The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), a global initiative to fight ad fraud, has issued the first analysis of the effectiveness of its European efforts.
Conducted by The 614 Group, the analysis found the use of TAG Certified distribution channels for digital advertising reduced the level of fraud by more than 94 percent from the industry average.
The study compared invalid traffic (IVT) rates in TAG Certified Channels against industry norms by measuring around four billion ad impressions from January-August 2018 from three major agency holding companies across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and The Netherlands.
The results found a “dramatic reduction” in fraud rates across European markets from an industry average of 8.99 percent to just 0.53 percent when using TAG Certified Channels.
“Ad fraud is a global problem, and addressing it will require our industry to work together across national and regional borders,” said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. [advert position=”left”]
“Happily, this study demonstrates that the industry has developed an effective and scalable solution, and Europe is leading the way.
“By continuing to adopt TAG’s rigorous anti-fraud standards, we can stop criminals who profit from ad fraud and ensure a safe and clean supply chain across the world.”
Internationally, this year has seen the development of the partnership between the UK’s Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS) and TAG. The move will align many of the organisations’ initiatives and create a “consistent” global approach.
JICWEBS anti-fraud programmes will merge into TAG’s Certified Against Fraud programme from January this year with independent audits mandatory for trading in the UK market.
