Australian digital video ads lead APAC in engagement, but risks remain

Australia's digital advertising market is showing strong performance in video engagement but continues to face challenges around ad fraud and brand safety, according to the latest Media Quality Report from Integral Ad Science (IAS).

The report, now in its 20th edition, compiles insights from more than 280 billion daily digital interactions worldwide. It provides benchmarks across display and video ad formats, covering desktop, mobile web, mobile app, and connected TV environments.

Australian desktop video ads achieved a viewability rate of 89.8%, the highest in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, and significantly ahead of APAC's 88.9% and the global average of 83.9%. Completion rates for these ads were also notable, reaching 94.9%. On mobile app display, Australia delivered an 82.6% viewability rate, again topping the region.

IAS reported that Australia's strong video performance suggests mature creative execution and high user engagement, with time-in-view on mobile web display averaging 15.75 seconds, well above the global benchmark of 13.65 seconds. Mobile app display time-in-view was also robust at 13.11 seconds.

Despite these successes, Australia's desktop display ad fraud rate in optimised campaigns stood at 1.5%. This figure exceeds the global average of 1.1% and APAC's average of 1.3%, indicating a continued need for consistent fraud protection strategies despite optimisation efforts.

Lisa Utzschneider, Chief Executive Officer of IAS, stated, "As digital media complexity accelerates, IAS remains steadfast in empowering our partners with the transparency, precision, and protection they need to succeed. The 20th edition of the MQR underscores the critical need for proactive media quality strategies to ensure marketers can drive performance while protecting their brands from the evolving and multi-faceted risks in the programmatic advertising landscape."

The majority of brand risk in Australia is attributed to violent and offensive content. The report highlights that 51.8% of brand risk on desktop display surfaces stems from violent material, which remains a pressing concern during significant news or political events. Australia's overall brand risk on desktop display measured at 1.4%, described as a moderate level by the report, but violent content's share among risky impressions remains high.

Globally, the report revealed that non-optimised ad campaigns face much higher risk from ad fraud. Such campaigns saw fraud rates 15 times higher than those equipped with anti-fraud protection, reaching 10.9% by late 2024 - a 19.0% year-on-year increase and the highest in four years. The presence of anti-fraud strategies decreased optimised campaign fraud rates by 9.8% globally, settling at 0.7%.

Alongside fraud, the risk from offensive language, hate speech and controversial content is growing internationally. Though total global brand risk declined by 10.6% from 2023 to a record low of 1.5%, the nature of risky content is changing. IAS noted that the share of content flagged for offensive language, hate speech and controversy rose by 72% year-on-year, marking the highest level since 2020.

While viewability rates globally have plateaued - rising just 1.6% compared to previous years of steady growth—the increasing adoption of additional metrics, such as attention, reflects a shift in how marketers assess ad effectiveness. The report notes that situational and behavioural signals, like clicks or eye movements, are increasingly valued for measuring how impressions contribute to brand outcomes.

Within APAC, ad fraud rates in optimised scenarios mirrored global levels, with desktop display fraud steady at 1.3%. Impressions on mobile web video saw a marginal increase, while desktop display fraud impressions dropped from 1.1% to 0.8%. APAC's desktop video viewability jumped from 69.2% in 2023 to 88.9% in 2024, surpassing the worldwide average. The region also maintained higher time-in-view rates across digital ad formats than other global regions.

The share of violent content in brand risk categories increased in APAC throughout the year, rising from 43.5% in the first half to 54.3% in the second half of 2024 on desktop display.

IAS stated that the continuing evolution of the digital media landscape, driven by advances in artificial intelligence and shifts in consumer behaviour, underlines the importance of sustained monitoring and adaptation by marketers. The company believes that actionable insights from benchmarks like the Media Quality Report help advertisers and publishers navigate these challenges.