Mobile In-App Advertising and Trust: What You Need to Know [VIDEO]

Too often, in-app advertising and trust are not associated terms. Why is both business and consumer trust in the digital advertising industry so low?

To learn more about what InMobi is doing to improve and guarantee trust and transparency throughout the mobile in-app advertising and marketing ecosystem, download our white paper on 5 Ways InMobi Ensures Trust and Transparency today.

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Here are some of the biggest issues plaguing this form of advertising today:

• Fraud. According to mobile measurement company Adjust, mobile ad fraud close to doubled beginning the beginning of 2017 and the first few months of 2018. For some organizations, four out of every five dollars spent on mobile advertising is consumed by fraud. As money increasingly flows into mobile and in-app advertising, fraudsters are unfortunately following right along.
• Lack of Transparency. From the perspective of end users (a.k.a. regular folks like you and me), 2018 abounded with stories that highlighted the sometimes frightening ways brands use - and misuse - personal data. And from the perspective of brands and app publishers, it can be increasingly difficult to keep tabs on the entire value chain, with so many players in between point A and point B now. These factors have made transparency one of the biggest trends in mobile marketing today, and have helped give rise to new transparency-focused initiatives such as app-ads.txt.
• Brand Safety. Close to 75 percent of all marketers in the U.S. have dealt with at least one brand safety concern in the past, and this figure is likely to climb even higher in the future. As the purchase and placement of ads becomes more automated, brands may find themselves in hot water if their ads inadvertently appear next to objectionable or inappropriate content - even within legitimate, reputable apps with large audiences like news apps. Brands, agencies and other advertising partners are keen to resolve brand safety concerns once and for all. While there has been a lot of progress in this arena, issues around brand safety still unfortunately persist today.
• Walled Gardens. According to eMarketer, in 2018, close to 58 percent of all digital ad spending in the U.S. went towards two channels: Facebook and Google. For mobile marketers, one of the biggest issues presented by the duopoly is the lack of data portability and oversight. The publishers present campaign data to advertisers, who have to take them at their word since they’re no way to independently verify the results of efforts run within walled garden environments.
• Lack of Trusted Metrics. Different mobile marketers measure success differently, which makes it difficult to determine who - and whose metrics - to trust. This is especially prevalent in mobile video advertising, as many brands still use outdated metrics that don’t capture the full picture of how their campaigns are performing. This is why mobile marketers are keen to embrace multi-touch and cross-device attribution.

“The biggest issue in mobile marketing today is trust. As more and more companies enter the fray, with varying levels of technology and frankly, legitimacy, it becomes increasingly difficult for buyers to ascertain what is real and what isn’t,” says Mike Brooks, Senior Vice President of Revenue at WeatherBug. “That said, as more and more advanced types of fraud are being uncovered and taught to even the most basic buyers, the advertisers in the mobile space are going to optimize their spends toward partners they can trust to not perpetrate these schemes. I think this is finally the year where advertisers start talking with their money, and moving it to people they trust and business models they understand.”

So what can brands, app publishers and their mobile advertising partners do to improve trust in in-app advertising? What should they look for in a trustworthy mobile advertising partner? Check out this video to learn more:

Full Video Transcript

It’s a transformative period in digital advertising and marketing. New opportunities have emerged, but so have new challenges:

• Ad fraud
• Walled gardens
• Lack of supply chain transparency
• Lack of trusted metrics

What can be done to restore trust?

Number one, transparency. When publishers know precisely what ads and ad experiences are running in their apps, and when advertisers know exactly where their placements are shown and who is seeing them, everyone wins. A commitment to transparency significantly reduces brand safety concerns too.

Number two, quality. Only work with the highest quality advertisers and publishers. Period. Clamp down on fraud through many innovative tactics and strategies, including through artificial intelligence.

Number three, measurement. Ensure all partners fully use industry-leading stats and insights. All metrics should be verified and reviewed by independent third parties, too.

By prioritizing transparency, quality and measurement, you can be sure your in-app advertising efforts are trustworthy and effective.

Learn More About Mobile Advertising and Trust

Interested in learning more about this topic? Head to inmobi.com/trust to learn more about what it takes to improve matters and guarantee success for everyone.

What do you think the mobile advertising industry needs to do to improve trust? Let us know on social media! We’d love to hear from you on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About the Author

Matthew Kaplan has over a decade of digital marketing experience, working to support the content goals of the world’s biggest B2B and B2C brands. He is a passionate app user and evangelist, working to support diverse marketing campaigns across devices.

Additional posts by Matthew:

• 2019 Trends: Greater Accountability and Digital Advertising Transparency
• The 3 Key Tenets of Honest Advertising
• Can Ad Fraud Be Destroyed Once and For All?
• What CMOs Should Look For in a Trustworthy Programmatic Partner
• The Digital Advertising Industry Makes Gains in Resolving Brand Safety Concerns
• How to Solve Common Problems with Programmatic Advertising
• Guaranteeing Viewability, Reducing Fraud with DoubleVerify and InMobi
• TAG You’re It: InMobi Officially Certified Against Fraud