In 2020, The 614 Group conducted its fourth annual quantitative and qualitative research study to measure how considerable an impact TAG Certification has had in reducing IVT in actual campaigns. It was also used to identify spikes or flare-ups in fraud and assess how agencies respond when discovering its presence in a campaign in the U.S. market.
The research focused on discovering whether rates of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) and general invalid traffic (GIVT) were lower in TAG Certified Channels than the industry average. Specifically, these channels are those in which multiple entities involved in the transaction – such as the media agency, buy-side platform, sell-side platform, and/or publisher – had achieved the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal. The discussion also develops the state of practices and opinions on the topics of fighting IVT. We found that:
The IVT Rate in TAG Certified Channels is 1.05% – a 90% Improvement Over Industry Averages
We examined 353 billion impressions that flowed through TAG Certified Channels and measured an overall
IVT rate of just 1.05%, a 90% improvement over the industry rate of 10.83%.
The IVT Rate in TAG Certified Channels for CTV is Just 0.60%
While the industry struggles with measurement and technical challenges that make it difficult to fight IVT in
Connected TV (CTV), the IVT rate in TAG Certified Channels is just 0.60%.
The TAG Certified Against Fraud Program was launched in 2016 to combat invalid traffic in the digital advertising supply chain. Companies that are shown to comply with the Certified Against Fraud Guidelines are awarded the Certified Against Fraud Seal, which they can use to publicly communicate their commitment to combatting fraud. Over the last four years, certification standards have been strengthened annually to raise the bar on industry practices with the addition of new requirements, including the use of ads.txt by direct buyers and intermediaries, independent validation when certifying European or global operations, app threat filtering for companies working within in-app environments, and – coming in January 2021 – an expansion of the existing obligation to filter and remove both GIVT and SIVT from 100% of monetizable traffic.
TAG Certified Channels are those in which a campaign runs through multiple companies that have achieved the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal. Thus far, 148 companies in countries around the world have achieved the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal.
