There’s a built-in paradox in the ad tech market concerning the responsibility of ad quality.
Let’s break it down
Bad ads are generated and launched on the demand side–the advertiser and become a problem for the supply side– the publisher.
If you think about the interests of each partner in the delivery path of a bad ad you see that the further each partner is from the end-user, the less they are hurt by the effects of the ad –and ultimately the more they have to gain.
When faced with a bad ad, publishers are on the front lines addressing frustrated users and putting out fires with their ad ops teams to reduce churn rates.
While SSPs are exposed to publishers complaints, and depending on the size and importance of the publisher, might be concerned about losing the publisher– little action is often taken.
DSPs most of the time, are not affected at all. On the rare occasion, SSPs might ban a DSP if its found spamming too often– but is usually only temporary.
So, where do we go from here?
Every publisher ranks bad ads as a major concern, with most suggesting, its a job to be solved by the SSPs.
Publishers can take a more proactive stance in sharing the responsibility by notifying the SSPs about the low quality, offensive or fraudulent ads– urging them find the source and solve the problem.
Delivering SSPs with accurate information about those ads, in a constant and actionable manner will enable them block those bad ads as a service to their publishers. Enabling publishers to automatically provide SSPs with reports and data about bad ads detected is the first step towards effective cooperation between publishers and SSPs.
Better communication and shared resposbibility are the foundation a cleaner, safer internet space for all.
No longer can we turn a blind eye or shift responsibility, cooperation is key.
