Case Study - Media Company

About Them

A major media organization, known for its trusted content and global reach, was facing inflated audience numbers caused by fake and inactive accounts. While these accounts appeared valid, they weren’t engaging with content, leading to reduced ad rates and lost revenue.

The company had been using email verification to ensure email addresses were valid. However, with the rise of fraud tactics — using real email addresses not tied to genuine users — they faced new challenges. These accounts distorted metrics and hurt engagement, lowering ad performance and revenue.

To solve this, they needed an enhanced solution to identify these accounts. Working with AtData, they’re able to detect fraudulent accounts and restore the accuracy of their audience data.

“Working with AtData allowed us to clear out the noise in our audience and focus on the people who actually engage with our content. That shift made a huge difference in our ad performance.”

– Senior Marketing Executive at the media organization

The Challenge

• Falling CPM Rates: The company faced decreasing CPM rates for their digital ads, which negatively impacted overall revenue.
• Inflated Audience Size: The audience contained many fake and inactive accounts, inflating metrics and diminishing engagement.
• Low Engagement: Many accounts appeared valid but were not interacting with content, reducing ad conversion rates.
• Exploitation of Free Content: Fraudsters created accounts to gain access to free content, further complicating audience accuracy.
• Limitations of Existing Tools: While email validation flagged invalid addresses, it didn’t detect valid but fraudulent accounts that were active and unengaged.

The Solution

To solve the problem, the media company implemented AtData’s SafeToTrust solution to remove inactive and fraudulent accounts:

• Initial Bulk Risk Analysis: SafeToTrust was used to process 50 million existing email addresses, identifying fraudulent accounts that were inflating audience size.
• Real-Time Identification: SafeToTrust was integrated for real-time processing, now handling hundreds of thousands new emails per month, ensuring any new accounts are legitimate.
• Ongoing Monitoring: Continuous monitoring was implemented to maintain audience quality, flagging email addresses that become risky.

Results & Benefits

The implementation of SafeToTrust brought immediate and measurable results:

• Improved Audience Quality

  The company reduced its audience size, increasing confidence that only real users remained in their database.

• Increased Ad Rates

  With a more accurate and valuable audience, the company was able to raise its CPM rates, attracting premium advertisers and increasing ad revenue.

• Higher Engagement

  The removal of fraudulent accounts led to noticeable improvements in key engagement metrics, enhancing overall ad performance.

• Advertiser Confidence

  As a result, the media organization further solidified its reputation as a premium publisher.

Conclusion

AtData has worked with leading media organizations to improve audience quality and boost ad revenue. SafeToTrust’s fraud detection helps identify fake accounts to better engage real users, ensuring accurate audience metrics for better ad rates.

Discover how AtData’s tools can help you improve engagement, restore advertiser trust, and maximize revenue.