Matthew Mclaughlin

Member since August 2001Contact Matthew

Uncovering The Transparency Gap in Real-Time Daily on 08/12/2013
Nearly 50% of impressions purchased through RTB typically have a URL that does not match where the ad is being shown, a.k.a. the "Transparency Gap." This blind spot creates an environment ripe for Impression Fraud, where fraudulent sites mask themselves as legitimate publishers in order to monetize ad impressions that otherwise would not be sold if the advertiser knew their true site identity. The Transparency Gap - Why it happens The Transparency Gap is made up of those impressions where the Transaction URL (the declared URL where the impression transaction is taking place) differs from True URL (the actual URL for the browser that originated the ad impression call). The complex supply chain in programmatic buying is the primary cause of the Transaction URL being different from the True URL. Every handoff of an impression request presents the chance for information to be lost, resulting in a URL mismatch. For example, the ad server URL could mistakenly be passed as the site URL. However, in addition to the legitimate reasons for the Transparency Gap, it also can occur through deliberate obfuscation and misrepresentation that are the hallmarks of traffic laundering fraud.

The MLB Online: It's 'Groundhog Day' At Commercial Breaks by P.J. Bednarski (VidBlog on 07/14/2014)
I couldn't agree more - I have seen the paint commercial at least 500 times this year - and while some may argue that is good exposure I find it very annoying that there is no variation between innings.

You haven't told us anything about yourself! Surely you've got something to say. Tell us a little something.