The $40bn programmatic ad market is a cause for concern for many marketers and advertisers, due to the risk of digital ads appearing next to less-than-desirable content.

72 per cent of brand advertisers engaged in programmatic buying are concerned about brand integrity and control in digital display placement, according to research from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and Dow Jones.

The survey of 300 global marketers found that brands and agencies are calling for tighter controls, greater visibility, and more focus on brand safety and reputation management.

Despite programmatic being the principal method for trading digital display advertising, nearly 50 per cent of marketers surveyed reported problems with where and how digital advertising is viewed – while 25 per cent stated that they have specific examples of where their ads have appeared next to potentially offensive content.

To deal with their concerns, marketers said they planned to bolster their guidelines and standards, ensuring the integrity of digital ad positioning and placement in safe content environments.

“Our member research shows that clients are going to be putting more pressure on their advertising and media-buying partners to provide greater due diligence, control and monitoring when it comes to ensuring ad placement efficacy through automated platforms,” said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “They want to see greater ad spend effectiveness and better attribution from a performance measurement standpoint. They will also likely dictate which channels are pre-approved and shift spend to those that are most trusted and proven.”