First-to-market innovation aligns MFA pre-bid avoidance with post-bid measurement settings, helping programmatic advertisers reduce media waste and maximize ad effectiveness

DoubleVerify , a leading software platform for digital media measurement, today unveiled its latest innovation in brand safety and suitability with the introduction of tiered “Made for Advertising” (MFA) brand suitability categories for pre-bid avoidance. This first-to-market innovation, integrated into DV Authentic Brand Suitability (ABS), complements DV's existing post-bid offering and provides advertisers with a full spectrum solution to maximize ad effectiveness throughout the media transaction.

“AI-driven MFA content has exploded over the last 12 months, creating a new set of hazards for advertisers seeking quality media performance. The introduction of DV’s tiered MFA brand suitability categories for both pre-bid avoidance and post-bid measurement offers global brands a unified, surgical solution to ensure campaigns are aligned with brand values from start to finish,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. “Our dual approach not only safeguards advertisers, but also enhances media buying efficiency ensuring brand safety and suitability criteria are applied at every stage of the media buying process.”

DV's recently launched tiered MFA brand suitability categories are powered by a proprietary analysis process that combines human and AI-driven auditing to identify MFA sites accurately at scale. These sites are categorized based on a comprehensive evaluation of their ad monetization strategies, traffic sources and content creation practices. Depending on the extent of MFA characteristics, sites are assigned to one of three suitability tiers:

• MFA High: Identifies sites exhibiting the most extreme MFA content or characteristics, including but not limited to significant ad density relative to page content, a predominant dependence on paid traffic sources with little to no organic traffic, and an average ad intensity
• MFA Medium: Identifies sites with varying degrees of MFA behavior. For example, a site might employ high ad density relative to page content, but the average ad intensity might be near the DV benchmark.
• MFA Low: Covers sites or sections with a blend of MFA and non-MFA content – for example, sites where only a section or a subdomain exhibits MFA content or characteristics.

DV’s approach allows for the deepest and most nuanced level of analysis, preventing miscategorization and false positives. For example, a website may feature a significant number of ads, while still registering high rates of direct and search-enabled traffic. In this instance, the publisher would not meet DV’s definition of an MFA website.

“Our proprietary analysis process blends human insight with AI-driven auditing, and establishes a new industry benchmark in brand safety and suitability,” said Jack Smith, Chief Innovation Officer at DoubleVerify. “It reflects our product mandate to verify everywhere and address new emerging threats online ensuring DV’s customers can safeguard their digital investments and maximize their campaign outcomes.”