A Simple Guide to The Advertisers Bill of Rights

Media reports have been shining a light on questionable video ad practices where some advertisers have been running ads that could not be viewed or had other quality issues. With that thought in mind – and, in light of the upcoming Independence Day holiday in the United States – we thought that we would take a shot at penning an Advertiser’s Bill of Rights to address those intolerable acts.

In the United States, basic rights are outlined by the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the Constitution). What would James Madison and lawmakers of the 1700s say if they were writing amendments that guarantee freedoms and rights to advertisers? How can brands become more independent and free from bad practices and actors?

Ad viewability is at the core of the problem. Advertisers are being charged for false impressions that weren’t actually “seen” by consumers. This week, the Media Ratings Council (MRC) helped address the problem by officially blessing the sales of digital video ad impressions based on viewability. It’s an important step forward in a controversial area, but it’s only the first step. Much work still needs to be done to make sure that advertisers get fair value and return on their video advertising.

When so many people are challenging exactly what “viewable” means, it’s now time to define the rights that advertisers should protect advertisers when executing a digital video ad campaign 

Please read on; we hope you enjoy this patriotic, tongue-in-cheek article – and no animals (or ad networks) were hurt in the process!

Congress of the Video Advertising Ecosystem begun and held at the City of New York, on Thursday the third of July, two thousand and fourteen.

THE ad industry expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further considerations should be added to the viewability debate.

RESOLVED by smart people everywhere, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Industry.
ARTICLES proposed by Congress, and ratified by several marketers, publishers, and agencies.

 
1.    Freedom to interact with consumers the way advertisers want – on the right platform at the right time.

Mobile devices are becoming the primary screen for many consumers. Objective, credentialed, third-party measurement options will help to measure mobile ad views comparative to television.

2.    Freedom to display relevant videos in the right context.

New technologies make it possible take into account context, content, and user interests to feature video content in a more organic and compelling fashion. This helps advertisers reach users when they are most receptive and interested in the subject.

3.    The right to better data-driven strategies and results.

Programmatic marketing has allowed marketers to automatically bid to serve ads to specific users. This presents a new issue: ads are being bought programmatically on exchanges based on data, yet they are not always viewable. According to a study by Integral, 40% of ads bought through ad exchanges are fully in view. Advertisers should not have to pay for the remaining 60%, and automated processes should not be a dubious black box.

4.    Protection from bad actors.

Online fraud tends to happen more so in display than in video, but quality assurance is still a key consideration when implementing a video ad strategy. The MRC said that videos don’t have to be viewed for two seconds if the video is clicked on and is “legitimate” (meaning that it wasn’t fraudulently clicked on by a bot). Legitimate clicks should be the norm; not the loophole in the viewability debate

5.    The right to have videos viewed for more than two seconds; the MRC’s proposal is just a start.

Digital video is a responsive product that should be measured on effectiveness and completion of an action. Two seconds is not enough time to have a message conveyed to the consumer. Advertisers should demand a performance-based model to ensure that advertisers only pay when ads are viewed to completion.

6.    The right to a video player that is 100% visible and above the fold.

The “50% video player visibility” standard was set with good intentions, but it opens the door for publishers to count impressions when readers don’t actually watch an ad at all. If someone is scrolling down a site and the top half of a video player isn’t in view, it’s a safe bet they’re not watching it at all. 

7.    The right to quality assurance.

Veenome recently reported that 83% of “objectionable” videos are found on predominately brand-safe publishers. The ability to buy quality inventory from quality publishers should be a given.

8.    The right to transparency.

Advertisers have expressed a growing concern that they don't fully understand the deals that occur between media agencies and media companies, especially as the use of programmatic digital buying becomes more popular. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed – when $30 billion is spent on digital advertising in the U.S., there shouldn’t be any question marks about where that money is going.

9.    The ability to identify attribution scientifically – who gets the credit?

Ad networks should provide the tools necessary for campaigns to succeed. It can be difficult to determine when a particular ad convinces a consumer to make a purchase. Advertisers should have access to surveys and tracking solutions that make it possible to audit a campaign to figure out what’s working and what’s not. 

10.    The right to have the supply and demand side work together quickly and efficiently.

The industry should be thinking about how to make the workflow process as efficient as possible, for the ultimate benefit of the brand. When it comes to video advertising, the goal is to get the supply (those with inventory) and the demand side (advertisers) to co-exist on one platform.