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Share on XAn Update for Customers and Partners Following a Recent Adalytics Report
This update addresses a recent report by a third-party who inaccurately represented our technology.
At IAS, we are driven by a singular mission: to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality.
We are committed to media measurement and optimization excellence, and are constantly innovating to exceed the high standards that our customers and partners deserve as they maximize ROI and protect brand equity across digital channels.
Flawed Methodology Leads to Inaccurate Conclusions
IAS did not have the opportunity to review the full report ahead of publication. After reviewing the report in its entirety, it is clear Adalytics’ methodology omitted important details about IAS’s technology and nuances of our customers’ brand safety and suitability settings. In addition, they did not provide transparency on the timeframe of the study or their data sample set.
No Consideration for Measurement (Post-Bid) and Optimization (Pre-Bid) Settings
The report makes false claims and assumes that if an IAS script is seen on a page, then IAS should be blocking or preventing ads from delivering. Relying on an IAS script alone does not take into account the advertisers’ brand safety and suitability settings, which could include monitoring tags, blocking tags, or pre-bid offerings that prevent ad delivery.
In addition, Adalytics does not have visibility into settings for content allow/block lists, which advertisers use to align media spend to their brand safety objectives. Some customers use our post-bid blocking services, while others use monitoring. With blocking, if a page is flagged as unsuitable based on the client’s settings, the ad is blocked. With monitoring, the ad is delivered regardless of the page’s status, and any issues are reported.
Incomplete Code Analysis
The report is conflating IAS code used for publisher solutions and code used for advertiser solutions. We’ve verified that almost all of the tags in the screenshots are from our publisher solutions. Adalytics either missed this distinction or ignored it and didn’t seek clarification from IAS. Consequently, many examples of ads connected to IAS code in the report are inaccurate.
The code analysis conducted by Adalytics is not representative of the full suite of tools IAS provides to advertisers and publishers with multiple layers of brand safety and suitability measurement and protection. The examples shared only represent one part of our brand safety and suitability solution. Another flaw in the report shows IAS tags on a page that do not correspond to a final decision for the creative being displayed.
Our Commitment to Innovation
We’re committed to helping our customers safeguard and scale their brands, and we remain focused on delivering the industry’s most trusted and transparent measurement and optimization solutions. We will continue to provide the highest quality of service to our customers.
We recognize that all brands are unique and that the definition of safety and suitability is driven by a brand’s values and goals. IAS does not simply provide a binary (on-off) brand safety solution; we offer multiple and unique programmatic solutions that improve advertisers’ ability to detect and avoid unsafe and unsuitable content. This includes fraud, viewability, and brand safety measurement along with optimization tools including IAS Context Control and IAS Quality Sync.
