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Use benchmarks to measure up your media quality

Despite Brexit-induced market concerns, brand safety issues and a lack of trust and transparency, the UK’s digital media market currently favours optimism. As a consequence of increased budget flowing into digital, brands are demanding improved quality and greater impact across their entire media plan, writes Victoria Chappell, Senior Marketing Manager, EMEA, at Integral Ad Science.

The Integral Ad Science H2 2018 UK Media Quality Report (MQR), which will be discussed in ISBA's next webinar Transparency in digital - your media quality benchmarks on May 7, provides the latest benchmarks for viewability, time-in-view, brand safety, and ad fraud across digital environments and channels in the UK. Based on the analysis of hundreds of billions of UK impressions from campaigns running between July 1 and December 31 2018, this report provides brands, advertisers and publishers with a clear overview and benchmark for the quality of digital media in the UK market.

Key takeaways:

  1. Programmatic makes powerful advances - Mobile web impressions sourced via programmatic channels increased 16.6% year-on-year, and for the first time, programmatic viewability rates for desktop and mobile web display surpassed those of direct buys. Brand risk across mobile web display inventory improved 20.1% between H1 and H2 2018 - interestingly, the most progress was seen via programmatic inventory.
     
  2. Video improves time-in-view - Time-in-view refers to the average duration that a viewable impression remained in-view on the device screen. In H2 2018 brands were found to have between 7.7 seconds and 14.7 seconds to engage a UK consumer. Desktop video campaigns proved most engaging, whilst video impressions sourced via programmatic channels drove the longest time-in-view. A blend of video and programmatic is likely to increase the chance of capturing UK consumers’ attention.
     
  3. ...but risk in video increases - Brand risk in the UK reduced by 28.9% over the second half of 2018 for desktop display - a two year low of 3.2%, down from 4.5% in H1. However, video impressions experienced a slight rise, up 12.5%, which means 1 in every 10 UK video impressions was flagged for appearing next to content that could pose a risk to a brand’s image or reputation.
     
  4. Ad fraud impacts 1% of desktop display buys - From H1 to H2 2018, the volume of ad fraud detected in UK advertising increased across desktop and mobile web display by 40.3%. Whilst mostly seen within advertising sourced via programmatic channels, brands must remember this increase is common during the second half of the year, with larger ad budgets and fraudsters attracted to the lucrative holiday shopping period.

Overall, data for H2 2018 clearly shows a positive story for programmatic, a healthy sign for automated media. Likely due to an increase in publishers utilising programmatic to sell valuable inventory, via private marketplaces, brands should consider the efficacy and efficiency of a programmatic approach and not only think of traditional negative headlines. As digital consumption leans heavily towards digital content, brands must also prioritise video, to increase engagement from UK consumers, being conscious of the increased chances of fraud these channels brings.