Travel advertisers are seeing increased rates of fraud and brand suitability incidents and lower rates of viewability compared with other industries, year-over-year.
Fraud continues to be a concern for digital advertisers — and the travel and hospitality industry is a target. There is a 20% higher post-bid fraud rate for travel and hospitality advertisers compared with all other major industries. With an 81% Y-o-Y increment, APAC has the highest increase in ad fraud rate as compared to the EMEA and NA regions.
This is according to DoubleVerify (“DV”), a software platform for digital media measurement, data and analytics. DV analysed trends specific to the travel sector across fraud, viewability and brand safety and suitability. Key findings for the time period between January 2020 to January 2021 include:
● Travel and hospitality advertisers often have stringent brand safety and suitability settings, especially if they are catering to younger audiences and families. Compared with the average rate seen across other verticals, travel advertisers saw an 82% higher brand suitability violation rate – with APAC seeing the lowest violation rate at +52% compared to EMEA (+87%) and NA (+88%).
● While viewability rates are inching up overall, the viewability rates for travel ads lag behind the other major verticals. Display viewable rates in APAC were 11% lower for travel advertisers as compared with other industries, and video viewable rates were 15% lower.
“As we look ahead to a brighter future where travel and hospitality are once again commonplace, it’s important to take proper measures to maximize media effectiveness,” said Julie Eddleman, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, DoubleVerify. “Just as all travelers will expect higher standards to ensure their well-being, digital advertisers will demand clarity and confidence in their digital investments. Setting a clear, informed strategy to address the issues of fraud, viewability, brand safety and suitability, and consumer privacy, will help ensure advertisers — and their audiences — have a smooth journey ahead.”
Video is a particularly important medium for travel and hospitality advertisers. One study showed 65% of consumers rely on video when booking a trip. To improve performance, travel and hospitality advertisers need to be sure they’re targeting quality inventory that is brand suitable, viewable and free of fraud, the company said in a statement.
