• by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, April 21, 2016

Facebook this week made strides toward improving transparency, that buzzword everyone’s chattering about lately. In a blog post, it said it’s adding independent ad vertification partners  to ensure advertisers trust their ad delivery data. Facebook said it’s partnering with Nielsen, Integral Ad Science and comScore to measure the effectiveness of the video ads on its platform. 

The expansion of Facebook's  third-party verification program as it relates to viewability and attention metrics is a good and timely move. As the fever pitch over transparency and trust grows louder, Facebook made the right move as a leader in the digital advertising ecosystem.

Frankly, Facebook could have such a move sooner. The company has come under criticism, since marketers don’t want to pay for video views that consumers are scrolling past in their newsfeeds vs. actually viewing. They want Facebook to tighten up and improve viewability standards. They want to know whether a consumer actually viewed a video. Is that too much to ask?

Last fall, Facebook partnered with Moat, which offers independent verification of Facebook video ad metrics. With the addition of three more partners, Facebook should be inching closer to launching viewability and attention metrics for its platform.

Marketers and their agency partners are right to be voicing their frustration. Think of it this way: Don’t you want what you pay good money for?

In Q1 2016, for example, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak told the New York Times that 85 cents of every new dollar spent on digital advertising goes to either Facebook or Google. It’s incumbent on Facebook and Google to deliver viewability metrics--and soon.