According to data from the adtech company, ad fraud decreased across all key platforms in Q2, when compared to Q1

Kubient , the cloud advertising marketplace that enables advertisers and publishers to reach, monetize and connect their audiences efficiently and effectively, released figures on the state of ad fraud as identified by the company’s proprietary ad fraud detection tool, Kubient Artificial Intelligence (KAI). KAI is a pre-bid ad-fraud prevention tool that helps stop fraud before it happens through pattern recognition and device scoring. The algorithm is trained to analyze the behavior, consistency and quality to determine audience credibility – accurately flagging fraud within a 300 millisecond time frame of a programmatic advertising auction.

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The figures from Q1 and Q2 2021 can be found in the accompanying chart:

Q1+Q2 Figures

• Ad fraud rates improve across all major platforms from Q1 to Q2: Mobile, Desktop, and CTV have all seen 3% less ad fraud quarter over quarter in the first half of 2021. Looking at the data, we can infer that the leaders in the ecosystem are prioritizing fraud detection industry wide. However, we still see fraud rates in the double digits, which shows this is a significant issue across the landscape and impacting campaign performances.
• CTV Inventory Premium Is a Myth: CTV, with its high price point is prime for fraud, has fraudsters look to cash in on the industry’s race to capitalize on the highly engaged audiences. However, this space continues to experience significantly higher fraud rates at close to 30% of bid requests. The data indicates that it’s critical for marketers to apply pre-bid fraud protection on these potentially high impact campaigns.
• The Need for Pre-Bid Technologies for CTV Providers: While CTV is a major aspect of most campaigns, suppliers need to do a better job ensuring their platforms are free of fraud. As we can infer from the data, we’re catching a great deal of fraud occurring in these preconceived ‘premium’ environments, reinforcing the need for marketers to prioritize ad fraud detection, even when they think they are purchasing premium inventory.

“With brand marketing budgets being reviewed with a fine tooth comb, no CMO or brand marketing lead wants a dollar of their spend wasted on fraudulent traffic,” said Leon Zemel, Chief Product Officer at Kubient. “Industry leaders have come a long way when it comes to investing in combating ad fraud, but as the data shows, there are still bad actors in the space that are wasting marketing budgets daily. For the rest of 2021, marketers should hold their sell side partners and resellers accountable, ensuring that all traffic they purchase are legitimate platforms, and not allocating funds to fraudulent traffic, because this is preventable.”

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