iWorld
IAS expands AI-driven brand safety and suitability measurement to Meta
Mumbai: Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS), a leading global media measurement and optimisation platform, today announced that its AI-driven total media quality (TMQ) brand safety and suitability measurement product is now generally available across Facebook and Instagram feed and reels.
IAS’s new post-bid brand safety and suitability measurement expansion with Meta gives advertisers increased transparency into whether their campaigns are appearing next to safe and suitable content.
“IAS is steadfast in delivering solutions to help marketers measure and optimise performance in dynamic, user-generated social environments like Facebook and Instagram,” said IAS CEO Lisa Utzschneider. “This expansion allows brands to identify higher-quality media and scale across these platforms, signifying another important milestone in helping brands enhance brand equity across the entire digital ecosystem.”
Advertisers can now gain access to:
1. AI-driven classification: IAS measures adjacent posts to an advertiser’s campaign using its Multimedia Technology to provide unique insight into video content through frame-by-frame analysis of images, audio, and text to provide the most accurate measurement at scale.
2. Trust and transparency: The measurement framework is aligned to the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), providing advertisers with third-party validation with trusted and transparent industry metrics.
3. Third-party validation: Advertisers can understand how their Meta inventory filters are performing for their campaign goals and optimise as needed.
“IAS’s release of Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement across Facebook and Instagram is a meaningful step forward in our continued work to provide transparency and trust across our advertising ecosystem,” said Meta VP client council and industry trades Samantha Stetson. “Responsible marketing is a top priority at Meta – and we are pleased with our continued partnership to bring this important solution to our advertisers.”
Advertisers can leverage IAS Signal, its unified reporting platform that delivers the data and insights advertisers need to easily manage their digital campaigns.
“One of the most important things for us as an advertiser is maintaining the gold standard of brand suitability, and IAS plays a key role in protecting our advertisements from being placed in environments where it’s not safe or doesn’t align to our company values,” said Verizon VP of digital marketing Karyn Johnson. “It’s great to see IAS implementing this additional third-party measurement so we can use their tools to ensure we can reach those objectives across all platforms.”
IAS and Meta’s partnership began in 2016 when IAS launched viewability verification on Facebook. In 2017, IAS expanded its viewability measurement and reporting across Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook’s Audience Network. From 2019, IAS brought its brand suitability offering to Facebook. In 2023, it expanded its measurement capabilities with Meta including Viewability and invalid traffic (IVT) measurement across Facebook and Instagram Reels.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
