Executive Forum Recap: Fraud & Viewability Take Centre Stage

June 22nd, 2015 | ACA Team,

Establishing a more transparent media marketplace has been top-of-mind for marketers this year, and on June 10 at the ACA Executive Forum, marketers showed how they are taking action.

Spring 2015 Executive Forum Panel
Spring 2015 Executive Forum Panel

The topic – Taking a Hard Line with Online: The Client Perspective – created considerable buzz among the more than 100 attendees in a cinema at Toronto’s Tiff Bell Lightbox, with several saying afterward they were leaving armed with insights to share with their teams.

“It helps us to know we are not alone that there are other people experiencing similar issues out there and we can work together as an industry to resolve this problem,” said Crystal Lowe, Manager, Strategic Sourcing at BMO Financial Group. “One key takeaway is that we really need to make sure that marketers are establishing their KPIs before they go out and work with their media partners.”

“I heard a lot today about transparency, don’t let yourself be a victim, don’t walk away from it, but go in with your eyes wide open,” added Dan Alvo, Marketing Director at Wrigley Canada. “Those are simple but very important lessons that a number of the more successful companies are doing in this particular space.”

Setting the stage for the day was Sentrant Security Inc., an internet security company focused on digital ad fraud, which provided evidence that cyber criminals have infiltrated the online ecosystem and called on brand marketers to draw up battle plans to address it.

Kristi Karens, Director of Media and Agency Partnerships at Mondelez, summed up the concerns about online fraud, calling it “the most important issue for the industry,” as reported by Marketing Magazine.

Karens, Khoi Truong, Director of Media, L’Oréal Canada, Terry Chang, Group Director at Starcom MediaVest, Ricardo Martin, VP Marketing at Unilever, as well as Brent Bernie, President, comScore Canada, also gave their take on the value of viewable impressions.

Meanwhile, Media in Canada highlighted the calls at the forum for open and honest partnerships between clients, agencies and publishers.

The ACA will keep these issues front and centre over the coming year. Contact Susan Charles, VP Member Services, for more information about the steps marketers can take to enhance media transparency.

Want a refresh on the topics covered at the forum? Head to our Events Archive page for access to event photos and videos of members talking about what they learned. Members can also access videos of the presentations while event participants can view presentation slides.