Dive Brief:
- Along with measurement, online advertisers want confirmation that ads were actually viewed, and on that front Facebook added three new independent viewability verifiers to its roster -- Nielsen, comScore and Integral Ad Science.
- The social media giant previously had a deal in place with Moat from last year for viewability verification, a partnership that went global this February.
- Facebook said its viewability partners would verify both photo and video ads, adding the additional partners provide marketers with more transparency and are critical to ensuring advertisers trust ad delivery data.
Dive Insight:
Michael Law, evp and managing director of video investment at Dentsu Aegis Network, said in a Facebook blog post, “We are working hard with our partners to ensure our clients understand the value across their media spend. Facebook’s commitment to measuring value through both their own tools and partnerships—including third party viewability—is an important piece in that process.”
Viewability has been something of a sticking point in digital advertising with different industry groups such as the Media Rating Council along with ad agencies and individual platforms, like Facebook, all having different standards on what constitutes a “viewed” ad. Facebook had faced industry pushback as recently as last fall when, as Adweek pointed out, WPP’s Martin Sorrell called Facebook’s viewability standards “ludicrous.”
Given the amount of money spent on digital ads on Google and social platforms like Facebook, continuously improving transparency and viewability is crucial.
"Partnerships like this enable advertisers to mitigate wasted ad spend, encourage greater trust between buyers and sellers, and contribute to enhancing the overall value of digital advertising," Manish Bhatia, comScore's chief product officer, told Adweek.
