- Mike Shields, Mediaweek

As the Web becomes more fragmented, and as more online advertising is sold through third and fourth parties via networks and exchanges, major brands are taking extra steps to ensure that their campaigns run exactly as planned.

As a result, a slew of companies have emerged that specialize in online ad verification services, enabling brands to monitor their campaigns in real time and make adjustments as needed.

Leading verification firm DoubleVerify on Jan. 15 launches BrandShield, a tool designed to automatically prevent online ads from running in places they shouldn’t, based on various parameters predetermined by advertisers.

According to DoubleVerify CEO Oren Netzer, the sort of ongoing assurance that BrandShield can provide is crucial. “This is a major leap, since there is no lag time,” he said. Previously, DoubleVerify and other companies were only able to pick up on ads running alongside undesirable content after they had already been served on sites, said Netzer, requiring brands and agencies to be diligent and often leading to the resolution of discrepancies hours later. “Now there is no need to go back after the fact.”

Besides blocking inappropriate content, Netzer said that many clients are using DoubleVerify services to make certain that even the most basic parameters of their campaigns are enforced, such as timing, geography, target audience and content genre.

Netzer would not comment on which companies DoubleVerify is working with, but according to sources, firms from the telecom and banking categories now employ DoubleVerify for all of their campaigns, including Verizon, T-Mobile, Bank of America, Wachovia and Wells Fargo.

Several brands from the packaged-goods and pharma worlds have also signed on, including Mars Inc. and AstraZeneca.

Overall, DoubleVerify now monitors 20 billion impressions each month, per company officials.