Ad fraud manifests in many different shapes and forms – from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to fake social media profiles and bots, among others.
Ad fraud is a topic that is less discussed, especially in this region. It is a major threat faced by the digital advertising landscape; we are talking about a multi-billion-dollar industry thriving on deceptive tactics that dupe marketers and agencies every year. According to Statista, ad fraud consumed more than US$80B in ad spend in 2022 and US$84B in 2023 – if the cost of global digital ad fraud were human, it would be the ninth richest person in the world.
So, what is ad fraud? Ad fraud refers to the intentional deception or manipulation of online advertising metrics, such as clicks, impressions, or conversions, to generate false revenue or traffic. Online scammers use various techniques to achieve this, including pixel stuffing (hiding pixels within ads invisible to viewers) and ad stacking (overlaying multiple ads, obscuring each other). Fake social media profiles and click-generating bots further muddy the waters, making it nearly impossible to distinguish genuine user engagement from a carefully constructed digital mirage.
Ad fraud is hard to detect because it may not have an immediate, obvious financial impact. You might think your ad campaign is successful and continue to spend more money on it. In reality, you’re getting fake leads and not reaching potential customers.
Studies suggest a substantial portion of ad spend goes directly into the pockets of fraudsters, leaving advertisers with little to show for their investment. Beyond the financial losses, ad fraud erodes consumer trust. Low-quality online placements inundated with intrusive, irrelevant video ads create rampant annoyance. This negatively impacts brand perception and drives consumers to adopt ad-blocking software, a significant roadblock for campaign reach.
The outlook isn’t all doom and gloom, though. There are ways to protect your budget, starting with a medium that incorporates a one-to-many approach such as cinema advertising. Here is why:
When you book a cinema campaign at the Mall of the Emirates or The Dubai Mall, you know when and where it will appear and that you’ll have an audience – no ad blockers, fast-forwarding, bots, or fake clicks or traffic. You can either buy by screen, by admission, or choose a movie with which your campaign will be played. These options ultimately translate to more transparency, accountability, and verification while decreasing your risk of fraud.
If this isn’t enough, cinema advertising in the region now provides a transparent reporting system like Motivate Val Morgan’s CinePlan and CineMeasure, where advertisers can generate weekly reports to track admissions, demographics, and more.
Transparency issues and ad fraud with digital advertising often mean that video ads mostly appear in cluttered, low-quality digital environments. However, in cinema, your ad takes center stage on the Big Screen, delivering the brand’s message to a real and captive audience, eliminating the risk of fraudulent clicks or impressions.
According to a study by the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), more than 75% of customers agree that low-quality advertising environments lead to high consumer annoyance. Many types of subpar video placements contribute to this, including ads that seemingly slow-down loading times and multiple video ads playing simultaneously on the same page. Meanwhile, another study by Nielsen shows that consumers consistently engage with high-quality, long-form content on premium video platforms. There is no better match for that than cinema!
According to the NCM & Lumen ‘Cinema in the Media Mix’ study from March 2023, ad engagement with high-quality premium video content generates longer ‘eyes on’ viewing times than other digital and social channels. This less disruptive ad experience enhances memorability, recall and drives purchase intent. Here again, Cinema ranks number one, with close to 80% proven active attention for a 15-second ad.
The latest research from Fiftyfive5, part of Accenture Song, reveals that a single cinema ad delivers the same brand fame as ten digital spots. Cinema isn’t just about delivering a message; it’s about forging lasting connections. The premium nature of the cinema experience elevates the perception of brands advertised. Being associated with high-quality, long-form content positions the advertiser as a premium entity, fostering trust and brand loyalty among viewers.
Cinema offers a unique opportunity to reach a broad range of demographics. With millions of films catering to diverse interests, advertisers can tailor their message to specific target audience demographic groups. This level of audience segmentation surpasses the limitations of online platforms, allowing for more targeted and effective advertising campaigns.
Cinema advertising isn’t confined to static images or intrusive banners. It’s about weaving a narrative within the film’s context. Brands don’t need to rush to include all of their messages in the first four or five seconds – with the logo. Cinema enables emotional storytelling, allowing brands to connect with viewers on a deeper level, leaving a lasting impression that transcends mere product awareness.
Unlike fleeting online interactions, cinema ads create a lasting impact. The large screen experience translates to a higher level of memorability. Combined with the audience’s high attention span, cinema advertising allows brands to build lasting brand awareness and loyalty.
In conclusion, there’s no denying that ad budgets are tight across the board for the foreseeable future, which means that making smart choices to maximize your spend value is more important than ever. With its brand-safe environment, captive audience, and ability to build lasting brand fame, cinema remains an indispensable component of a successful advertising strategy. While digital innovation continues to reshape the advertising landscape, cinema’s ability to connect with audiences on a deeper level ensures its continued relevance in the fight against ad fraud and the pursuit of brand success.
Sources: Statista, The Drum, Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), NCM & Lumen, Nielsen, Ad Week, Campaign Asia
Screenvision Media, in collaboration with Amplified Intelligence and MAGNA Global, has released a media study** providing compelling insights into the effectiveness of cinema advertising and its positive outcomes.
Jennifer Friedlander, Screenvision’s Senior Vice President of Insights and Measurement, explained the study’s dual objectives to Digital Cinema Report: “One was to capture and measure active attention to ads and content in the cinema environment. And two, we wanted to make sure that we had that cinema data available both for ourselves to share with our advertisers and for comparison to other media and also for agencies that are starting to actually plan and optimize against attention data.”
She added, “There is increasingly more evidence that attention drives outcomes across the industry. We have seen this in our own research with proven results on both short-term outcomes such as sales lift to more long-term outcomes such as brand choice and preference.”
Here are the ten findings of the study:
To conclude on key takeaways, cinema advertising offers brands the opportunity to achieve three times higher attention by employing the same TV creative in the cinema. Advertising in cinema drives memory: a single impression in cinema delivers brand and message recall, emphasizing the impact of each impression. It also provides brands with creative freedom in long-form storytelling, eliminating the need to follow specific branding rules required in other mediums such as digital.
Reading this together with the recent study by Fiftyfive5 on Brand Fame, where one cinema ad delivers ten times the brand fame over digital and six times over TV, makes it crystal clear that cinema is a powerhouse and must be included in every video mix.
**Screenvision and Amplified Intelligence recruited 171 moviegoers (aged 18+) with their consent to be filmed entirely during a movie of their choice, without revealing the study’s purpose. This allowed participants to engage in their normal cinema-going activities with complete flexibility, such as enjoying snacks, leaving the theater, or using the bathroom. Eleven ads from various brand verticals, including automotive, entertainment, shipping, and telecom, were shown during the pre-show.
Sources:
Screen Vision, MAGNA global, SAWA, Digital Cinema Report
According to a report by WARC Media, global advertising spend is poised for significant growth in 2024, potentially doubling compared to previous years and exceeding $1 trillion for the first time. This surge is largely attributed to the widespread adoption of AI in advertising strategies, with major players like Amazon and Google heavily investing in AI-based advertising solutions to drive substantial revenue growth in the future.
Paul Stringer, an expert at WARC, highlights that while AI has proven beneficial for advertising, its rapid expansion raises important questions about the relationship between humans and machines, the influence of tech platforms, and the future landscape of news and entertainment on the internet. Without proper oversight, there is a risk of widespread AI-generated misinformation, which could make brands increasingly wary of advertising due to concerns about brand safety and ad fraud.
Meanwhile, a study conducted by YouGov and reported by the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) revealed that 86% of respondents feel overwhelmed by excessive ads on webpages, leading them to ignore advertisements. Additionally, 72% stated that annoying or intrusive ad experiences have negatively impacted their perception of a brand, while 66% indicated that such experiences make them less likely to purchase from the brand in the future, emphasizing the importance of delivering non-intrusive advertising content.
In response to these challenges, WARC addressed the issue in their latest study on the media signaling strength of various advertising mediums, which assesses the perceived cost and scale of an advertising channel in enhancing brand attributes. The study shows that Linear TV currently leads in media signaling strength at 46%, closely followed by cinema at 41% in all age group where as cinema leads in signaling strength for the age group 16-34 with 43%. These mediums remain uniquely positioned to deliver high-impact advertising to a mass audience, crucially in a brand-safe environment, and are likely to positively influence consumers’ perceptions of a brand.
While TV currently leads in signaling strength by 5%, it’s noteworthy that with the increasing adoption of attention measurement by brands and agencies to evaluate creative and media quality, cinema is projected to surpass TV in media signaling strength soon. Consumers are increasingly engaging with high-quality, long-form content on premium video platforms, where cinema advertising proves particularly effective in capturing viewer attention for extended periods.
This effectiveness is supported by findings from NCM and Lumen research, indicating that cinema advertising generates longer ‘eyes-on’ viewing compared to other digital and social channels. A recent study by Val Morgan Australia and Amplified Intelligence further reinforces this, stating that cinema delivers a minimum of 49 days of memory encoding from just 10 seconds of an ad, reaching an audience where half are under 40.
In conclusion, brands and agencies are realizing, backed by proper research, that running their ads on brand-safe premium platforms maintains their brand perception as intended, capturing the right audience with minimal wastage.
Sources: WARC, Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), Mi3, YouGov
In the realm of marketing terminology, one encounters familiar buzzwords such as Gen-Z, resonating strongly within industry discussions and strategies. Yet, amid this prevalent vocabulary, a lesser-known term emerges: Elusives. Uncommonly uttered in marketing circles, the concept of Elusives remains enigmatic, lacking the widespread recognition attributed to its Gen-Z counterpart.
While Gen-Z garners attention for its purchasing prowess, age dynamics, and pervasive influence, a pertinent question emerges: Are Elusives synonymous with Gen-Z? Delving into this intriguing query unveils an exploration of a demographic perhaps just as vital but hidden in mystery within the marketing landscape.
So, who are Elusives? According to the Video Advertising Bureau, Elusives are lucrative, young, diverse, and cordless audiences who are more prevalent but elusive when it comes to advertising. They tend to avoid advertisements at all costs, opting to skip ads or passively engage with unskippable advertising content. They pose a challenge for marketers to reach compared to other audiences. However, there is a platform that consistently captures these Elusives – The Cinema.
The VAB report highlights that 65% of all moviegoers belong to the adults 18-34 multicultural audience who perceive cinema as a crucial part of their social lives. They prefer watching a diverse range of genres at the cinema within its initial release week.
Furthermore, the report indicates that Elusives, from the moment they step into the cinema, become receptive to in-theater advertising. Remarkably, 89% of adults 18-34 take their seats before the start of trailers, viewing cinema as a pivotal social event. They often combine other activities, such as dining out or shopping, following the movie.
This scenario cements cinema as the ‘go to’ social activity for youngsters and offers marketers immediate opportunities to engage with these socially active and lucrative consumers through cinema advertising. It becomes an advantageous channel for immediate audience reach, such as launching new products, consumer promotions, or seasonal campaigns. Marketers stand to benefit from cinema’s proven ability to rapidly amplify the scale and reach of a campaign, all within a highly attentive environment.
Source: VAB
