Stop the Digital Advertising Chaos: Three Steps to Outcomes You Can Trust

If you've followed the headlines, you know the digital advertising model has long needed fixing. Ad fraud has skyrocketed, bots are muddying metrics, and too many campaigns rely on vague audience data that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. At OMI, we've called this out for years in Forbes and on our blog. A recent article in AdExchanger by our friend, Mark Dye of B2B Tech Group, adds even more urgency to the conversation.

Titled "Google Is Keeping Cookies So Advertisers Will Keep Buying Junk Data in Bulk," Mark’s article highlights what many of us already know: outdated, questionable audience data has been propping up the advertising industry for far too long. And now, Google's delay in killing third-party cookies signals how deeply entrenched that system remains.

For marketers, it’s a clear warning—change is overdue. Here are three paths to change that our team is already putting to use across our client campaigns:

1. Start with Real Data

Advertisers today still pay premium rates for impressions that often don't reach real people. The AdExchanger piece points out that some of the data being bought and sold at scale is so imprecise that it borders on worthless. This backs up what we've been saying: bad data costs brands real money, not to mention real results.

At OMI, we’ve made it our mission to deliver accurate reach to real people through high-quality, verified data sets. Our Living File® database of 162+ million professional-level contacts isn’t scraped or stitched together through guesswork. It’s verified, segmented, constantly updated, and ready for campaign activation across CTV, email, social, programmatic, and other channels. And it comes with a 95% email validity guarantee for 30 days.

The database includes manager, director, and professional-level and above records with email/HEM, social URL, and other attributes. We also deliver the largest reach into the SMB marketplace.

Another one of our most strategic assets in the effort to remove fraud from the data fueling our client campaigns is FouAnalytics, a leader in fighting ad fraud. Learn more by reading our recent blog or watching the podcast interview.

2. Elevate Precision Targeting

If you’re still relying on cookie-based targeting or broad, unvetted third-party segments, it’s time to rethink your audience strategy. As platforms grow more fragmented and privacy concerns mount, you need more than general demographic overlays—you need audience data that embraces a holistic understanding of your audience, enabling precision targeting and alignment with your exact campaign objectives.

One way we are accomplishing this is through B2B2C data linkage. It has fast become one of our most popular services because it breaks down the silos that exist between consumer and professional prospect data, opening up new paths to personalization, relevance, and reach. This is made possible through a process we use to weave together a prospect's B2B attributes --sourced from our own massive B2B database--with that prospect's B2C attributes, such as their LinkedIn profile, demographics, and residential address. OMI then sends the combined B2B2C audience data to theTradeDesk, Google DV360, or other DSPs and leading social channels to fuel media activation, email acquisition marketing, CTV, programmatic, social, and other omni-channel campaigns for clients.

The result is more robust and complete prospect profiles. At the same time, it enables our clients to reach prospects on their personal and professional channels for higher ROI, increasing their opportunities to engage successfully.  

We also layer intent data on top of our B2B prospect contact data to enable reach to specific, qualified, and interested prospects. Marketers can integrate the combined data across an entire marketing technology stack and apply it to targeted audience campaigns across email acquisition marketing, social networks, programmatic display ads, and more. As a result, precision targeting is amplified for more impactful engagement across multiple channels – and most importantly, you’re reaching people, at scale, who want to hear from you.

3. Transparent Measurement and the Right Partnerships Are a Must

The AdExchanger article underscores a significant point of frustration in digital advertising—measurement opacity. With bots in the mix and metrics that often can't be verified, marketers are left wondering whether their campaigns are driving actual business outcomes. Ultimately, it means paying for advertising that offers little to no value, resulting in enormous financial implications. 

Speaking of which, when seeking out a performance media partnership, one of the most critical areas of transparency surrounds payouts. Because you invest substantial resources in campaigns, it's crucial to understand precisely where every slice of the allocated budget goes and how the campaign is being run—from the advertising platforms to the sites serving the ads and every partner or player who touches those ads across the ecosystem.

Many times, these payouts aren’t equitable or favorable for advertisers. That’s why you must ask your media activation or performance marketing partner for detailed specifics about their processes.

The right partner will ensure you can avoid fraud, measure actual performance, and understand the financial payouts. They’ll also set you up for success with the right data that allows you to track behavior, engagement, and results across multiple platforms. For example, when partnering with OMI, we actively eliminate non-human activity, ensuring your results reflect actual engagement—not artificial noise. Take a look at our recent case study demonstrating how we drive tangible business outcomes for clients.

It’s Time to Stop Funding the Problem

As Mark states, as long as marketers continue pouring dollars into opaque data marketplaces and cookie-based media buys, the incentives won’t change. That’s why a growing number of brands are turning to performance media. As the IAB recently reported, ROI pressure is the most significant force driving this shift, making it critical for marketers to leave vague impressions and vanity metrics behind and focus on results.

Contact our team today at request@outwardmedia.com to discuss a path to achieving results you can trust.