelevant and repeat advertising across platforms during their online activities. Contextual Advertising Is the Future Contextual advertising is changing the way digital advertising works. In the future, no web browser will use third-party cookies (Apple and Mozilla have already done away with them), and that’s when context will become the king. The marketers will need smart AI/ML-driven contextual targeting programmatic solutions to identify the context of a web page and display the right ad to the right users. It would ensure that if you are selling a beauty product your ad is not shown beside a sports website Contextual advertising is compatible with various privacy laws such as the GDPR or potential data privacy bills that might soon be introduced in a country like India. Further, the ability to use advanced AI/ML solutions to understand the context of a webpage accurately will ensure the delivery of messaging that appeals to the visitors of that webpage. It might be in its early stages, but it is estimated that contextually relevant advertising will be a segment worth over $375 billion within the next five years. Contextual advertising has been broadly used by different business branches, and online casinos are no exception. It is especially important for licensed casinos as they aim to reach a larger audience of players. Legal casinos are those that operate with valid licenses from recognized regulatory authorities, ensuring fair play and secure transactions. For these casinos, advertising is crucial to attract new players, build trust, and promote their legitimacy. By using contextual advertising, licensed casinos can effectively target potential players with relevant ads, highlighting their legal status and attractive offers, such as no deposit bonuses, to enhance their market presence. Prioritizing Contextual Advertising for the Post-Cookie World Google Chrome is the world’s leading web browser, and it will block third-party cookies starting in 2024. The technology to block the cookies has already become available, and Google has decided to wait until 2024 to allow developers and marketers to get used to cookie-less marketing. As a marketer, now is the time to act and ensure that you keep generating the desired results through contextual ad targeting. This not only helps in protecting the customer’s privacy but also increases the ad relevance and potentially higher ROI for the marketers. Within the next 2-3 years, contextually relevant advertising would become the standard approach for digital marketers, and early movers always have an advantage. Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits of contextual targeting programmatic for businesses: Better Targeting – Since the cookies are not going to be there, marketers can’t chase audiences with ads related to their preferences since that data won’t be accessible. However, they can easily use AI/ML tools to identify the most relevant web pages for ads and cater to an audience that is already interested in products/services similar to their offerings. Contextual advertising is a powerful tool used by casino operators to promote special no deposit bonuses movigame.jp/no-deposit-bonus. These bonuses allow players to try out casino games without having to make an initial deposit, offering free spins or bonus cash as an incentive. Casinos offer these no deposit bonuses to attract new players and give them a risk-free introduction to their platform. By using contextual advertising, casinos can target potential players with relevant ads, increasing the likelihood of engagement and sign-ups. This strategy helps casinos build their user base and encourage long-term player loyalty. Adherence to Privacy – With data anonymization and strict privacy laws mandating that advertisers can’t discreetly use cookies; contextual advertising ensures complete adherence to such privacy measures. Better Audience Engagement – Since the web page context and the ad content is going to be similar, there is a much greater chance of the ads engaging people than the conventional methods. This would boost the click-through rates and conversion rates of the campaigns. Superior Brand Safety – Contextually relevant advertising significantly reduces the chances of ads being published on irrelevant web pages. Thus, marketers can prevent ad fraud, reduce risks to brand value, and also optimize their ad spend. Let’s take a slightly deeper look at how AI and ML-powered solutions can make contextual marketing a safe haven for brands. Τα καζίνο Bitcoin έχουν αρχίσει να κερδίζουν δημοτικότητα στην Ελλάδα, προσφέροντας στους παίκτες τη δυνατότητα να παίξουν αγαπημένα παιχνίδια καζίνο χρησιμοποιώντας κρυπτονομίσματα. Αυτά τα καζίνο προσφέρουν τα πάντα, από φρουτάκια και ρουλέτες μέχρι πόκερ και μπλάκτζακ, όλα με δυνατότητα πληρωμών με Bitcoin και άλλα κρυπτονομίσματα. Εάν ενδιαφέρεστε να εξερευνήσετε τα καλύτερα Bitcoin καζίνο στην Ελλάδα, επισκεφτείτε bitcoin καζίνο ελλαδα. Εκεί θα βρείτε μια εκτενή λίστα με καζίνο που υποστηρίζουν Bitcoin, μαζί με αξιολογήσεις και πληροφορίες για τα διαθέσιμα μπόνους καλωσορίσματος. Αυτά τα καζίνο προσφέρουν επίσης γρήγορες και ασφαλείς συναλλαγές, επιτρέποντας στους παίκτες να απολαμβάνουν τα παιχνίδια τους

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Top 5 Warning Signs of Ad-Fraud You Cannot Ignore!

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Every business dedicates significant funds towards digital marketing campaigns for lead generation, awareness, and a great ROI. However, little do they notice that despite spending tons of money, earning thousands of impressions, it’s never enough. Sometimes, it’s not the inefficiencies or bad UI/UX of the website, a larger issue haunts the marketing department – Ad Fraud.   Studies estimate that a global loss from ad fraud in 2020 was $35billion and is estimated to cross $50 billion a year, by 2025. For businesses, marketers, advertisers, using an ad fraud detection solution aren’t a bone of contention anymore, it has now become imperative.   The question still stands, how do we ensure that businesses are bulletproof to ad fraud? The answer is Earth-shattering- YOU CANNOT. However, remaining vigilant to the warning signs of ad fraud can significantly lower digital spending and help businesses save more by spending less.   Top Warning Signs of Ad Fraud 1. Inflated Clicks Do not celebrate if you suddenly witness an exponential rise in click volume with a minimal to negligent change in conversions. More often, these repetitive clicks can be from the same IP address. There are chances that the clicks can be coming from areas that were outside your target audience. Say hello to bots disguised as humans.   Businesses need to ensure that they have traffic monitoring solutions in place along with other tracking solutions to analyze the lead origination and conversion. 2. Traffic vs Engagement A campaign’s effectiveness can be analyzed with the key metric being engagement.   Ad Campaigns help in driving traffic to a page but any traffic without significant engagement is a sign of ad fraud.   Monitoring solutions help advertisers analyze visitors’ engagement with content on a page, the time spent on the website, and other metrics which paints a better picture of the value being created by any campaign.   3. Drained Budget Red flag! Red flag! Red flag! Where did the money go?   When you have a drained budget and nothing to account it for, it’s clearly a sign of an ad fraud.   For instance, cases of ad fraud have become rampant in the music industry. Fraudsters are stealing chunks of money from music streaming services by setting up an artist account on a platform and uploading fake tracks. They then deploy a bot to stream those tracks on repeat, thus cutting the artists and producers out of profit.   4. Abandoned Shopping Carts More often than not, ad frauds are only looked at through the prism of impressions and clicks. But there’s always more to it. An unusual spike in abandoned carts is a sign of an ad-fraud. When there’s a large volume of incoming traffic onto a website (could be bot traffic), one may unknowingly block authentic purchasers (if there’s a viral moment of good marketing or any flash sale.   Keep a close check on all the abandoned carts. 5. An Unusual Trend There are times when advertisers fail to notice changes which are potential signs of ad fraud. Have you witnessed a drop in conversion rate but the ad spend remains constant? Or how about selecting a location as your target audience but a majority of the traffic witnessed from a location far beyond your imagination? Anytime a predictable spend is not performing or producing ROI, it should be a matter of concern.   All such nuances should be a subject of constant vigilance in digital advertising because just like technology, ad fraud is evolving at a grand scale. No business is immune from it, and it’s a costly problem that continues to grow.

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brand-infringement

Brand Infringement Increases the Risk of Account Takeover Fraud

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Fraudsters create fake ‘look alike’ websites to capture data of subscribers/users to capture data for Account Takeover fraud. In a recent monitoring scan for one of the leading e-commerce portals, we found more than 30 fake websites (in this case marketplaces) created to fraud genuine subscribers/users which potentially increases the risk of Account Takeover fraud. This technique is increasingly becoming widespread where an ordinary digital user falls into the trap and hands over critical information to a scamster who misuses it. How does it work? A fake marketplace is created using exact elements of the genuine one making it difficult for an average digital user to make any distinction and become suspicious. The fake marketplace has the same logo, color scheme, fonts, listing style, and even the same product details to make a user believe that it is the authentic one. Since over 85% of users access the internet using a smartphone, the complete URL address is hidden as mobile browsers do not have space to show the complete link name. The fraudsters typo squatting the URL name so that a user is confused and there is nothing to doubt. After the fake marketplace opens in the browser, the user is allured to sign in or fill up a form to avail of great deals, enter into a competition, etc. The user taking things at face value enters the details and starts dreaming about the reward promised. Meanwhile, the fraudster celebrates by getting all the details which include password, mobile number, and other account information shared over this infringed identity. Now it can log into the genuine account and also change critical information like mobile number and email linked to the account. Now the account is completely in control of the fraudster who can buy products, possibly also use money in wallets linked to the account, redeem points earned, and much more. At times, especially in the case of OTT accounts, the fraudster can simply share the account details for other devices. All this would be happening in the name of a genuine customer, who will get no alert as all the mediums have been reconfigured. What does it result in? One can understand that due to Account Takeover fraud, the personal details of a genuine user are compromised, and the fraudster can ‘enjoy’ the benefits of a subscriber/user without becoming one. This is itself very damaging. But what does it translate into? Here are some of the implications of an account takeover fraud. First and foremost is the financial loss which can happen in many ways to both the parties – subscribers as well as the marketplace/platform offering services and products. The subscribers’ existing balances could be used to make purchases, etc. Nowadays, many platforms are offering a pay-later option. This would increase the liability of a user without actually buying anything. Hence, the transactions would turn out to be disputed where either or both the parties will lose money. The second major issue is a breach of trust and privacy. A user shares very crucial information including card details, passwords, etc., with a platform in all trust and faith. While the user is at fault for not perhaps being extra cautious, it’s primarily the duty of the platform that it doesn’t get infringed. The data could be abused as a scamster would get to know a lot about the behavior and profile of a user by checking the transaction history. Imagine someone buying an airline ticket for a particular city, and then receiving a call about being offered services while in that city. The user may feel excited that some AI-powered application is proactively offering the best of the experience. But it could be a scammer duping of money in the name of advance booking of any service typically required while traveling to another city. The marketplace will also face serious credibility and reputation issues resulting in paying subscribers signing off from it. Even a subscriber who may be spending just Rs 1,000 pm with the marketplace, would result in a substantial LTV loss by disengaging. This means a perpetual opportunity loss. As growth continues to drive from non-metro cities and towns which has been repeatedly shown as a trend by all major eCommerce marketplaces in the country, it is highly likely that the awareness about such issues will be next to negligible. This could be easily trapped by the fraudsters. Even the regulators cannot shy away by running very ineffective campaigns to increase awareness about such scams. The regulator and the cybercrime apparatus have also become effective and more proactive in their stance where such frauds become difficult to thrive. We have seen in cases like unauthorized card swipes, etc., banks do not take responsibility and shed off by excusing behind the awareness drives and ‘buyer beware’ principles. Brands (marketplaces) that are concerned for their reputation need to proactively create multiple layers of protection where brand infringement becomes almost impossible. This will result in users only engaging with the real platform where information exchange and transactions can be done without any worry. Are you unsure of any brand infringement case about your marketplace or other consumer-facing digital assets? Connect with us today and we will help you get the right picture.

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smartphone-industry

Is Smartphone Industry in India Ready for ATT Implications by Apple?

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In India, we only have approximately 3% of iOS users. However, it is expected that Google will also eventually follow the pursuit taking away the monetization layer from the OEMs. ATT or App Tracking Transparency has already started nightmares in the advertising industry, especially performance marketing globally. The US, ME and other major markets of Apple have already become challenging for ad platforms and app publishers. In India, it’s not a big issue as we have a substantially lower iOS base with an overwhelming majority on Google Android. However, it’s not something that the smartphone OEM must ignore. The Centre of ATT implementation by Apple is that if a user doesn’t opt for tracking of a particular app, the app makers won’t be able to get a lot of information. It starts with IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) and mandates that app makers cannot use other data such as web browser configurations and properties, user location, user network connection, among others which further reduces the risk of app fraud. This takes off the power of any app to uniquely identify a user, which means it cannot point to very targeted and personalized ads. While the privacy of a user remains at the core of this decision, it also allows Apple to ‘monopolies’ control over personalized advertising. Apple would not be dependent on app-level to get the personal attributes of a user. This will take the user journey back to Appstore giving Apple greater control over how it wants its user to discover content including apps. This means instead of apps being able to take advertising campaign calls directly, they will have to route through Apple. Globally, we are seeing a paradigm shift. Everyone in the value chain is realizing that sustainable monetization remains in advertising. So, whosoever, controls it makes the most out of it. For instance, airtel has also forayed into advertising recently. Though subscriptions for content are growing, they will hit a plateau very quickly, meaning expansion of the base beyond a point can only be through ad-supported content. This will change the way users are discovering content at the moment where OS doesn’t have much play. So, when a user gets into Netflix, iOS or Android doesn’t have any control over what content should be served. This also means they are blank about the ads that could be relevant. Google has mostly followed iOS in every possible journey. There is no doubt Android will also not bring in this change. It has already been enabling users to control permissions since Android 6.0. The more a user can define what to allow and whatnot, the lesser will be the visibility of an app about the user. The Indian smartphone ecosystem needs to act now. To create a system that can help them monetize through advertising and other services where personalization is the key, smartphone OEMs need to create a common currency, which strikes a balance between privacy and personalization. This cannot however be done by the OEMs alone. It must involve other partners, especially the chipset makers. Together they can create a system that can give control to the OEMs so that they aren’t able to lose the opportunity of personalized advertising. We all know how stressed the smartphone OEM industry is going financially. Even after being in the Indian market for over 6-7 years, many of them are yet to register profits. The rising competition, heavy marketing costs, unfavourable duty structure, increasing component cost, are all making the profit margins wafer-thin for the industry. It is very important for the incumbents like Samsung as well as young brands like Realme, and all in between, to leverage advertising opportunities. However, for this they shall have to prepare themselves, perhaps jointly, to be able to create a controlling, balanced mechanism that strikes a chord between privacy and personalization. Otherwise, they are going to be caught unaware when Google will also follow the path. It has already begun its cookie less endeavor, and, in all realistic probability, it will follow iOS in ATT as well. That will be catastrophic for the smartphone OEMs on Android, which other than Apple, everyone is. We at mFilterIt have come up with a framework on this issue that will give greater control to OEMs so that they become the most trusted partners in the advertising value chain and advertisers confidently and preferentially spend through them. While we have initiated the process, I will be very happy to discuss this with a larger smartphone OEM ecosystem. After all, we are committed to ‘Adding TRUST to digital’.

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ad-integrity

Ad Integrity is No Longer an Issue Native to Digital-First Industries Only

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mFilterIt started its journey with a leading online travel portal as its customer. Today, it has a diverse basket representing different stages of digital evolution. The pandemic has indeed brought digital to the limelight. The above word cloud showcases mFilterIt’s customer engagements that represent a diverse pool of industries using our solutions to validate the digital user and the behavior. This was not the case before. Earlier, ad fraud & brand safety were seen as issues concerning only a few industries like eCommerce OTT, among other digital-only / digital-first sectors. With digital becoming an integral medium or channel of outreach, business, and engagement, all sectors are increasingly becoming conscious of the channel’s challenges. Contrary to the offline channel, the patience for online to show results is minimal. As a result, without making ourselves much aware of the channel and its channels, brands start spending to expect specific results, ranging from acquiring users, making a sales transaction, re-engaging, cross-selling, or simply viewing an ad. In addition to their organic efforts, brands invest in performance-driven marketing activities to maximize the impact of their advertising so that as many potential buyers see a campaign (an ad). There is expected behavior (action) from a user who engages with the campaign. This could be a click, purchase, install, or anything as per the campaign’s objective. (Read a case study about a leading pharma company in India that uses mFilterIt to validate its returns on inorganic spending.) The intent of using mFilterIt across these sectors is the same: establishing the integrity of the advertisements and validating results from the ad campaigns in terms of the reported user behavior. However, each sector has its nuanced flavor. Working with such a diverse pool of clients has helped mFilterIt build a sector-specific knowledge pool that further optimizes the results. For instance, our lead validation tool to verify the genuinity of leads received through a digital campaign validates leads conforming to IRDA guidelines for the insurance sector. It is advisable for every brand joining the digital medium to promote business, acquire leads and transact business, and have ad integrity and performance validation tools in place right from the beginning. There is an approach adopted by a few where they go with the hit-and-trial method and keep on optimizing the spending as per the results of the previous campaign. While it’s an excellent strategy to adopt a data-driven approach, the flip side is that by then, a lot of damage is already done, and now a brand has to spend additionally to undo the impact, which often is irreversible or creates a new set of challenges. For instance, if there is no monitoring of brand safety, it will consume the campaigns in all possibilities on obscene or undesired content sites. The performance results will only show low CTR, which obviously will happen as the campaign isn’t reaching the right audiences. As a post-mortem analysis, a new strategy can be implemented to increase the CTR. Still, the damage that the brand would have undergone by associating with unwanted content will go unnoticed. For adequate integrity and validation solutions, it is essential to have the right blend of technology and domain understanding. mFilterIt, through its comprehensive customer cloud, has acquired knowledge about the nuances of very niche segments. This blend helps it to develop particular algorithms to maximize the results for advertisers and its partners. Hence, it can customize its technology with particular domain requirements. Are you a digital advertiser in BFSI, Automobile, FMCG, Education, OTT, Government, or any other sector? We have purpose-built solutions for you that help you achieve integrity and validation of your digital journey. Contact us today.

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Is Maharashtra the leading location of your inorganic engagement? It could be the BOT traffic

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Some specific campaign analysis showed that Pune is contributing over 40% of the traffic within Maharashtra which is attributed to it being the den of VPNs and Proxy Servers used for BOT traffic. Maharashtra has the highest internet population in India. Many times, marketers while reviewing the performance of campaigns take it as an expected behavior seeing Maharashtra contributing maximum to the traffic for this reason. However, there is a catch. For many campaigns we analyze to validate the Genuity of engagement, we see Maharashtra leading the traffic source. On a double-click analysis, the concentration of engagement within Maharashtra spots to Pune. In many cases, Pune contributes over 40% of Maharashtra’s traffic. The reason for Pune emerging as the hotspot of engagement within Maharashtra is because it is the den of VPNs and Proxy Servers in India. Consequently, whosoever is running BOTs to jack up the performance to make bucks without delivering any real value, will be using these proxies and tunnels to show them up as users from India. So, a quick check for analyzing the genuine engagement for inorganic campaigns could be to compare the proportion of traffic from Maharashtra with that of an organic campaign. A deeper level would be to further check on Pune specifically. This will be the first indication that the campaign is heavy on BOTs and an advertiser is losing money without any ROI. Compared to a few years back, the awareness about ad fraud has increased and organizations plotted through the digital learning curve have started realizing this as an increasing challenge, which they shouldn’t shy about; rather fight back. This can also be validated by the pattern of inbound requests we receive at mFilterIt. (You have a request, simply signup here, and our specialist will contact you within 1 business day) Some 3 years ago it was only digital native organizations and sectors like eCommerce, and since 2020, we have received interest from a wide spectrum of industries like BFSI, Auto, and FMCG, among others. The recently released FICCI-EY report on the M&E sector shows the Internet population spread across India which is defined as the composition of unique visitors from each of these states/clusters. Cross-analyzing this with mFilterIt’s ad fraud rate across these states/ clusters, we see that it’s an omnipresent challenge though translates into different volumes basis the internet population. This means the volume of fake traffic for Maharashtra (including Goa) would be much larger than the BOT-driven engagements in Himachal Pradesh (including Uttarakhand). Whatever the ad-fraud rate is, we are already conceding that almost one-third of the engagement is not with real humans. While the internet population is still not evenly spread across the country and is exhibiting the same pattern of physical infrastructure development, which is skewed to larger cities, ad fraud (BOT) has already spread across the country without much of an uneven spread. This is an alarming sign as all major sectors of BFSI, FMCG, auto as well and eCommerce are focusing on expanding digitally through the country. For instance, in this interaction with NDTV, Sandeep Aggarwal, CEO, and Founder of Droom expects 6% of the total automobile market to shift online by 2025 from the present 0.7%. Similarly, banks are trying to adopt digital banking fast and minimize traditional banking operations. Again, eCommerce players are expanding beyond metros and Tier-1 cities and towns leveraging the expansion of broadband across India as well as strengthening logistics footprints. The point to ponder is whether any company adopts the favorite strategy of focusing on key markets defined by top 10 or top 50 cities, or it wants to expand beyond metros, it will interface and engage with BOTs while discovering real users (internet population). Advertisers and their partners would find going deep into the country digitally is quite difficult as there isn’t much data available to understand the behavior of users over digital. This means the vanity metrics cannot be relied on even the slightest degree of confidence failing even the thumb rules. The user understanding of digital is also relatively lower than that of a city or major town, meaning users could easily be trapped by fraudsters and their footprints ‘hijacked’ to skyrocket the performance. The data set here analyzed by mFilterIt pertains to affiliate marketing. But we see this across every mode and platform. It’s more or less the same trend. Whether we like it or not, bad BOTs have already polluted the digital environment and one cannot create a space that doesn’t interface with this environment at one or the other point. So, this inefficiency is going to remain whatever platform or medium an advertiser decides to go with. Digital is changing from a marketing and outreach platform to a business platform. Even for organizations that had never thought of getting directly in touch with a consumer. We have already seen how D2C is growing up as a trend. This means investments in digital will have to go up substantially and it will not only be the marketing budget but also business development cost which one would have to invest in digital. However, this should not happen without a completely neutral view which does real-time audit and in certain cases ‘proactive’ audit in terms of integrity check to decide whether to put in money through the channel or not. mFilterIt has prescribed actionable best practices to tackle this situation which could be the first step in the direction of any decision-maker. I would encourage you to read them and connect with us for any explanation or assistance you may want regarding its implementation. We all have to find out a balance between taking care of the safety of people and minimizing the impact on economic activities. Digital is indeed an enabling powerful medium, but we need to use it optimally and spend judiciously with a 24×7 validation that could guide us the way forward.

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artificial-intelligence

Using Artificial Intelligence to Detect Real Humans

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AI-powered ad fraud detection and protection help advertisers build a wall of defense. The ad fraud detection and elimination suite for the app and web platforms by mFilterIt does real-time pattern analysis of events and engagements to review fraudulent performance. In a typical anti-ad fraud solution, a post-mortem analysis is done on the events to draw patterns and identify fraud. The engagements which show expected behaviors are marked ‘Not Fraud’. In such solutions, one doesn’t require advanced data science techniques or the power of machine learning as well as any AI engine. One can analyze the data dumps and figure out genuine versus fake patterns. A logic check is required on the data, which can very well serve through any spreadsheet application, let’s say advanced MS Excel functions. Of course, one needs to capture the right data points, which may require some integrations with the mobile or web applications to be analyzed. The game changes when one wants to go up the challenge and start building a protection layer, which can do an analysis on the go and block any potential invalid engagement. The tech requirements changed dynamically, hence the architecture. mFilterIt has always been focusing on ease of integration. For us to deploy ad-fraud monitoring and protection, it is a simple javascript integration or an SDK integration depending on whether it’s an app or web deployment and how deep protection is required. SDK integration makes it a data-rich integration helping our data analysis engine throw up some of the unique analysis of events. Our solution uses data analytics, real-time computing services, and cognitive logic to offer the best ad fraud detection. The internal analysis shows that we can detect an average of 22% more ad fraud over and above the industry benchmark compared to other solutions available in the market. This is not just our analysis but jointly done with some of our anchor customers. We also perform more than 70 checks to uniquely identify the origin of an event, including that of coming from an actual human. The set of unique data points powers all this we capture and real-time computing possible due to our lean on-prem architecture. We securely connect any application with our cloud-based solution for computation. The layer of artificial intelligence built over it is even more critical, which equips the suite with all cognitive power. This is very core to the solution’s architecture as all the thinking ability is designed and structured in it. As soon as the data starts shoring our servers, the ‘brain’ of the solution, based on proprietary algorithms using AI, starts drawing patterns to segregate actual versus fake, human versus BOT. As version 2.0 of the solution, we have taken it to the proactive stage, where we can validate the integrity of the click and base the results; it can be blocked much before the event occurs.  This helps the mFilterIt ad-fraud suite to protect proactively rather than through post-mortem analysis only. It may sound easy to read, but it isn’t elementary in architecture and implementation. As a technology architect, I can vouch for that independently it’s one of the most complex solutions that I have come across in my career. However, we have always ensured to keep the integration as simple as possible. Taking ad fraud to this level is another game-changer. Many advertisers who rely heavily on non-affiliate marketing would find using any ad-fraud solution less effective as payment is prepaid on such platforms and recovering the money after establishing any fake engagement is cumbersome. With click integrity capability, advertisers can take a call much in advance about where to spend. In our journey of more than 5 years at mFilterIt, where we have saved over $150 million and validated over 10 billion events for our happy and satisfied customers across the world, the brain of the solution has been one key differentiator. Just like any human being, where you may acquire similar skills but cannot always replicate the capabilities that are powered by the thinking ability, mFilterIt’s Ad Traffic Validation also thinks much ahead thanks to its cognitive power based on artificial intelligence engine, where it can distinctively differentiate between a real unique human engagement and a BOT.

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Are Your Partners Bidding on Your Brand Keywords on Search Engines?

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Finding your partners/dealers/affiliates etc., in position 1 for your brand terms can be very frustrating. So, it becomes crucial to do a Search Engine Audit and Compliance. Three facts are essential to understand: Anyone can bid on any keyword in the search engine. This includes your brand keywords as well. Nothing stops your competition, partners, dealers, franchisees, affiliate partners, or even marketplaces you may have tied up with. Your Brand Keywords are the best-converting keywords on search. They will always have the most negligible conversion cost and quality at par with your Organic users. This is because many users search for your brand to find your website and click on the first result to go to your website. This happens because most browsers allow search inside the URL window. Trademark protection of your brand on Search engines means: Anyone can STILL bid on your brand keywords. Trademark protection doesn’t mean others cannot bid for your keywords. Anyone can use your brand keywords in the Ad-URL or even the Ad Title. They cannot use it in the ad copy itself (it is slightly different for different Geo’s as per local laws). The onus of reporting trademark infringement is on advertisers mostly. Search engines provide minimal checks on their own. If the above three are clear, ensuring compliance with your brand keywords on search is exceptionally critical. You might be letting go of your “almost” organic users be stolen and getting them back as “inorganic” users via partners/dealers/affiliates etc., which means that people who are searching for your brand keywords need to be protected to ensure they are not being converted to inorganic users and bought back to you for commission payouts etc. Your partners (e.g., Affiliates) can start bidding on your brand keywords and take the user back to your website, but with the UTM parameters of the affiliate attached. This means that your organic users are now inorganic, and you are paying for your users to your affiliate. Also, you will pay more to Google / Bing since now the bid rates for your brand keywords have gone up since you and your partners are competing against each other for the exact brand keywords. So everyone makes money from the advertiser. At the cost of the advertiser! Here is an example of how this is done: If you search for “Jockey” (which is a leading undergarment brand) on Google, the following Ad appears: The Ad itself seems harmless and doesn’t indicate anything amiss. Notice the use of trademarked keywords in the Ad-Title and Ad-URL. If you click on this ad, it will take you to the Jockey website. Great! But let’s look deeply at the URL of the landing page: Now the story is straightforward. An affiliate (most likely, he is being paid on a CPS-based model) is running this ad. This Ad is NOT the official Jockey Ad but was placed there by an affiliate from his Adwords account. The advertiser without this audit would be now suffering in 3 dimensions: An almost organic user is now converted to inorganic. The advertiser would be paying a full sale-based commission to the affiliate for this user when he purchases something (which is heavily likely since the user is of excellent quality) The advertiser would most likely compete with the affiliate on Google for the Brand keywords and increase the bid rates for itself. So effectively advertiser pays more to Google for the increased bid-rates for his brand keyword. There is a strong possibility the Ad placed is actually brand unsafe and contains invalid and misleading promises. This can further impact the end customer’s understanding of the brand and its message. Manually tracking ads through competition analysis using search engine tools can become challenging. Also, these ads cannot be manually tracked by repeated searching of your brand keywords since your affiliates can easily remove your city from the targeting, which means that you don’t see these ads. But the rest of the world will.

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Importance of Brand Safety in Performance Marketing

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Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room”- Jeff Bezos. The steady increase in fake news, extremist content, and ads appearing next to inappropriate content has led to a significant brand safety issue. Advertisers today are trying to address the fundamental question: Are we placing our ads in a brand-safe environment? No advertiser would want their branded content or commercial offers placed next to nasty or negative news stories or unsavory websites or apps. With the rise of social media platforms, people spot and share campaigns that have gone wrong in no time and are spread among the masses before you get to know them. Brands that advertise on fake or negative content websites are viewed by people as poorly, and consumers get a negative opinion of the brand. They believe that they will not buy your product or service since you are supporting them. In other words, they will hold you accountable for the inappropriate placement of ads. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of advertisers to protect their brand name and reputation from negative or inappropriate content when advertising online. But many advertisers are aware of Brand Safety in brand campaigns. But ignore the perils of brand safety in Performance campaigns. Performance campaigns have a different payout model and the end metric that the advertiser optimizes against. But none of these have any relevance for the end customer. A brand unsafe placement has the same problem in Performance Marketing and Brand Marketing. Let’s look at different issues of Brand Safety in Performance Marketing. Different Types of Brand Safety Issues in Performance Marketing: Misleading Ads Placement Fraud: Misleading Ads by some fraudsters or fake websites makes end customers feel that the advertiser is misleading them to get traffic (clicks/ leads), etc., thus impacting the advertiser’s brand image. Publishers try popups, spamming a user repeatedly, showing ads that the user is forced to click upon, with no option to cancel, etc., all generate clicks and some performance, but they impact the brand. They indicate to the end customer as if there is the desperation of the brand, which may not be the correct indication to show to customers. Incentivized Campaigns: Fraudulent Affiliates run non-incent marketing campaigns over incent platforms where the user downloads or uses the app for a particular incentive rather than an actual interest in the app. This can be via incentives for filling up leads, etc. These campaigns bring low-quality users, resulting in low engagement; they again put the brand in an unsafe environment. A brand would not want to show it is ready to get installs/leads by any means to the customer. It impacts the premium-ness of the brand. Apps Placed on Third-Party Stores: Publishers often extract APK files of Advertisers’ app and place them on alternate third-party app stores. However, it contains potential malware that acts as a Trojan horse when placed. Your app carries the malware inside it. Technically, all privacy-related/fraud-related aspects are driven via your app only (since, for the customer, the malware is part of your app itself). This again impacts the advertiser’s brand image and can be a PR disaster if this ends up perpetuating financial fraud, for example. Google Search Misleading Ads on Brand Keywords Fraud: Publishers (and especially affiliates) can start bidding for brand keywords of the advertiser, and who misleading ads, which when clicked take the user to the advertiser website itself. These misleading messages can be extremely high discounts or talk of false promises. For the user, he searched on Google for a brand keyword and saw the Ad that had the brand Ad-URL, and when he clicked on it, it went to the Brand website only. So, this is a safe and trusted journey as per the user. However, the ad placed is by an affiliate and contains false discounts or promises. This can make a customer unhappy since he will not get the same discounts finally. Coupons and Cashback Tracking: In this type of fraud, fraudsters copy coupons and change the product details like name, expiry date, etc., and distribute them among the people via email, social media, etc. Fraudsters deceive the user with a false offer or communication by sharing these false promise coupons. The customer is deceived into using that coupon code, and the publisher still gets paid the total amount. The false offers can be brand-impacting by promising huge discounts that otherwise are unavailable. How mFilterIt helps advertisers with Brand Safety issues: mFilterIt is the only solution provider that helps its customers ensure brand safety for their performance campaigns mFilterIt Brand Safety Suite: Brand Safety (Incent Tracker): An automated tracker that tracks 100+ incent / porn, etc., apps daily and ensures that the customer app is not present. If the brand appears on the blacklisted locations, our automated system clicks on the ad to identify the publisher. Non-Play Store Tracker (mAppVault): A tracker which looks at APK files of your app present in alternate app stores and flags off cases where your app has been modified with malicious code. Search Keyword Solution: The solution keeps scanning for misleading and unofficial Google / Bing search ads where the brand is misused to make false promises. The solution ensures that brand unsafe placements are detected and actioned against immediately before it becomes a problem for the brand. Coupon/Referral Tracker: The solution tracks coupon codes for your brand and tracks which publishers are running them at different placements. This provides transparency to the brand and allows the advertiser to quickly understand the source of performance for different partners and takedown partners running brand-unsafe activities.

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mFilterIt is an AdTech and MarTech pioneer with a mission to build trust and transparency across the digital ecosystem. We safeguard your brand’s reputation, optimize your advertising endeavors for maximum impact, and help advertise fearlessly!

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