German advertisers seek transparency in online advertising

At this year's dmexco in Cologne, the German Advertisers Association (OWM) hosted a cross-industry debate on the most critical issues affecting the digital ad ecosystem; from ad fraud, viewability and brand safety to transparency, relevance and budget considerations.

Tina Beuchler, OWM's Chairwoman, was joined by members of the agency, ad tech and publishing sector in Germany in a dmexco debate entitled "The tipping point of the ad ecosystem: Who wins? Who loses?"

"The dynamics of digital advertising creates daily new challenges on all stakeholders," she said. "Transparency and the need for viewability standards, as well as battling ad fraud and brand safety, are key priorities on OWM's agenda."

Here are the key take-outs from the session:

On ad fraud and brand safety

Despite the ad fraud issue being rarely tackled in Germany, more and more German advertisers are worried about the increase in fraudulent display ads that are predicted to cost brands more than $50bn a year by 2025. It is the advertiser's task to ensure safe online environments for the consumer.

On brand safety, as programmatic becomes more important in the online ad space, advertisers, agencies and ad tech providers are obliged to safeguard safe websites, free of intrusive or harmful content, through whitelisting, for example. OWM encourages suppliers to provide security guarantees for the whitelists they lead.

On viewability

The different metrics used to gage ad viewability has led to problematic discrepancies, thus the need for a general standard for viewability. OWM is currently supporting the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (IAB) initiative on viewability certification, which states uniform requirements for viewability measurement and urges the implementation of the certification model.

On transparency

The different opportunities and possibilities in programmatic buying available to advertisers must not be at the expense of transparency. Advertisers must be given full insight into the added value of all service providers and must retain ownership over their consumer and campaign data. OWM urges for full transparency on the payment flows between media owners, agencies and all other providers involved in the value chain. OWM encourages advertisers to build in-house know-how in order to gain full control of their digital ad campaigns but at the same time collaborate more with their agencies.

For more information, contact OWM.