June 19, 2023 • 4 min read • By Ronan Shields and Seb Joseph
Programmatic advertising transparency brouhaha is the industry’s theater of indignation.
A recent investigation commissioned by the ANA leaves little doubt of this. Instead of groundbreaking revelations, the findings merely reinforced what industry insiders have long suspected: the landscape is shrouded in uncertainty, veering into potential fraud, as previously expressed by Procter & Gamble’s Marc Pritchard in 2017.
The audit echoes familiar themes that have resurfaced time and again in recent years. Demands for improved data access from ad tech vendors? They persist. Alarming statistics highlighting wastage within the system? They abound. Calls for advertisers to hold ad tech accountable? They’re louder than ever. What about demand for fewer ad tech middlemen? Duh.
Rather than recounting each point exhaustively, let’s focus on a selection that reveals not only what they say but, perhaps more significantly, what they fail to address. Read More