Amobee launches an Inventory Accountability Program

Amobee, the digital ad unit for telecom Singtel, is boosting its anti-fraud efforts this week with the announcement of an Inventory Accountability Program.

The program adds to an existing anti-fraud effort that already includes an integration with media verification firm DoubleVerify to eliminate suspicious bids and participation in the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s ads.txt initiative.

Now, Amobee requires that its dozen+ exchange partners make a commitment to its inventory guidelines, which previously had been recommendations.

Any inventory with objectionable content — including violence, adult imagery or malicious material — is blocked, Amobee VP of Global Business Development Julius Ramirez told me, as is any inventory that comes from unauthorized sources.

A new fraud guarantee requires that exchange partners refund Amobee if fraud is detected. The size of the refund is determined on a campaign-by-campaign basis.

There’s also a proprietary new diagnostic tool for identifying exposure to fraudulent bot traffic, such as short-lived bots that generate thousands of impressions in a short period of time.

Ramirez said that, while “there’s no silver bullet,” his firm has taken a more comprehensive approach than some of its competitors, an approach that now includes holding partners accountable. As a result, he said, they’ve been seeing less than 1 percent fraudulent inventory.