Articles and Research

Is Amazon’s Sizmek acquisition really a threat to Google?

Following Amazon's acquisition of Sizmek's ad server and dynamic creative optimization platform, the company is now in a better position to compete with Google for advertiser dollars. AdExchanger evaluates the strategic possibilities of Amazon's new tech acquisition. (AdExchanger)

Fraudlogix Q1 Ad Fraud Report: Global ad fraud up but North American levels down

Fraudlogix released its Q1 2019 Ad Fraud Report this week. Data showed that the overall percentage of fraudulent traffic has increased from Q4 2018 to 14.7%. However, in North America the percentage dropped from the previous quarter. Insights on fraud levels by device type, browser, and operating system are also included. (Fraudlogix)

In September 2018 we began reporting ad fraud statistics for the programmatic ad space based on monthly data we collected. We then published our first Quarterly Ad Fraud Report with data from Q4, 2018. We're continuing this coverage with our Q1 2019 Ad Fraud Report, which includes data on which devices, browsers and operating systems are being used most for fraud and what areas of the world fraudulent traffic is originating from.

International malvertiser extradited from the Netherlands to face hacking charges in New Jersey

A Ukrainian national, Oleksii Ivanov, was charged with participating in a years-long, international scheme to infect computers with malware through online advertisements (i.e., malvertising) and appeared in Newark federal court after being extradited from the Netherlands. The indictment stems from a scheme operated between 2013 and 2018 and included using fake entities to purchase online ads from advertising companies and ad server platforms. Ivanov and others attempted to profit by selling access to the network of devices they had infected with malware. (US Department of Justice)

Over-the-top (OTT) ad serving has become a hot topic among marketers looking to reach consumers who are increasingly streaming video through connected TVs and cutting ties with traditional cable. The ad tech sector is rushing to provide solutions that will allow advertisers to target this tuned-in audience effectively. And, not surprising based on the digital ad industry’s history, fraud is following the funds into the OTT environment.

AdKernel has partnered with Fraudlogix in an effort to empower its platform users to optimize the quality of their ad traffic by weeding out invalid traffic (IVT), domain spoofing, and sources with low viewability. 

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

Zeta Global Buys Sizmek DSP And Rocket Fuel DMP Assets For $36 Million

Sizmek will sell its data management platform, which it acquired with Rocket Fuel, and its demand-side platform to the marketing technology cloud Zeta Global in a deal worth up to $36 million. (AdExchanger)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

Industry reacts to Sizmek's bankruptcy and tries to pinpoint what went wrong

Sizmek's bankruptcy filing has shaken digital ad executives, who regarded the company's ad server business as an important contender to Google's. Digiday interviews several industry executives to see where they think the company went wrong. Meanwhile, Sizmek says it's still open, but other ad servers are plotting to scoop up some of its business. On Tuesday the company confirmed between 30 and 80 layoffs. (Digiday, AdExchanger, and AdWeek)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

IAB releases app-ads.txt

The IAB has released the final version of the app-ads.txt, the in-app equivalent of the ads.txt initiative. The specification lets mobile and OTT app publishers indicate which ad tech vendors are authorized to sell or resell their ad inventory. Programmatic ad buyers can check these files to ensure sellers that claim to offer an app’s inventory are authorized to do so. PubMatic will begin enforcing app-ads.txt for its app publishers May 1. (IAB Tech Lab)

The latest news and views for the Supply-Side and DSP Community.

New adware found in 200 apps on Google Play

In the latest mobile ad fraud scheme, security researchers found mobile adware hidden in hundreds of Android apps, which were downloaded more than 150 million times from Google Play. The malware masqueraded as an ad-serving platform, and unbeknownst to the app developers, would open a backdoor to install additional malware. Once installed, the malware runs though lists of web addresses in the background, serving ads to generate revenue. (TechCrunch)