Ad viewability in Australia is not moving the way the market would hope, according to the Q2 2015 Media Quality Report from Integral Ad Science.
The report, which is based on the analysis of hundreds of billions of impressions from April to June 2015, found that 7.4% of Australian advertising impressions were found to be fraudulent while display viewability has declined from earlier in the year.
Integral found that while in other markets such as the UK the business saw viewability rates improving, Australia's display viewability has dropped from 44.4% last quarter to 40.8% this quarter.
Managing director Australia and New Zealand for Integral Ad Science, James Diamond, said: “The drop in viewability may be explained by more dollars shifting into exchanges where we typically see lower levels of viewability. However, while this is only the second media quality report for the Australian market it should serve as a wakeup call for the Australian market.
“While fraud has fallen from 8.7% to 7.4%, it remains unacceptably high and as an industry we must up our efforts to reduce fraud. It is wasting marketing budgets, incentivising the creation of malware and taking money away from real publishers that are investing in creating great content."
It's not all bad news though, Integral Ad Science it tipping that the Australian advertising industry will see an improvement in these numbers over the next 12-18 months.
“In fact, we have noticed that now many major advertisers have begun measuring viewability and factoring this as well as media quality in general into their KPIs,” Diamond said.
“Advertisers are starting to realise how important it is to buy good quality media and so demand for viewable, fraud-free and brand safe media is rising. Publishers will start to respond to that soon. You can expect to see CPMs go up as media quality improves.”
Additionally, where brands want to ensure their ads appear alongside appropriate content, the Q2 2015 report highlights that the risk of inappropriate placement within networks and exchange environments as well as publishers direct saw 13.6% of advertising impressions affected.
In Australia, True Advertising Quality (TRAQ) for display media has decreased since Q1 2015 for networks, exchanges and publishers direct from 601 to 586, driven primarily by a decrease in viewability.
“It is heartening to see the percentage of risky content in the Australian market reduced, which may reflect a realisation by publishers in Australia that brands are shying away from violent, alcohol, drug and adult related content and directing their marketing dollars to safer content,” Diamond added.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.