DoubleVerify ("DV"), the leading software platform for digital media measurement, data, and analytics, has released its eighth annual Global Insights Report. The report analyzes media quality and performance trends from over one trillion impressions across more than 2,000 brands in 100 markets. This year’s findings focus on content patterns across "Made for Advertising" (MFA) websites.

Content Focus of MFA Websites:

• MFA websites predominantly feature evergreen content such as health and fitness, travel, and family and parenting.
• These sites are 99% more likely to cover travel, 57% more likely to cover family and parenting, and 47% more likely to cover health and fitness compared to other media.
• MFA sites avoid time-sensitive topics, being 95% less likely to cover news and 56% less likely to cover sports.

Characteristics of MFA Websites:

• High ratio of ads to content with frequently refreshing ads.
• Heavy reliance on paid traffic sources, with minimal organic traffic.
• Content designed to keep users endlessly scrolling or clicking within the same site.
• Content often duplicated verbatim across various websites.
• Low ad intensity compared to DV benchmarks.

Implications for Advertisers:

• MFA sites use generative AI tools to produce and recycle content, raising concerns about content quality and brand safety.
• Advertisers need clear protocols to ensure valuable and relevant ad placements.
• The rise in MFA impression volume (19% year-over-year increase) and the significant share of programmatic ad impressions (21%) and advertising spend (15%) underscore the need for vigilant monitoring.

Expert Insights:

• Collette Spagnolo, VP of Marketing Analytics at DoubleVerify, emphasizes the importance of advertisers having clear protocols to manage ad placements on MFA sites.
• The advancement of generative AI is expected to make MFA sites more sophisticated, posing new challenges for maintaining brand integrity.

Methodology:

• The report leverages DV technology to analyze over one trillion impressions from over 2,000 brands in 100 markets.
• It provides a detailed market-by-market analysis for regions including North America, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC.
• The analysis covers video and display impressions from January to December 2023 across desktop, mobile web, mobile app, and connected TV (CTV).

DoubleVerify's Global Insights Report sheds light on the content strategies of MFA websites and their implications for digital advertisers. As these sites become more sophisticated with the help of generative AI, advertisers must work with technology partners like DV to ensure effective MFA protection and maintain brand integrity.