Premion, Tegna’s connected TV and over-the-top ad platform, said it had been certified for its efforts to prevent fraud by the Trustworthy Accountability Group.
Premion said it was the first local OTT platform to receive the TAG seal.
According to a recent report from Pixalate, over-the-top and connected TV ad spend rose 70% between the first quarter of 2020 and the third quarter. Ad fraud has been running at about 20% throughout the year, the report said.
TAG was created by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers and the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
“Brand safety and performance outcomes are at the forefront of advertiser priorities and we’ve invested in our capabilities to combat ad fraud since it first emerged in the OTT ecosystem,” said Tom Cox, president of Premion. “This recognition validates what we’ve been doing from the onset — directly sourcing inventory from premium, known publishers and using cutting-edge technology to detect and filter for fraud. We’ve taken proactive steps early and remain committed to providing our advertisers with the highest level of accountability as the trusted and secure OTT advertising platform.”
Premion was certified for complying with TAG Standard including sourcing inventory from premium OTT content providers in a direct, “server to server” relationship with partners and through invitation-only private marketplaces.
“As more ad dollars move to follow the rapid growth in streaming TV audiences, ad fraud is a growing reality and challenge in the OTT ecosystem,” said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. “Our 2020 Fraud Benchmark Study has shown TAG Certified Channels which include multiple TAG-certified companies have 90% less fraud than the industry average. We commend Premion for its dedication to treating ad fraud as a strategic business priority and achieving the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal.”
Fraud has been a concern as media buyers and their clients look to connect with the growing number of consumer streaming video content.
“Fraud prevention is so important in the OTT space and it is excellent that Premion continues to advance their offering,” said Nicole Torres, senior VP, managing director, local investments of Havas Media.
