Adalytics, a digital advertising analytics group, conducted research into YouTube’s “TrueView” system, a type of ad that allows users to skip viewing after five seconds.
Illustration: FT
They found “hundreds of thousands of websites and apps” where these ads played in the background unnoticed, without sound, and looped automatically.
Google has denied the researchers’ claims, telling advertisers that its “choice-based ad format” means they are only charged if users watch the entire clip or at least 30 seconds of the video . If they skip it, advertisers don’t pay.
TrueView ads are at the core of YouTube’s $30 billion-a-year business. Ebiquity, a media investment analytics group in London, says its global clients typically allocate 40-50% of their YouTube budgets to “skippable ads.”
With this type of ad, the ads are supposed to play “in-stream,” meaning viewers see them “before, during, or after other videos on YouTube.” But Adalytics has discovered thousands of TrueView ads being placed “out-of-stream” — meaning hidden in areas of the site that viewers are less likely to see.
Joshua Lowcock, global director of media at UM, a New York-based advertising agency, said he hopes YouTube will investigate the issue and refund affected advertisers.
“We are advising all affected advertisers to quickly request a refund,” added Giovanni Sollazzo, president of Aidem, a UK-based platform that helps marketers ensure they reach real users.
Ruben Schreurs, chief product officer at Netherlands-based Ebiquity, said the study could have a “significant negative impact” on Google’s quality and credibility in the $400 billion digital advertising industry.
Google published a post in response, defending the quality of its partner network and saying the report made some “wildly inaccurate claims.”
Inefficiencies in the digital advertising industry are rampant. Last week, the Association of National Advertisers reported that 15% of the $88 billion spent on programmatic digital advertising is wasted.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity for advertisers to recover billions of dollars in refunds and lawsuits,” said Claire Atkin, co-founder of Check My Ads, a watchdog that tracks abuse in the digital ad tech industry.
Mai Anh (according to FT)
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