The Importance of Transparency and Trust as Core Values of Your Digital Advertising Company

Gaining the trust of clients, suppliers, and business partners matters in every industry as trust is an asset that will remain forever relevant.  Companies that are seen as unreliable and untrustworthy often experience short customer life cycles, while those that are transparent about their practices gain the confidence of their clients in the long run. 

The advertising technology industry, in particular, has traditionally suffered from a variety of trust-related issues. Companies at every stage of the supply chain— agencies, programmatic providers, adtech, publishers, and sellers—must not act in ways devoid of even a semblance of fraudulence in order for customers to be comfortable with their processes. 

For example, ad buyers sometimes feel that advertising can be a “black box” where money goes in and results may or may not come out. More often than not, they feel that ad tech vendors don’t adequately communicate their fees. 

In recent years, ad tech companies have taken it upon themselves to foster greater trust in their business practices through improved transparency. In this article, we’ll explore many of the ways in which transparency and trust factor into the success of digital advertising companies. 

Providing Clarity

When looking at technologies such as programmatic advertising, customers want a few of their questions answered before they proceed:

• How will the new technology provide a clear return on investment?
• How can the technology’s effectiveness be measured?
• What information is available to show that the money spent is being put to good use?

To provide brands with the answers to these questions as they make advertisement purchasing decisions, digital advertising companies at all stages of the  process must be transparent. When digital advertising companies make transparency a fundamental part of their overall business values, the greater customer trust resulting from this decision might even prove to be a competitive advantage. 

Promoting New Transparency Technology

In an effort to improve customer trust in digital advertising, ad tech companies have partnered, developed and adopted new features to protect against fraud and misrepresentation. By using these new technologies, clients can “trust but verify” that ad tech providers are doing their jobs in a non-fraudulent manner. 

Over time, as the adoption of these features increases, advertisers will see even more clarity in how their ad spend is being utilized.

Data Creates Informed Decisions

With modern technology platforms and the power of artificial intelligence, advertisers have more data at their disposal than ever before. However, without transparency from downstream intermediaries, this data isn’t being put to good use. By combining good data and good transparency, advertisers can make confident and informed decisions on ad spend. 

Transparency Is Critical for the Future of the Industry

For advertisers to continue purchasing ads (especially with programmatic advertising), they must be able to feel confident about them. It should be clear where their money is being spent and how tech providers take their fees. Most importantly, advertisers should gain an easily understandable return on their investment. 

Solving these problems will have effects that go far beyond the reach of a single ad tech company. The reputation of the entire digital advertising industry hinges on the experiences of advertisers – thus, the trustworthiness and transparency of every company involved in the process matters more than ever before.  

If you are ready to put together full-stack advertising programs, EKN has the process, people and technology to support you.  Let’s Talk!