In its 2022 Global Insights Report, digital media measurement platform DoubleVerify (DV) has revealed that the number of fraud schemes uncovered by its technology spiked by over 70% YoY from 2020 to 2021. Interestingly, this year, an unprecedented number of schemes targeted CTV and video – the most complex and sophisticated of which included OctoBot, SneakyTerra, ViperBot and SmokeScreen.
DV estimates these schemes alone attempted to steal more than $6-8 million each month from advertisers – and are costing publishers, too. The company estimates show that these CTV schemes alone may have siphoned $140 million from publishers in 2021.
“The good news is that verification is working,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO, DoubleVerify. “DV’s first-ever Global Insights Report, published in 2017, reported display viewable rates at 52% and video viewable rates at 59%. Now, they are near or above 70%. Additionally we saw brand safety violations decrease for the second year in a row, while the number of fraud schemes we were able to protect our clients from increased. Based on our stats, it is clear that verification technology is making the internet stronger, safer and more secure.
In other findings, the post-bid brand suitability violation rate continues to fall, and is now 9% lower than last year for an overall rate of 7.1% – meaning advertisers see brand suitability violation rates decrease as their verification strategy matures. DV also saw momentum for a brand safety and suitability floor. 93% of the advertisers DV analyzed leverage at least one brand safety floor category for avoidance, blocking and or monitoring, and 61% use all floor categories.
The report also revealed that video ads have seen impressive growth n Attention, driven by CTV, over the past year. Video Completion typically refers to the number of times a video plays to the end, often broken up into quartile metrics to indicate levels of video performance and attention (e.g. 25% Complete, 50% Complete, 75% Complete, 100% Complete). DV has seen moderate, steady improvement in quartile-level completion rates for quartiles 1, 2, and 3 over the last three years. However, Video Completion Rate (VCR) has drastically improved from 62% in 2019, to 67% in 2020, to 71% in 2021. This increase is likely due to increased measurement on CTV, where VCR climbed 3% year-over-year and is now at 95.6%.
For EMEA and the UK, specifically, key findings include:
- Fraud rate decreased 22% year-over-year, and although EMEA is behind APAC and LATAM, it is below the global average. In the UK, fraud is positively down by 11%.
- Brand suitability violation rates declined year-over-year, but EMEA is far behind North America and APAC. This may be because EMEA advertisers serve on more mobile web and longtail inventory than do advertisers in other regions. In the UK, brand suitability violation rates have risen by 5%
- EMEA saw very little change in viewability YoY. Although its display viewable rate is below 70% and could improve, this kind of levelling off suggests advertisers in the region are beginning to focus on KPIs beyond viewability.
“This year’s report finds that media quality is table stakes,” added Zagorski. “No longer is it acceptable to assume that a portion of media dollars will be wasted on fraud, or potentially exposed to brand suitability concerns. Advertisers have demanded quality, understanding that it is a prerequisite to achieving performance.”
For the full 2022 Global Insights Report, click here.
