Indonesia is the second-largest target for digital ad fraud in ASEAN. Indonesia has become the second-largest target for advertising fraud in ASEAN, after Thailand, due to the country’s large scale and volume of ad spending, a new survey has indicated.
According to a survey released on Thursday by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and multinational technology company Integral Ad Science (IAS), Indonesia could lose up to Rp1.17 trillion (US$120 million) from ad fraud in digital marketing this year.
“The high rate of fraud in Indonesia is due to the country’s significant mobile penetration rate, the high usage of e-payment methods and high spending on digital and mobile marketing,” MMA country manager Shinta Tolani said during a press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday.
Fraudsters are specifically targeting industries like e-commerce, financial technology, gaming and fast-moving consumer goods, according to the joint survey.
It also revealed that digital advertising spending in Indonesia is expected to reach $639 million, making it the second-largest digital advertising market in Southeast Asia.
On a global scale, digital ad spending is expected to rise from $280 billion in 2018 to almost $330 billion this year, in which advertisers are forecasted by digital market company Juniper Research to lose $42 billion from ad fraud.
In the Asia Pacific alone, around $17 million is being lost to ad fraud daily. As the second-largest country in the Asia Pacific, Indonesia is facing the risk of ad fraud with 21 percent of all apps installed.
Speaking during the same briefing, IAS country manager Laura Quigley said many companies in Indonesia were still unaware of ad fraud, with 33 percent of marketers having little to no understanding of the issue.
“Advertisers need to use verification solutions to be able to mitigate and reduce the fraud, but many advertisers don’t have the technology,” said Laura, adding that advertisers should work together with companies that do have the solutions.
Meanwhile, PT Unilever Indonesia CEO Hemant Bakshi said that a lack of transparency was an issue for both brands and consumers, adding that click fraud generates more than $20 million in profit per month for those involved.
“Large corporations should gain more control and visibility over where their advertisements are placed and make real efforts to address this issue to gain more consumer trust,” Hemant said. Indonesia is the second-largest target for digital ad fraud in ASEAN (awa, The Jakarta Post)
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