This serves as an introduction to Pixalate’s MRC thought leadership series specific to Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (“SIVT”) within mobile application (in-app) environments.
SIVT within in-app environments has many varied characteristics — both in structure and detection solutions — compared to web traffic (desktop and mobile web). It is important that entities operating in the mobile in-app digital advertising ecosystem take these differences into consideration when establishing their internal control framework and their SIVT detection/filtration processes.
On June 2, 2017, the Media Rating Council (“MRC”) issued interim guidance specific to SIVT within mobile in-app environments to establish a process for evaluating the different characteristics of SIVT as detected within mobile in-app environments. The guidance serves as a supplement to the MRC Invalid Traffic (“IVT”) Guidelines Addendum (the MRC IVT Guidelines) issued on October 15, 2015.
The additional guidance provided is specified to the following procedural areas (described in greater detail below):
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SIVT detection and filtration techniques, by design, incorporate various parameters, thresholds, and evaluation criteria in identifying invalid traffic. Pertaining to the parameters and heuristics considered with respect to SIVT techniques employed in mobile in-app environments, the MRC interim guidance states the following:
“Measurement vendors applying SIVT detection and filtration techniques must consider mobile applications discreetly in setting parameters or determining heuristics used should they represent a material portion of measured and filtered traffic.”
These additional considerations, as broken down in the executive summary above, are intended to address the major differences in the evaluation of mobile in-app traffic (on the basis of IVT/SIVT).
The MRC mobile in-app SIVT interim guidance also explicitly addresses measurement vendors’ responsibility to apply a similar level of discernment and rigor in evaluating General Invalid Traffic (“GIVT”) within mobile in-app environments. While many GIVT techniques are parameter- or list-based, such procedures are required to be evaluated and assessed by the service on the basis of the coverage on a discrete application level. The MRC interim guidance also encourages the development of incremental procedures to address any coverage gaps identified, especially in situations where mobile in-app constitutes a material portion of measured and filtered traffic.
