As it happens, brand risk fell in the second half of last year, according to Integral Ad Science. Viewability was up but fraud results were mixed: ad fraud rates rose for campaigns that were not optimized to prevent fraud and were roughly stable for campaigns that were.
Many advertisers are avoiding coronavirus-related stories. But 62% of ads flagged by keyword-based ad blocking are actually brand safe, according to adtech vendor GumGum. This matters because publishers earn less revenue and advertisers miss good media buys.
You were even less interested in data privacy vendor Privatar’s $80 million Series C. But I’ll still mention this $15 million raise by Okera, which is also helps companies to discover and manage access to sensitive data. Some day you’ll thank me.
It’s tough to get brand safety right, but the industry keeps trying. IPG Mediabrands announced a new set of tools to find and block inappropriate ad placements, while IAS expanded its suitability measurements to include standards from the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM). Meanwhile, DoubleVerify admitted a mistake made brand safety on X/Twitter look worse than it really was in October 2023 and March 2024.