Roku said it is adding a digital watermark to the ads it runs to make advertising on connected TV safer by cutting down on ad spoofing and other forms of fraud.
The Roku Advertising Watermark integrates with the Roku operating system to verify publisher ad requests and impressions so that advertisers know they’re reaching genuine Roku users.
OneView by Roku will be the first ad buying platform to offer ad inventory automatically validated by Roku’s Advertising Watermark.
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Ad technology providers integrating Roku’s Advertising Watermark at launch include Basis Technologies, Google, Human, Innovid and Magnite. Publishers using Roku’s Advertising Watermark to sell their own ad inventory include Discovery and Fox.
"As America’s No. 1 T.V. streaming platform, we are uniquely positioned to help the industry preempt device spoofing," said Louqman Parampath, VP of product management, Roku. “This is powerful and free technology that will help advertisers accelerate their shift to TV streaming with even more confidence.”
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Device spoofing happens when a scammer pretends that a desktop or mobile device is a TV streaming device. CTV commercials command higher prices and are more likely to be seen by the viewer to completion with the sound on.
“Roku is moving the industry forward with a solution that combats spoofing across the ad supply chain before it becomes a major issue,” said Tamer Hassan, co-founder and CEO, HUMAN. “Together in partnership with Roku, we are creating a collectively protected ecosystem that brings even more trust and quality in a world where all TV will be streamed.”
As the industry’s first authentication solution built for TV streaming, Roku’s Advertising Watermark gives marketers the confidence that their advertising spend is reaching real Roku users, the company said.
"Roku’s Advertising Watermark assures our advertiser clients that they are buying genuine Discovery inventory on Roku devices," said Bill Murray, vice president, programmatic solutions, Discovery. "We’re excited that Roku has brought its data, operating system, and ad technology together to easily prevent ad spoofing." ■
