It is no surprise that ad fraud is still a big concern going into 2016, but a new study by the Association of National Advertisers reports that they expect the total cost this year to be around $7.2 billion. Last year it was $6.3 billion. This is quite a significant number that just continues to go up.
Those who engage in ad fraud seem to know all too well that more and more companies are moving a larger portion of their overall ad budgets into digital advertising, which is giving them a lot of opportunity to get their piece of it. Of course, more and more is being done to try to stop these fraudulent advertisers, but the reality is the more people fight against them the more innovative they are becoming.
Bob Liodice, the ANA President, said that the findings, “Underscore the need for the entire marketing ecosystem to manage their media investments with far greater discipline and control against a backdrop of increasingly sophisticated fraudsters.”
He went on to comment saying, “When you look at the entire technology equation, you have a number of things going on that can be paralyzing to a marketer. Who do we trust?”
This is a big concern since in addition to the ad fraud that is running rampant, marketers also have to combat issues like ad visibility, ad blocking and more. It can be overwhelming at times, which is why marketers and brands are often so vulnerable to the tactics of ad fraudsters.
In addition, digital marketing continues to have some of the highest ROI in the marketing industry, which means even with the fraud it is a smart move for marketers to keep pushing more money into this area.
While there are many individuals and organizations that are working on fighting ad fraud, there is no single ‘silver bullet’ that can solve it for everyone. Marketers need to be smart in choosing when and where they are investing in digital marketing, and they must take the time to ensure they are getting what they pay for. Using the right tools will only get them so far (though that is certainly an important component!).
As the year continues on it will be interesting to watch to see whether the ad fraud predicted actually occurs or if it will even be worse than expected.
