Marketers must ensure they understand how partners and suppliers operate, if they are to achieve transparency in how their campaigns are performing, according to industry experts.

Fifty UK and international brand marketers gathered this morning (4 November) at London’s Haymarket Hotel for an exclusive programmatic breakfast briefing hosted by M&M Global and Exchange Lab.

In a panel debate chaired by Exchange Lab’s executive chairman Chris Dobson, Ebiquity chief strategy officer Nick Manning and Exchange Lab co-founder Tim Webster outlined the steps brands can take to avoid issues around viewability and ad fraud.

Manning said digital ad viewability is a “significant client concern”, and urged marketers to work partners harder to achieve results superior to the IAB’s definition of 50% viewed for one second.

“[Viewability] is a significant client concern; they are clearly unhappy about it,” said Manning. “It is absolutely possible to improve viewability scores, but you have to work hard at it. Where are we seeing the gremlins? Which publishers are scoring best and worst? How are trading desks comparing to others?

“All of these should be looked at on a continuous basis.”

Webster agreed, adding that more serious issues around mechanised traffic must be tackled head-on: “Don’t just rely on a vendor – you should continually measure fraud. It is a crime.

“The conversation needs to be had, and pushed all the way along through partners to combat fraudulent activity. You really need to quiz your vendors on their procedures, and what they have in place, to ensure brand safety.

“The key thing here is to measure this alongside KPIs for the campaign. Going after mechanised traffic is never going to convert, it’s never going to help your campaign KPI.”

Read our full interview with Ebiquity’s Nick Manning here.