Digital Agencies
Countering the industry-wide challenge of digital ad frauds
Digital advertising has brought with it an array of unique benefits like precise targeting, measurable and trackable performance indicators, and the ability to provide extremely personalised customer experiences. Advertisers can now practically do things that they could only dream of earlier. However, it has also brought with it the menace of ad frauds. Advertisers are struggling with ad frauds since quite some time. All ad frauds can be loosely defined as any deceitful online activity meant to mislead the advertisers, making them pay for low-quality or fake traffic. Ad frauds wipe out huge chunks of advertising budgets, causing huge losses to the companies. This has created negative connotations about digital advertising solutions in the minds of businesses.
A few years ago, the advertising industry witnessed two of the greatest ad frauds ever – Hyphbot and Methbot. They decimated gigantic volumes of ad dollars. Methbot churned out revenue of $3 to $5 million each day by targeting premium video advertising ecosystem. Hyphbot was 3-4 times the extent of Methbot and generated up to 1.5 billion ad requests each day. These figures speak for themselves about the urgency to address these problems.
It is about time to fix this. But, unfortunately, it is easier said than done. As technology evolves, the nature and sophistication of ad frauds evolve with it. It is a game of whack-a-mole, between the industry and the fraudsters, wherein as soon as one problem is addressed, they continuously come up with new and different ways to continue the menace. In order to solve the problem, we first need to understand it well by getting into its nitty-gritty. So let’s take stock of the situation and have a look at the different types of ad frauds advertisers are facing.
Bot Traffic/Non-Human Traffic (NHT)
Ad consumption or other online traffic generated by bots or automated websites
Click Farms
These consist of a large group of human workers who view or click on the ads on behalf of a third-party, who gain economic benefits from those illegitimate clicks. To do this, these workers are given minimal compensation.
Sourced Traffic
It is a way by which publishers acquire more visitors to their sites through third-parties. It is basically artificially generated inorganic traffic.
Domain Spoofing
It facilitates passing off a low-quality website as a premium website. Thus, when a user clicks the link, the fraudsters get access to the ads, which are run on the illegitimate site.
Ad Injection
It is the practice of inserting ads into any online inventory like a website or an app without the knowledge and consent of the publisher or the owner of that property.
The ones mentioned above are only a few ways in which ad frauds are perpetrated. The field of digital advertising is highly dynamic. With the addition of new technologies each day it keeps evolving continuously. Fraudsters are constantly coming up with ingenious ways to adapt to these advancements and fulfill their objectives. As a result, brands have to be constantly alert and have to match the pace of technology, in order to be a step ahead of the curve. However, unsurprisingly, it becomes difficult for them to be constantly updated about everything.
One of the ways to address this problem is to ensure that advertisers partner with the right kind of programmatic platform. A platform which provides a good level of security on-boarding fraud detection and fraud prevention partners, that helps to filter out fraudulent ads and illegitimate traffic in real-time. The platform must also follow the standards set by industry watchdogs like The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), etc.
Next, brands must make sure that they measure the conversions and goals instead of measuring clicks. Measuring clicks as an indicator of performance makes the brand more susceptible to bots and NHT. Also, they must work with publishers who have implemented ads.txt – IAB’s protocol designed to help keep ad frauds in check. It involves publishers hosting a text file on their web servers. This file lists all the authorised dealers of the publisher’s inventory. Also, publishers should be transparent with advertisers about the source of their traffic.
Ad frauds are a problem not only for advertisers but they also harm publishers. Ad frauds devour a huge chunk of their revenues and also raise a question in the publishers’ credibility. Thus, ad frauds are affecting the entire ecosystem at large. Industry-wide standards are necessary to control this industry-wide challenge. It calls for all the entities across all parts of the advertising ecosystem to launch concerted efforts in fighting-off ad frauds.
(The author is CEO and Founder, Vertoz. The views expressed here are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)
BENGALURU: For years, creative teams have learned to live with ambiguity. Vague comments, last-minute changes, feedback that arrives without context, clarity, or conviction. It became part of the job – something teams worked around rather than getting it solved.
But as we head into 2026, that tolerance is wearing thin.
Creative work today moves faster, scales wider, and involves more stakeholders than before. Teams are producing more content across more formats, often with distributed collaborators and tighter timelines. In this environment, guesswork is no longer a harmless inconvenience. It’s a cost – to time, to budgets, and to creative mindspace.
The real problem isn’t feedback, it’s how it’s given
Most creative professionals you see today will tell you they’re not against feedback. In fact, they rely on it. Good feedback sharpens ideas, strengthens execution, and pushes work forward. The problem is ‘unclear’ feedback. When someone says “this doesn’t feel right” without context, they aren’t just revising – they’re basically decoding. They’re guessing what the problem might be, trying different directions, and burning time in the process. Multiply that by a few stakeholders and a few rounds, and suddenly days disappear.
In 2026, when teams are expected to deliver faster without compromising quality, interpretation is a luxury most can’t afford.
Scale has changed rverything
Creative projects used to be smaller and simpler. A designer, a manager, maybe one client contact. Feedback loops were short, even if they weren’t perfect.
Today, the same project might involve internal marketing teams, agencies, freelancers, brand reviewers, and regional teams. Everyone has a say. Everyone leaves comments. And often, those comments don’t agree. More people reviewing work means alignment matters more than ever. Clear feedback isn’t just about being nice to creative teams, it’s about keeping projects moving when complexity increases.
Guesswork quietly wears teams down
One of the less talked-about impacts of unclear feedback is what it does to people.
When feedback is vague or contradictory, creatives second-guess their decisions. They hesitate. They overwork. They keep extra time buffers “just in case.” Over time, confidence drops. Ownership fades. Work becomes safer, not stronger. Creative energy gets spent on managing uncertainty instead of pushing ideas forward. And in an industry already grappling with burnout, unclear feedback adds unnecessary mental load.
Actionable feedback is a shared skill
Clear feedback doesn’t mean controlling creative decisions or dictating every detail. It means being specific enough that someone knows what to do next.
Actionable feedback answers three basic questions:
What exactly needs attention?
Why does it matter?
What outcome are we aiming for?
This applies whether you’re reviewing a video frame, a design layout, or a copy draft. The clearer the feedback, the fewer follow-ups it creates. In 2026, teams that treat feedback as a skill and not an afterthought, will move faster with less friction.
Tools shape behaviour (whether we admit it or not)
The way feedback is delivered is often dictated by the tools teams use. Comments buried in long email threads, messages split across chat apps, or notes detached from the actual work all contribute to confusion.
When feedback lives outside the work, context often gets lost. When it’s disconnected from versions and timelines, decisions get questioned. When it’s scattered, accountability disappears. More teams are starting to realise that feedback problems aren’t just communication issues, they’re workflow issues. How work moves between people matters just as much as the work itself.
From Opinions To Alignment
One of the biggest shifts happening in creative teams is a move away from purely opinion-driven feedback. Instead of “I like this” or “I don’t,” teams are asking better questions:
● Does this meet the brief?
● Does this solve the problem?
● Does this align with the goal?
This change reduces unnecessary back-and-forth and helps feedback feel less personal and more productive. It also makes decisions easier to explain and defend. As creative work becomes more strategic, feedback has to support that shift.
2026 Is About Fewer Loops, Not Faster Loops
There’s a misconception that speed means moving through feedback cycles faster. In reality, the most creative teams aren’t just accelerating loops, they’re reducing them. Clear, actionable feedback upfront leads to fewer revisions later. Clear approval stages prevent last-minute surprises. Clear decisions stop work from circling endlessly.
In 2026, efficiency won’t come from working harder or longer. It will come from designing workflows that respect creative time and attention.
Ending guesswork is a mindset change
Ultimately, ending creative guesswork isn’t just about better tools or processes. It’s about mindset. It’s about recognising that clarity is an act of respect – for the work, for the people doing it, for the time invested and for the mindspace used. It’s about moving from “figure it out” to “here’s what we’re aiming for.”
Creative teams that embrace this shift will find themselves not only delivering faster, but also enjoying the process more. And in an industry built on imagination, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.
