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Direct Carrier Billing: Complete Guide to Building Seamless & Secure DCB VAS Ecosystem

Leave a Comment / Blog, Direct Carrier Billing / Expert Opinion

Direct Carrier Billing is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to pay for digital content. A hassle-free payment method redefining convenience and speed for user satisfaction. However, the usage of the DCB payment method varies significantly by region. The direct carrier billing market in North America is forecasted to grow significantly, with its value anticipated to hit approximately USD 34.47 billion by 2034. The Asia Pacific region is expected to generate approximately USD 74.62 billion in revenue from direct carrier billing by 2037. DCB spending in South Africa accounts for approximately 15% of the global market in Africa and the Middle East, and by 2026, the average figure is expected to reach $5.50 per user per month. As DCB continues to scale globally, so do the risks. Like any other digital payment method, it is also vulnerable to fraud. It is a critical need for telecoms businesses and providers to secure their DCB ecosystems with a robust fraud detection solution. In this blog, we will walk you through how DCB works, what the benefits are, and why it’s gaining popularity across the globe. We will also talk about how this payment method differentiates from credit cards, and how to build a secure DCB ecosystem. What is Direct Carrier Billing (DCB)? DCB mobile payment method that allows users to make purchases and pay for digital content, goods, or services directly through their mobile phone bill or prepaid balance. It enables users to make payments without the need for credit or debit cards, making it convenient and accessible for a wide range of users. How does Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) work? DCB relies on the integration between the mobile network operator (MNO), the content provider, and the payment service provider (PSP). When a user wants to make a purchase, they choose the DCB payment option. The user is prompted to confirm the payment, usually through a text message or a pop-up window. The mobile operator verifies the user’s identity and approves the payment. The purchase amount is added to the user’s monthly phone bill or deducted from their prepaid balance. Supported services: DCB is commonly used for various digital content and services, such as mobile apps, games, music streaming, video streaming, eBooks, and more. It is particularly popular for micro-transactions and in-app purchases within mobile apps and games. What are the benefits of direct carrier billing? A seamless user experience One of the key advantages of Direct Carrier Billing is an improved user experience. By eliminating the need for payment card information (credit or debit), users can make purchases quickly and easily, without having to navigate through complicated payment forms. This can be especially important for mobile users, who may be using their device on the go and don’t want to spend time entering their payment information. With DCB, the payment process is seamless and integrated into the mobile experience, making it easier and more convenient for your users to make purchases. Greater security compared to payment cards Another benefit of Direct Carrier Billing is its security features. With DCB users do not need to enter their credit card information or other sensitive data to make a purchase. Instead, the transaction is completed by simply entering the mobile phone number and confirming the payment, which is then added to the user’s monthly mobile phone bill. This reduces the risk of fraud and provides a layer of anonymity that can be attractive to users who are wary of sharing their personal information online. Of course, fraud is an issue when any financial transaction is involved. Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities. However, mobile billing anti-fraud solutions can be deployed to protect the mobile billing payment page and block suspicious and fraudulent transactions; giving you and your customers reassurance that everything is being done to protect their accounts. Increases financial inclusion for mobile users Globally 1.4 billion people are unbanked, without access to a financial account. This means they don’t have access to traditional payment methods such as credit and debit cards, and therefore may struggle to pay for many digital services and products. Direct Carrier Billing removes this barrier by allowing users to pay for goods and services via their mobile phone bill or pre-paid SIM. This makes it easier for users with limited access to credit or bank accounts to make online purchases, opening up a new world of opportunities for digital content and services. This is advantageous for merchants looking to expand into markets where a significant percentage of the population remains unbanked, such as in Iraq where only 22.7% of the population have a bank account compared to 10.30% who have a mobile phone connection and 75.0% who use the internet. For mobile operators, facilitating DCB transactions helps them provide additional services for their unbanked customers, and increases customer satisfaction and retention. Higher conversion rates In addition to increasing financial inclusion, Direct Carrier Billing can also lead to increased conversions. DCB transactions involve minimal clicks and form filling. Whereas with traditional payment methods, users may abandon their cart if they encounter any difficulties during the payment process. This can be due to a variety of factors, such as complicated checkout procedures or concerns about security. With Direct Carrier Billing the payment process is streamlined and easy to use, reducing the likelihood of cart abandonment and increasing the chances of a successful conversion. New revenue streams DCB allows mobile operators to earn a commission on transactions made by their customers. This commission can be a percentage of the transaction value or a fixed fee per transaction. As more customers use this method to make purchases, you will also benefit from increased transaction volumes. This can result in higher revenue from transaction fees and potentially lead to negotiating higher commission rates with merchants due to increased volume. By developing stronger partnerships with merchants by facilitating DCB as a payment option, there may also be increased revenue-sharing opportunities and deeper integration with merchant services. Increase customer retention Finally, Direct

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Programmatic Advertising Trends Shaping the Digital Industry

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Advertising / Expert Opinion

Like always, new technological developments continue revolutionizing the way we conduct business online. However, at the same time, growing concerns around privacy and the subsequent moves by tech giants to address said concerns are also influencing how online businesses reach out to their consumers. While trends like the declining use of third-party cookies and the rise of stringent privacy laws may make it seem like it is the end of the road for programmatic advertising, the reality is quite the contrary. Sure, these things have a direct impact on the way programmatic advertising is used, but their influence will simply mean that advertisers will have to get more creative with their approaches. Since these changes have been in the works for some time now, advertisers are beginning to adapt. It is clear that despite the changes in privacy laws and the decline of cookies, programmatic advertising is here to stay. However, for marketers who want to keep reaping the benefits of this amazing advertising technology, it has become imperative to keep up with the current trends. That’s exactly what this article is about. We will cover some of the most significant trends surrounding programmatic advertising. Let’s jump right in: Top 7 Programmatic Advertising Trends 1. In-House Programmatic Run Many ad agencies and brands are expected to stop outsourcing their programmatic ad campaigns and pull those operations in-house. The trend has been prevalent for the last few years, with more companies focused on squeezing out the maximum possible ROI from ad investments (more on this later). With lower spending on the management aspect of advertising, this move, when executed correctly, can provide a significant boost to ROAS (Return On Ad Spend). For those working in an in-house marketing team, this will mean developing new skills just to stay relevant in the industry. That said, those who can adapt proficiently will find themselves in an advantageous position, having learned a high-value skill for the future. 2. Rise in First-Party Data Solutions The European Union introduced the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR in 2016. The legislation is aimed at protecting the online privacy of individuals. In 2018, the USA introduced its version of GDPR, known as the California Privacy Act. Since then, many countries have introduced laws that prohibit or heavily restrict the collection and use of third-party data. These legal frameworks all prevent the tracking of online user data without getting clear consent from the user. Major tech companies like Apple, Firefox, and Google have stopped supporting third-party cookies in their devices and browsers, and the trend is expected to continue. For programmatic advertising, these developments all point in the same direction- the use of first-party data solutions. There have been some attempts to facilitate the same, like Google’s now defunct Federated Learning Of Cohorts (FLoC) and Interactive Advertising Bureau’s DigiTrust service, but they have not seen a lot of success. Currently, the Trade Desk’s Unified ID 2.0 or UID 2 framework is the most successful attempt to facilitate the collection and sharing of personal information with user consent. However, it is safe to assume that more and better solutions will start populating the marketing landscape soon. This is because first-party data is a superb alternative to third-party data. It does not invade anybody’s privacy and gives advertisers access to users who have given their consent. Sure, the volume of data available will diminish, but marketers can expect great improvements in quality. 3. Growth of CTV According to Statista, Revenue in the OTT Video market in the United States is projected to reach US$146 billion this year. The revenue is expected to exhibit an annual growth rate (CAGR 2025-2029) of 7.26%, leading to a projected market volume of US$193 billion by 2029. Don’t let the recent relative decline in the user base of giants fool you into believing that the popularity of streaming services is dying. A close observation of the current trends in the industry shows that the reason behind this reduction is that the market is being populated by new players every year. With each passing day, users have more streaming options to choose from. For programmatic advertisers, this means that the popularity of connected TV (CTV) programmatic advertising is only going to grow. It is estimated that the advertisers will spend $42 billion by 2027 on CTV programmatic ads. With that said, there is still a lot of room for growth in CTV advertising, and advertisers that jump in now are expected to be poised to enjoy an early mover advantage. 4. Rise in DOOH Ads This year, the revenue in the Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising market in the United States is forecasted to reach US$4.40bn in 2025, according to Statista. With the absence of COVID restrictions and the rising number of digital screens across locations with high foot traffic, DOOH spending is only going to increase in the coming years. While programmatic technology does not have a large share of the market currently, current trends indicate that this will change in the future. The many advantages associated with DOOH, such as no invasion of user privacy, the unobtrusive nature of ads, and no resistance from ad blockers, make DOOH an excellent opportunity for advertisers to reach their audience. Not to forget, with video and audio capabilities, DOOH placements offer a lot of creative freedom to advertisers that can create memorable DOOH experiences with virtually no extra resources. The best part is, that the same ads that are created for DOOH placements can work well on other platforms, such as YouTube. When used correctly, DOOH ads, in combination with other digital ads, can deliver significant improvements in top-of-the-funnel metrics such as brand awareness, recognition, and recall value. 5. Focus on ROI will increase As mentioned earlier, because of the declining use of third-party cookies, the way programmatic advertising is implemented is set to undergo a revolution. Devising new strategies, testing them, and making optimization decisions is an expensive undertaking. This means that advertisers should prepare themselves to face extra

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A Mirage in The Desert of Digital Advertising: Will You Find Your Way?

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Advertising / Expert Opinion

Imagine strolling through a desert, thirsty for genuine leads and conversions. Suddenly, an oasis appears—a multitude of clicks, installs, and engagements. It seems like your marketing efforts are paying off, but is this mirage too good to be true? There are masterminds in the digital ecosystem that are going beyond the thinking capacity of advertisers to steal their money. They are becoming deceptive with their actions and weave a well-planned plot to ensure that the advertisers are unaware of the reality. As a result, the advertiser often believes what they see and continue investing ad spends on these “painted ad campaigns”. Though it gives high traffic, the advertiser’s ROI remains low. But let us throw some light on this cleverly created web of using the case of publisher A. Click Spamming: A Mirage of Good Traffic In the ad traffic mix, advertisers see some good traffic sources directed by publisher A. The advertiser trusts publisher A, and the publisher gets their payout. However, the reality is a bit twisted which advertisers often miss. In reality, the advertiser is paying for its organic traffic. To keep the advertiser in the dark, the publisher uses the technique of click spamming. Using this ad fraud technique, the publisher fires random clicks and steals the last-click attribution of the genuine source which is also known as ‘Organic poaching’. Despite the fraud happening in the background, the advertiser sees “unsuspicious traffic” in their ad campaigns. To make it more believable, the fraudulent publishers also use click spamming to meet hard KPIs like purchases. This leaves the scope of doubt for advertisers and the publishers get their payout. Bot Traffic: Orchestrators of Deception Too good to be true things are often questionable. Therefore, the publisher puts some stale traffic in their basket using bots. They inflate the ad traffic to meet the set standard of bringing high traffic. However, the abnormal patterns of bots/fake devices are recognizable. This keeps the advertiser under the impression that the incoming traffic is not 100% clean. While the advertiser successfully eliminates the invalid traffic with an ad traffic validation partner, the publisher still wins. Incent Traffic: Smokes and Mirrors The above cases were just the tip of the iceberg. After the publisher has successfully moulded the advertiser’s mind by showing both organic and bot-driven traffic, they take the final step of their illusion game. To hit that last pinnacle of trust of the advertiser, they run incentive campaigns. They put the advertiser’s campaign on incentivized platforms in order to meet the soft KPIs. Usually, the click-to-install/action rate is high in incentive campaigns. However, the lifetime value of the user is often low as they install the app to avail the benefits associated with it. Therefore, the quality of traffic is low. How To Come Out of This Mirage? Advertisers can take action against bot traffic with a basic ad traffic validation partner. They can help to evaluate the quality of traffic based on bot-pattern-based analysis. However, these validation partners often fail to detect sophisticated patterns like click spamming and incentive fraud. These fraud techniques impact the quality of events and eventually, skew the analytics of an ad campaign. They create a “good traffic scenario” for the advertiser to stay unaware of the reality behind the smoke screen. Therefore, to combat sophisticated fraud activities, advertisers need an advanced ad fraud solution that is capable of detecting invalid traffic across the funnel and going beyond the traditional methods of ad fraud verification. mFilterIt – Your Mirror of Reality Arm yourself with mFilterIt’s ad traffic validation solution that helps advertisers detect abnormal ad traffic in real-time across the funnel. Using the capabilities of AI, ML, and data science, we provide full-funnel transparency of the ad campaigns for advertisers to make effective business decisions stay clear of the mirage, and see the reality behind this web of deception. Way Towards a Transparent Digital Advertising Ecosystem In the ever-evolving digital landscape, ad fraud remains an ongoing battle for businesses. By demystifying its dark art, recognizing its perpetrators, and embracing innovative defence strategies, you can protect your advertising investments and navigate the digital realm with confidence.

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Decode the Fraud Series: Cracking Down on Click Spamming?

Leave a Comment / Ad Fraud, Blog / Expert Opinion

While online fraud perhaps started with email spamming, it has come a long way. Today, ad fraud takes many forms, and it costs digital advertisers several billion dollars. According to Statista Reports, within the 5 years between 2023 & 2028, the costs due to digital advertising fraud will increase from $88 billion to $172 billion. The lure of making quick money has motivated modern fraudsters to employ sophisticated techniques to commit fraud. Ad fraud techniques such as domain spoofing, cookie stuffing, ad stacking, ad injection, geo masking, and many others are just a few of the many techniques employed by modern fraudsters. Ad fraud is a serious problem that drains budgets and can cause long-term damage by skewing campaign performance data. Awareness is the first step for any advertiser looking to protect their ad campaigns and the budgets associated with them. This article will help you build this awareness. In the subsequent sections of this article, you will gain an in-depth understanding of one of the most prevalent click fraud techniques- click spamming. Let’s dive right in: What Is Click Spamming? Click spamming is a click fraud technique that involves the generation of fake clicks on ads or app download links. With click spamming, the clicks generated often come from genuine devices with authentic devices and user IDs. Click spamming can take many forms. Some of the most common ones are: Click Flooding- Fraudsters generate several fake clicks on ads within an app. Generating Fake Impressions- Fraudsters use a mobile app to generate fake views on videos in the background. The user is often unaware of this activity. In some cases, the app may place multiple ‘hidden’ ads within the ad interface and get credit for authentic impressions when a user views them. Organic Poaching- Fraudsters use malware-laced apps to claim credit for authentic app downloads. How Does Click Spamming Happen? Click spamming activity usually happens in one of the following two ways: 1. Click Flooding and Generating Fake Impressions: To execute this type of click fraud, the fraudster first places a utility app on the app download store. Examples of such apps may include a torch app or a calculator. However, this activity is not limited to utility apps and has been observed in games and other types of apps. Once a user has downloaded the app, it continues to run in the background. Without the knowledge of the user, the app’s in-built features generate automated clicks on ads. Similar techniques are used to generate impressions and views. 2. Organic Poaching: With organic poaching, the app downloaded by the user generates a number of clicks within the app. In some cases, it may be designed to enable an external device to click within the app. This goes on until the user downloads a promoted app or makes an in-app purchase. When they do, the credit is stolen by the fraudsters using organic poaching. While the obvious impact of such click fraud activities is the lost ad budget, there is a deeper, more serious problem. Click and impression fraud can distort advertisers’ analytics, compromising their ability to make informed decisions. Access to data, the ability to test different ads and audiences, and the ability to optimize campaigns are perhaps the most pressing reasons to use digital advertising. Click fraud prevents advertisers from enjoying the full benefits of this access to data and associated benefits. Difference Between Click Spamming and Botnet Activity Click spamming and botnet activity have a few similarities and are often confused with each other. Both involve generating a large number of clicks on mobile apps, mobile landing pages, and web pages. However, the key difference lies in the source of the clicks. How To Identify Click Spamming in Your Ad Campaigns? Click spamming can be difficult to detect. This is because the origin of the clicks is an authentic device with a genuine device ID. That said, detecting click spamming isn’t impossible. If your ads are receiving a lot of traffic from a source, but the conversion rate is unusually low, it may be a sign of click spamming. To be sure, you can: Look into the publisher app. If the app does not have a lot of downloads but is generating a disproportionate number of clicks, consider it a red flag. It is also worth watching out for apps that haven’t been validated by Google’s Play Store. However, do you remember that there may be some genuine apps that have chosen to forego the validation process to protect their code? If you suspect a conversion, check the time between a click and a conversion. In most cases of organic poaching, fraudsters claim a conversion sometime after the click has been generated. How To Stop Click Spamming? Once you have identified sources of fake clicks, you can simply block them. However, doing this at scale every day is often not practical or effective. Manually tracking click spamming activity can be time-consuming. Moreover, the process is prone to human errors that may lead you to overlook important sources of clicks. Similarly, in some cases, wrong judgment may lead advertisers to block genuine sources of authentic conversions. The most reliable way to fight click spamming is to use an ad fraud solution like mFilterIt. mFilterIt uses its AI and ML capabilities to pinpoint verified instances of click spamming and also identify human-like traffic sources. This paints a transparent picture of your campaign performance and allows you to block sources of fraudulent traffic. Conclusion Click spamming is a serious fraud issue, but the unfortunate reality is that it is not the only one. Click fraud and other forms of online ad fraud are plaguing ad budgets and campaign reports. While this means that some advertisers will continue to struggle, for smart advertisers, this presents an opportunity to get ahead. Think about it, simply by using an ad fraud tool, you can improve campaign performance and the accuracy of your attribution sources. Get in Touch to learn more about click spamming.

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The Rise of Direct Carrier Billing Across the Global Payment Ecosystem

Leave a Comment / Blog, Direct Carrier Billing / Expert Opinion

The global digital landscape is evolving swiftly with high rates of mobile penetration across the world even among the unbanked population. This has led to rapid changes in digital consumption patterns which fuel the need for swift, seamless, and secure payments. Rising to the occasion is Direct Carrier Billing (DCB). It has the upper hand compared to other payment modes. The ease of transaction via DCB is what is leading the global market penetration. It is set to experience significant growth. The key highlight of this rise is the African region which is estimated 84% rise in revenue in 2023. But still, ensuring secure and seamless Direct Carrier Billing DCB transactions remains a cause of concern. Let’s take a closer look at how various regions flourish with Direct Carrier Billing. The Global Prospects of DCB Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) has emerged as a powerful and convenient payment method that is rapidly gaining popularity across the world. In coming years, the DCB market size is all set to expand and grow at a notable CAGR of 13.13% in 2030 and is estimated to surpass US $115.72 billion by 2030. So, what’s propelling DCB? The answer is quite simple – need to make quick payments without any KYC or OTP. All it needs is a mobile phone and an active mobile number for billing. This has helped DCB find its foothold among the unbanked population in regions such as North Africa where internet penetration is limited and in the APAC region where high media consumption rates are driving DCB growth. According to research, 49% of DCB growth originates from Asia Pacific regions. But the challenge is the fragmented market and competition from digital wallets. Emerging DCB Markets: The emerging market geographies make up almost 60% of the DCB market value. Surprised? Don’t be. Factor in the high penetration of mobiles compared to emerging market’s unbanked population, then the number will look quite obvious. Carrier billing is the most prominent means of online transactions among the unbanked population. People with pre-paid can simply top up and begin spending. For Postpaid users, it could also be the source of credit with buy now pay later as the operator’s monthly bill. The key emerging market for DCB is the Middle East & Africa, where half of the population is unbanked, reaching as high as 70% in countries like Morocco, and in Central & South America, nearly 40% of the population is unbanked. This can translate almost directly into growth rates. End-user spending via carrier billing is expected to grow fastest in regions like Latin America with a rapid CAGR of 41 % by 2025. The Asia region (excluding the Far East & China), Africa, and the Middle East are not far behind, growing the second fastest at 24% CAGR to 2025. A secure environment is also essential for expanding DCB into new markets, particularly in emerging economies where DCB has the potential to revolutionize access to digital goods and services. These markets may be more vulnerable to DCB fraud, so implementing a secure payment system is critical to ensure that DCB is seen as a trusted and reliable payment method. The DCB Ecosystem MENA (MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA) The region is one of the fastest-growing DCB markets in terms of mobile connections, with a big percentage of the population owning mobile phones. In a survey, 19% of consumers from the MENA region used cashless payment options last year. This is quite significant as the use of mobile payment methods is on the rise in the region. Another fact that came out of the survey was that 64% of consumers used one digital payment option at least. This also includes DCB (Source: FinTech News 2023). This highlights how payment systems are being adopted by the region. The emerging markets, such as ticketing, online gaming, and physical goods, have a projected YoY growth rate of 31%, 57%, and 40%, respectively, for the next four years. It is a sector already showing signs of high potential. This year will close with $7M in ticket sales in Africa and the Middle East region. Specifically, these categories will represent an expense of $86M in 2022. Credit card ownership in these countries is not widespread with only a small percentage of users. Therefore, options like DCB come along as a reliable and practical solution. SOUTH AFRICA The region spent about $89 million for digital content and services in 2022 via Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) with a year-on-year growth rate of 16% and above. Between 2022-2026 it’s all set to reach $159M in 2026. (Source: “DCB Evolution and Trends 2022-2026” by Telecom) DCB spending in South Africa represents around 15% of the global market in Africa and the Middle East, placing it as one of the most relevant countries by billing. South Africans currently spend an average of $4.2 per month on digital content. By 2026, this average figure will reach $5.5/month/user. The digital market is largely the one that most stimulate users when it comes to paying for their purchases through the operator. The most popular content paid with DCB is, in order, video games, videos, and music. ASIA-PACIFIC It is estimated that the Asia-Pacific direct carrier billing market will grow at a CAGR of 14.52% during the 2019-2028 period, with Japan currently leading the adoption of this mobile-based digital payment mode. One of the biggest reasons for the stupendous growth of DCB is a steady increase in the usage of mobile phones and smartphones in the region. Developed Markets Even in geographies where a high percentage of the population is banked, DCB provides opportunity. Looking at younger generations, there is lower credit card adoption, and as an age group who grew up with mobile phones, DCB is a more natural option. In the United States, only 50% of Gen Z have a credit card. Even among the card holders, the use is far less at 1.5 cards on average as compared to 4 credit cards for the average American. Win-Win

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From Vulnerability to Vigilance: Navigating Brand Safety in 2023

Leave a Comment / Blog, Brand Safety & Protection / Expert Opinion

Ensuring brand safety in the online ecosystem is becoming a growing concern for modern brands. A large chunk of marketers has started recognizing the threats against their brand’s safety. Misinformation, wrong messaging, bot traffic, and “algorithms” are just some of the many serious threats facing brands these days. According to EY M&E report from March 2024 reveals that approximately 70% of brands have encountered brand safety risks at least once. The report also notes that 95% of respondents have implemented measures to prevent ad placements in unsafe environments or platforms. In a survey of over 600 leaders at top brands, agencies, and media buying companies, 40% expressed that they expect threats to their brand safety to grow in 2023. While that is an alarming number, the good news is that the awareness needed to push back against such threats is increasing. As online fraudsters become more creative and innovative with the techniques, they use to commit fraud, advertisers are also becoming more cautious. If you are one such advertiser, this article is for you. In the upcoming sections, we will discuss how advertisers and brands can prepare themselves to face and triumph over the ever-evolving brand safety issues in 2023. Without wasting any time, let’s jump right in. Why is Brand Safety Essential for Brands in 2023? Brand safety is important to every single stakeholder involved in the advertising supply chain. Starting from the ad networks to the publishers, it is important to do their part in maintaining brand safety to ensure that their customers, the advertisers, continue trusting them with their ad budgets. That said, there is no denying that brand safety incidents have the biggest impact on advertisers and brands. In worst cases, brands may experience permanent, irreparable damage to their brand reputation. Paying attention to brand safety and protection isn’t just important from the point of view of preventing a negative impact on brand reputation. There are many positive benefits of actively pursuing and brand monitoring Some of them are: For a Positive Brand Image Brand safety threats can take many forms. One of the most daunting ones includes instances where a brand’s ad is published on websites that host questionable or extremist content. Having a brand’s ad published on websites that engage in fraudulent activities can also cause significant damage to the brand’s reputation. While most stakeholders are aware that in most cases, advertisers have little control over where their ads are displayed, the same isn’t true for modern consumers. They may be quick to think that the brand in question supports the views or activities found on the publishing website. This, if not monitored and avoided, can cause serious damage to any brand’s reputation. This isn’t an imagined threat. The world’s biggest brands have experienced such a threat to their brand image and have used their position to transfer some of the consequences to publishers like Google. Unfortunately, smaller brands don’t enjoy the same luxury and thus, they must proactively protect their brand’s reputation against such a threat. To Make a Strong First Impression Brand reputation incidents can hurt any brand. However, established brands have a history associated with them, along with a loyal audience. These elements can prove advantageous and contribute towards a quick recovery after a brand reputation incident. However, upcoming brands don’t enjoy any such advantages. Even a single brand reputation-threatening instance can prove fatal for new brands trying to make a name for themselves. While that is the worst case, even in less extreme scenarios, emerging brands can expect their advertising costs to spike significantly after even a minor brand reputation incident. This is because in order to recover from such an incident will involve rebuilding the brand’s reputation from scratch. This may prove to be an undertaking that may demand a higher-than-usual investment in terms of the advertising budget. Key Considerations to Implement Brand Safety Now that we have established the importance of ensuring brand safety, you may be wondering what you can do to ensure the same. Here are actionable steps you can take to ensure your brand’s reputation is not under threat: 1. Set brand safety guidelines Defining brand safety best practices will enable you to understand actionable steps you must take (or avoid) in order to protect your brand’s reputation. To that end, you should consider defining guidelines that outline what ‘brand-safe’ content is, and what isn’t. You should also have clear guidelines outlining the kind of content that you never want to be associated with your brand. Most advertisers try to avoid content that talks about military conflict, drugs, arms, crime, death, and hate speech. While these can act as a good starting point for defining unsafe content for your brand, remember that this list is not exhaustive. You may want to add or omit certain types of content based on your brand’s preferences and audience. 2. Create a list of block listed sites Once you have identified what type of content you want to avoid, it is time to identify websites that are known to publish such content. This will be your own list of block listed websites. You can instruct publishers to never publish your content on any website in this list and ensure your brand does not appear next to questionable content. To make sure that this exercise has a positive impact, it is important to understand that it isn’t a one-time undertaking. It is recommended that you revisit this list from time to time and update your list. 3. Collaborate with a Brand Protection Partner Any smart advertiser can understand that as important as their list of blocked websites is, it can never be complete. There will always be questionable websites that you may not be aware of. However, just because you aren’t aware of such websites, it doesn’t mean that their potential to hurt your brand’s reputation is any less than others. So how do you protect your brand against threats that you are not even aware of? With the help of a

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Awareness Phase: Road to Reach The Top Shelf

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Expert Opinion

The first phase of the customer Journey is all about being discoverable across the e-commerce platforms Are your products the top draws on the eCommerce marketplace? In simpleton terms, Does your product pop up in the top search results and get picked up first? No? Just being a known name in the brick-mortar shops and marketplace does not transpire the same way in the eCommerce arena. Unless the shopper is looking for a specific product of your brand. So how does it work in the eCommerce ecosystem? Let’s take the first step on the journey and start charting your path to reach the top of the digital Shelf. Brand Efficiency in the Product Awareness Phase The spot on the top shelf is what drives brand efficiency. The fierce and feisty competition on the eCommerce landscape put immense pressure on brands to push for more and do better in digital marketplaces. But all efforts can turn to dust if your product does not reach the intended segment of shoppers. The brand being efficient in the Awareness Phase is key to getting on the top in organic search. So, what are the things your brand needs to do to be efficient in an awareness phase? Analyse and optimize content to create a perfect product detail page. Enhance Product Discoverability with Keywords Analyse & Optimize Banner Keep track of existing and new competitors in your segment Looks simple right? Not at all. In this preliminary phase of the customer journey making the product more discoverable and enhancing awareness is like starting from scratch which starts with getting the Product Display Page (PDP) content right. Efficiency Checkpoint 01 – Content Discoverability Check Pick the right words. What you write in the Product Title & Description is key to making the product more discoverable than competitors. Brands need to perform content audits regularly to ensure that the product pages are engaging on eCommerce platforms. To know more about what makes the content description more effective click here. PDP content Audit typically involves evaluating various aspects of content to assess its effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. This includes: – Image Analysis: Involves evaluating the images used to ensure they are visually appealing, relevant, and optimized for performance. Let the pictures speak for the product. Brands need to conduct Image Analysis on product images and ad banner images to check for performance and compliance. – Perfect Page Analysis: Focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of individual pages. It involves assessing various aspects. The goal is to identify any issues or areas for improvement that might be hindering the page’s performance and user engagement. – Keyword Recommendation for PDP (Product Detail Page): Identifying relevant and high-impact keywords that can optimize the page’s visibility. The recommended keywords should be strategically incorporated into the PDP’s content to improve its ranking and attract more organic traffic. Optimizing listing needs accurate, effective, and engaging content with the right set of high-performing keywords to boost rankings. Brands need to keep track of keywords to bid on their brand and competition for organic, sponsored, and generic keywords. Efficiency Checkpoint 02: PDP Discoverability Check Making your product discoverable on the eCommerce marketplace requires a lot of factors to come together and help optimize product performance. – Optimize Brand-wise Discoverability Share: Analyzing how well your product content is being discovered and shared across different platforms. It involves assessing your brand’s visibility and tracking its performance over time. – Role of Keywords: The key to boosting discoverability is the keywords. The keywords play an important role in making your products under various sub-brands, categories, and sub-categories pop up among the top searched results. Use of high-performing keyword – Banner Performance: Analyzing eCommerce ad banner performance is essential for enhancing brand discoverability across different platforms. By evaluating the effectiveness of category page banners, banner themes, and keyword themes, brands can optimize their strategies to capture the attention of their target audience, increase brand exposure, and drive sales. With a data-driven approach to banner analysis, brands can refine their design, messaging, and targeting strategies to stand out in the competitive eCommerce landscape. (a). Category Page banner: Category page banners play a significant role in capturing the attention of potential customers as they navigate through eCommerce platforms. These banners are strategically placed within specific product categories, attracting users who are already interested in those particular items. By understanding which banners generate the most engagement and conversions, brands can optimize their designs and content to increase brand exposure and drive sales within relevant product categories. (b). Banner theme: The theme of an eCommerce ad banner refers to the overall visual and messaging concept it conveys. Analyzing the performance of different banner themes helps brands determine which styles resonate most effectively with their target audience. By identifying the most successful banner themes, brands can refine their design strategies to align with customer preferences and increase brand recognition. (c). Keyword Theme: Keyword themes are an integral part of eCommerce ad banners as they influence the ad’s visibility when users search for specific terms. By understanding which keywords are most relevant to their target audience and driving the desired actions, brands can optimize their ad campaigns for improved discoverability. Additionally, analyzing keyword themes helps brands refine their search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, ensuring their ads appear prominently when customers search for related products or services. Efficiency Checkpoint 03: Competition Discoverability Check Competitive insights and analytics across brands, sub-brands, product categories, sub-categories, and variants lead to data-driven business decisions that boost brand efficiencies on the eCommerce platform. Constant monitoring and performance tracking are required to stay updated on market trends and developments made by competitors across eCommerce marketplaces. Brands need to track new and existing competition brands and the product performance vs competition to upswing their performance and formulate effective business strategies. This analysis process goes beyond the Awareness & Discoverability phase of the brand. We shall cover that aspect of the customer journey and various touch points for a follow-up piece. Final Thoughts Awareness is just the first step in optimizing the customer journey, and ably the most crucial

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Bricks to clicks: Brands expanding their footprints

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Expert Opinion

It’s not about the wings, it’s about the will to fly high. Shopping has been traditionally about look & feel, banking high on customers’ needs, and getting assured by trusting what they see. But times have changed Brands, digital-first, or offline stores, all are moving to the new sky of digital retail expanding their wings and flying high with massive boosts in omnichannel sales in the post-pandemic new normal. Let’s explore how brands are expanding their digital commerce, what’s then towards it, and the perks of going digital. Big Brands Moving to Digital Stores and Luxury eCom Marketplaces The implementation of lockdown measures has not impacted people’s expenditures significantly; rather, it has led to a shift in their spending habits. In response to this change in consumer behavior, well-known fashion brands have adapted by investing in their online shopping platforms and eCommerce stores. As a result, major players in the fashion industry, such as H&M, Puma, Hugo Boss, and Zalando, have witnessed a remarkable surge in sales and an expansion of their customer base over the past few months. For example, H&M, the Swedish fashion retailer that ranks as the world’s second-largest, managed to recover from a 57% decline in local sales through a nearly one-third increase in online sales. Puma, the world-known sportswear firm has decided to invest more in online logistics after they saw their e-commerce sales grow by around 40% in the first quarter and by 77% in April. Showcase For Offline Sale In today’s digital landscape, where a majority (63%) of shopping instances commence online, it has become crucial for businesses to establish a strong online presence to reach potential customers. Even if these customers ultimately make their purchases from local brick-and-mortar stores, it is vital for companies to showcase their products or services on the web. However, the rising costs associated with digital marketing and the need for eCommerce adjustments have raised concerns about the sustainability of exclusively direct-to-consumer (DTC) business models. According to the State of Fashion 2023 report, brands will need to diversify their channel strategies beyond DTC to foster growth and success. Why do brands need to expand their online footprint? Most brands across the world are available online now in the post-pandemic world, even the luxury stores and houses of brands are also available on niche luxury online platforms or selling via their own online store. The ease of accessibility is the key. The ease of purchase and expanding reach to new shoppers who prefer online stores even for luxury shopping. Customer experience. Seamless transition from offline to online saves on massive inventory management costs and store costs. It translates the offline shop experience to online with more consumer-friendly options. What do brands need to do when they decide to go online? Understand the eCom landscape & competition: When a brand goes online, it needs to get hold of the market first to understand what & where it wants to sell and who it is targeting. Understand competition various product performance matrices as it has sharp contrast, starkly different from a brick and mortar sales competition. Know your target: The target customers need to be identified as the brand decides to move into new territory in the online segment. What future holds? The future looks bright as brick-and-mortar stores can co-exist with online marketplaces. The brands on the shelf of the store now making a smooth transition to digital shelf with more control over product performance. The growing digital retail marketplaces with new technology like augmented reality are enhancing the shopping experience like never before. Brands also moving towards competitive intelligence to stay ahead of market trends with insights and analysis vs competitors across geographies and platforms. The sales channels on the online shopping spectrum are also evolving with new avenues with on-the-go shopping potential – Live commerce and Social commerce are extending the reach of brands beyond the bounds of platforms. But still, eCommerce marketplaces remain the key for a brand to boost sales. The rise of Digital Native Brands (DNB) has also opened door the to an innovative set of products and more options for customers along with Brands which has both online & offline presence. The race to reach the top shelf is heating up but the future looks exciting for more Brands across industries and sectors on the eCommerce landscape. Conclusion To sum it up – the World is changing and brands need to change with it. Marketing strategies and sales channels are expanding and online sales is the bandwagon they need to hop on. Expanding digital footprints in the eCommerce arena is the right move. But brands need to back the decision with data-driven decisions, getting that top spot on e-commerce marketplaces is not that easy. Gear up with digital commerce intelligence, and make your marketing strategies based on insights & analytics while keeping a sharp eye on market trends and competitors’ activities. Spread your winds in eCom Sky, fly high, and make your journey more worth it. Click here to connect with us and learn more about what your brand needs to expand its digital footprint in the global digital commerce ecosystem.

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Fraud Exposed Series: Unmasking Device Spoofing and Its Impact on Advertisers!

Leave a Comment / Blog, Mobile Ad Fraud / Expert Opinion

Your ad campaign data is probably skewed. The platforms you think are driving results may be delivering numbers, but there’s a chance they may be only delivering numbers. The reason? Ad fraud. Ad fraud takes many forms, and device spoofing is one of the most common ones. Spoofing allows fraudsters to hide behind a veil and carry out fraudulent activities. Unfortunately, because of the lack of awareness and ability to detect device spoofing, advertisers lose millions of dollars to ad fraud. This article will solve both of those problems. In the upcoming sections, you will learn what device spoofing is, how it is carried out, how it impacts advertisers, and how you can protect your business from mobile ad fraud that uses device spoofing. Let’s jump right in and start with the basics. What is Device Spoofing? The word “spoof” literally means “hoax” or “trick”. Device spoofing is the act of tricking advertisers by presenting a device as a different device. Let’s understand this with a simple example. If you are running an ad for app downloads, you are only interested in traffic coming from mobile devices. With device spoofing, fraudsters can present a server in their data center as a mobile device visiting the publisher’s website and clicking on your ad. Fraudsters employ a variety of technical processes to achieve this. One such method is known as User Agent (UA) spoofing. The User-Agent string of every device carries many data points that are used to identify the device. These include the device make and model, processor information, location information (based on IP address), and information about the operating system running on the device. UA spoofing allows fraudsters to falsify this information. Most advertisers also use a technique called device fingerprinting to identify the devices clicking on their ad and subsequently accessing their website or landing page. This includes going beyond the UA string and looking at additional information to identify devices. This may include GPS information, caller ID, and other technical device information like unique Android/Apple ID, graphic card information, etc. However, using techniques similar to UA spoofing, fraudsters can fake almost every piece of information associated with a device. Surprisingly, UA spoofing is a useful tool in software development circles. Developers employ it to test their applications on different devices without actually having to access them on other devices. Unfortunately, this means that UA spoofing is a relatively easy undertaking, especially with the right developer tools. Even fraudsters with limited resources can use this technique to commit mobile ad fraud. What’s more alarming is that this exact method can be utilized to get around a large variety of online security protocols. This means that the use of device spoofing can be used to conduct a variety of fraudulent activities including, but not limited to: Advertising click fraud Malware injection Spam attacks Account hijack Card fraud Online advertisers are one of the biggest targets of device spoofing-led fraudulent activities. How does device spoofing impact advertisers? As mentioned earlier, committing ad fraud using device spoofing is relatively easy. There is device spoofing software available on the dark web. One can obtain such software for as little as $130. Combining the abilities of this software with a VPN network, fraudsters can easily commit thousands of dollars worth of fraud in a matter of a few hours. This has made committing ad fraud so easy that many fraudsters use this method as simply a way to make some extra cash. However, this can mean a collective loss of billions of dollars in ad spending for advertisers. Alarmingly, this loss isn’t the only negative impact that advertisers experience because of device spoofing and fraud. Besides the obvious loss, device spoofing also messes with the data advertisers use to make campaign-related decisions. For instance, running an app promotion campaign and seeing a lot of traffic from iPhones may motivate you to push a larger percentage of your budget on App Store advertising. However, if a certain percentage of this traffic is fake, then this decision will not deliver the results you may be anticipating. This, in turn, can lead to more wastage of ad budgets. In other words, device spoofing results in the loss of advertising budgets and leads advertisers to misjudged conclusions that subsequently lead to bad decisions. Why is it essential to take action against device spoofing? Device spoofing, and ad fraud, in general, must be stopped to ensure advertisers continue to place their trust in digital advertising. This is necessary to ensure authentic publishers can thrive online. Online advertising presents a lucrative opportunity for advertisers of all sizes. It’s a technology that supports small and local businesses and enables large businesses to expand quickly. It levels the playing field and enables small advertisers to compete with the giants of their industry. If ad fraud isn’t controlled in time and advertisers lose their trust in online advertising, the future of digital advertising will indeed be bleak. Device spoofing is a useful technique that is being misused to conduct fraud. Since it is relatively easy, it presents a lucrative opportunity for those with questionable ethics and a will to make quick money. We’ve already discussed how device spoofing results in a dual loss for advertisers. However, another party this practice hurts is authentic publishers. Because some publishers with malicious intent, it becomes difficult for advertisers to trust any publisher or advertising network. Practices like device spoofing pose a big threat to the overall reputation of the digital advertising industry. How to protect your app from device spoofing? Putting a stop to device spoofing is necessary for advertisers. Unfortunately, there aren’t many manual ways to track instances of device spoofing and avoid fraud. Advertisers will need to depend on an ad fraud detection. Using such a tool to track and block ad fraud isn’t just more convenient. It ensures that your ads and your app are completely off-limits for fraudulent traffic. For you, this means better use of your ad budget and access to more accurate

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Beverage Brand Boosts eCommerce Presence with mScanIt

Case Study, E-Commerce / Expert Opinion

mScanIt digital commerce intelligence solution, mScanIt, proved to be a game-changer for the multinational brand, addressing the challenges of optimizing product pages across diverse platforms. As digital landscapes continue to evolve, leveraging intelligent solutions becomes imperative for brands striving for a perfect page analysis and enhanced online presence. The success story of this brand highlights the transformative impact of mScanIt in achieving digital excellence. Download Submit

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