The world's largest advertiser, Procter & Gamble (P&G), has challenged its agencies to become more vigilant in addressing issues like transparency and fraud in its pursuit of a better, more efficient digital advertising ecosystem. P&G's Chief Marketing Officer, Marc Pritchard, recently spoke at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) Annual Leadership Meeting and implored the entire industry to adopt the Media Ratings Council (MRC) viewability standard, leverage third party tools for measurement and transparency, and work with the Trustworthy Accountability Group to help eliminate fraud.
As both a media company and advertising agency for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S., Cox Media Group (CMG) wholeheartedly supports the direction P&G and others are pushing the digital marketing industry in. Fraudulent practices have been a thorn in our side for several years. The massive growth of online content, spread of devices, and advancements in technology have made our industry ripe for a rise in nefarious practices like ad stacking, arbitrage, and bots that mimic human browsing behavior.Our clients trust us to manage their marketing budgets wisely and avoid the pitfalls that provide little to no return on investment. That's a lot of responsibility, and we take it very seriously. For our own digital properties, we're vigilant in protecting our ad space from fraud and ensuring a brand-safe, consumer friendly environment for advertisers to reach their target audience. Like P&G, we adhere to the MRC's standard for viewability measurement and have implemented multiple fraud protection platforms to quickly identify and make improvements, when necessary.
These practices don't stop with our own digital properties. Our clients rely on us to advertise their message on other publishers' sites and apps as well, and it's imperative that we utilize best practices and industry-leading tools to provide the same level of quality they see on our own sites.
The growth of digital media devices that allow users to consume content anytime, anywhere, and in multiple formats provides advertisers the opportunity to deliver their message to the people most likely to engage with their brands. At CMG, we believe strongly in the power of all advertising mediums and are dedicated to bringing the same trusted, reliable performance that's been at the core of our traditional media to the digital space.
Pritchard concluded his announcement by saying, "P&G is taking action because it's good for consumers, good for our business, and responsible for the industry."
We couldn't agree more.
