AdSafe Releases Quarterly Analysis of Display Advertising Industry

NEW YORK, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- AdSafe Media, the rating standard of online media, today released its Q1 2010 analysis of the online display advertising industry. The report, available for download at www.adsafemedia.com, provides an analysis of the key display advertising brand safety metrics and industry insights observed by AdSafe throughout the quarter.

The key findings cited in the report are:

• 752 was the AdSafe Safety Index for Q1 2010, a metric which trended down from last quarter's Index of 814, indicating that overall brand safety in the display advertising ecosystem decreased slightly
• 2.89% of inventory was served outside campaign Geo-Targeted specifications
• 47% of traffic was served by Exchanges, Real-Time-Bidding Platforms or Demand Side Platforms, a significant increase in the use of these channels from last quarter
• 86.5% of AdSafe observed inventory was transparent, meaning it was IAB Category I, II or III inventory and some degree of source level transparency was provided

According to David Hahn, VP of Product for AdSafe, "One of the most interesting trends we saw this quarter were significant spikes in the levels of non-geo targeted inventory to overseas locations. In particular we saw significant fraudulent traffic being served to Iran and Russia – countries which were blatantly outside of campaign geo-targeted locations. By identifying and blocking these types of campaign inefficiencies, we have been able to dramatically increase campaign ROI for our premium brand advertiser clients."

The report also identified a number of other key insights into the display industry for the quarter. Specifically, as judged by an increase in AdSafe observed traffic, premium brand advertisers appear to be shifting a larger percentage of their display adverting spending to ad-exchanges, real-time-bidding platforms and demand side platforms. The increased media efficiency and broader reach afforded by these channels are attracting advertisers that had previously acquired media primarily through direct publisher sales.

About AdSafe Media

AdSafe Media is the rating standard of online media. AdSafe uses proprietary algorithmic modeling and human verification to rate the brand safety of content on commercially supported web pages via the AdSafe Content Rating System. AdSafe's Brand Safety Firewall enables Brands, Agencies and Ad-networks to prevent advertising from appearing on publisher web pages that do not conform to brand guidelines. AdSafe's Content Monitoring Platform enables Ad-Networks and Publishers to identify and segment problematic site content, increasing monetization of display inventory. AdSafe is headquartered in New York, NY with operations in Santa Barbara, CA and London, England. For more information visit www.adsafemedia.com.

SOURCE AdSafe Media