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Discussing ad fraud, ethical marketing, success metrics and performance vs brand

Havas Media's Jamie Seltzer and Mary Anne He talk about KPIs within marketing, benefits of combining quantitative behavioural data sets with syndicated data, as well as data accessibility, identifying sources, and data accuracy.

ad fraud ethical marketing performance brand

Havas Middle East recently launched CSA ME to help clients and brands harness the power of data to optimise strategies, provide actionable insights, enhance ROI, drive automation and digital transformation, and place metrics at the centre of clients’ marketing efforts.

Following up on this announcement, Campaign Middle East spoke to Jamie Seltzer, Global EVP CSA & Mx Analytics, Havas Media Network, who flew down to the UAE from the Greater Boston region of Massachusetts, US, and to Mary Anne He, Head of Data Analytics and Insights, at Havas Media Group in Dubai.

The conversation delved into several topics, including KPIs and success metrics within marketing ought to be defined, the benefits of combining quantitative behavioural data sets with syndicated data, as well as data accessibility, identifying the right sources, and data accuracy to address ad fraud.

From left, Mary Anne He, Head of Data Analytics and Insights, Havas Media Group, and Jamie Seltzer, Global EVP CSA & Mx Analytics, Havas Media Network talk about ad fraud, performance marketing, brand, and success metrics.
From left, Mary Anne He, Head of Data Analytics and Insights, Havas Media Group, and Jamie Seltzer, Global EVP CSA & Mx Analytics, Havas Media Network.

“We usually find with our clients that it’s not about having more data, it’s about using what we have more strategically.”

Setting success metrics

When asked about how brands and marketers ought to improve their approach to success metrics, Jamie Seltzer said, “This is a common question among our clients, and we always advise them to begin by thinking about their ultimate business goals and what they believe the job of media and advertising to be. We believe it’s important to think about these KPIs in a few different buckets; optimisation metrics, delivery metrics and outcome metrics.”

Seltzer added, “In an ideal scenario we would identify the outcome metrics first as those are the clients’ business goals but often are much slower to come in. We then do an analysis to find the best proxies for those delivery metrics in the faster moving data sets, these become our delivery and optimisation metrics. We usually find with our clients that it’s not about having more data, it’s about using what we have more strategically.”

Dedicated to enhancing the clients’ understanding of customer data and improving ROI through analytics, CSA ME offers a suite of solutions across three core areas:

  • CSA Tech: A suite of digital tools and services that drive automation, data consolidation, and digital transformation.
  • CSA Consult: Access to a global network of experts, providing clients with strategic insights to accelerate growth.
  • CSA Science: Proprietary tools and capabilities that place measurement at the centre of clients’ marketing efforts.

Measurement models are already changing and evolving to account for a hybrid cookie world, the Havas Media leaders shared. These models are using cookies where available and incorporating other identifiers and methodologies where they aren’t. Instead of moving past traditional measurement and attribution models, there’s a need for these models to evolve to meet the needs of clients as the industry changes.

“First and foremost, the data needs to be accurate, representative and without bias, as well as consented and compliant. We save the secret sauce for our clients so we don’t want to give too much away, but there is certainly a way to leverage the richness of data in a compliant and ethical way.”

Ethically derived metrics from multiple data sets

Ahead of Campaign Middle East’s highly anticipated upcoming magazine issue on ethical marketing, we also discussed the ethical considerations and potential benefits of combining multiple data sets – such as existing quantitative behavioural data sets with data scraping, mining as well as syndicated data – to drive value through comprehensive marketing insights.

“There is value in augmenting and enhancing existing data with other data sets but only if it’s done in a compliant way,” Mary Anne He said. “First and foremost, the data needs to be accurate, representative and without bias, as well as consented and compliant. With our team of incredibly creative data analysts, we have designed many innovative analyses that rely solely on publicly available data for clients across a wide range of categories.”

“We truly believe that data is everywhere and the difference is how we transform and interpret it. We save the secret sauce for our clients so we don’t want to give too much away, but there is certainly a way to leverage the richness of data in a compliant and ethical way,” Mary Anne He added.

When questioned further about the pros and cons of combining multiple data sets, specifically in the region, Jamie Seltzer zoomed out a bit for context.

“Multiple data sets adds to the robustness of the data we have to work with and can augment and enhance the results in turn, but the Middle East is usually not the first stop for third-party data providers. This means that markets like the US have access to far more off-the-shelf data. We have seen great success combining quantitative behavioral data sets with syndicated data in our Converged platform to generate better insights and better targeting strategies for our clients around the world.”

Doubling down on the need to do it right, Seltzer added, “It’s important, however, that we ensure all the data we’re working with is privacy compliant, opted in, doesn’t violate anyone else’s IP ownership and, most importantly, is accurate.”

“Brands need to invest in technology to integrate these sources and create a unified view of consumer behaviour.”

Accuracy and ad fraud

Building on the theme of accuracy in the digital age where the focus on ROI of digital campaigns is higher than ever, Campaign Middle East then addressed challenges facing measurement techniques and ad fraud.

“The biggest hurdle to any measurement solution is data access and accuracy. Ultimately, without good, robust data, measurement solutions will struggle to provide value. The Middle East region varies greatly in terms of data accessibility but I believe that many of the measurement techniques we’re using in the rest of the world will not only apply here but add a lot of value to clients here.” Jamie Seltzer said.

“The key is in the data and identifying the right sources. Ad fraud is a continuous battle within the digital/advertising ecosystem. Our approach is to use the best in class partner vendors to address not just ad fraud but brand safety and viewability. But we also augment this by having best practices in digital media buying setups that reduce the chances of ad fraud,” Seltzer added.

Responding to the question on challenges faced by marketers in terms of data analytics in order to make more informed decisions, Mary Anne He said, “One major challenge is the linguistic diversity in the region. While Modern Standard Arabic is used for formal communication, everyday conversations vary significantly between dialects like Levantine, Gulf, and North African. This makes sentiment analysis more difficult, as NLP tools must be able to understand these variations alongside English. Addressing this requires investing in machine learning models that are specifically trained on regional Arabic datasets.”

Speaking to the issue of data fragmentation, Mary Anne He added, “Insights in the region often come from a mix of local and global platforms, including social networks like Snapchat, regional e-commerce sites, and local publishers. In some markets like the UAE, a large number of consumers own more than one mobile, with some keeping the SIMs of their home country as well, making cross-device matching even more difficult than it already is. Thus, brands need to invest in technology to integrate these sources and create a unified view of consumer behaviour.”

Data trends and balancing performance vs brand

Several data trends are reshaping the Middle Eastern market, and brands need to be prepared to capitalise on these for a competitive edge.

The Havas Media leaders narrowed these data trends into the following three focal points:

  1. There is a growing focus on first-party data strategies. With the global shift towards privacy, regional brands are building stronger direct relationships with consumers, often through loyalty programs, apps, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce platforms.
  2. Home-grown data and tech platforms that overcome some of the challenges we mentioned before, for example, a social listening platform with NLP specially trained with Arabic dialects.
  3. Finally, the UAE has been a regional leader in AI initiatives, promoting smart cities and digital transformation, supported by a population that embraces technology. Brands are increasingly leveraging AI for predictive analytics and stay ahead of shifts in consumer behavior. This helps in tailoring campaigns that resonate more deeply with regional sensibilities.

Before concluding the discussion, Jamie Seltzer and Mary Anne He also shared their opinions on the need to balance short-term campaign performance with long-term brand building.

“It’s about aligning metrics with the overall business objectives. Short-term metrics like conversions and revenue generation are crucial for immediate performance, but they need to be balanced with metrics that reflect long-term brand health — such as brand awareness, sentiment, and customer loyalty. This requires a dual-track strategy where some investments are made for immediate returns, while others are aimed at sustaining brand relevance and loyalty over time,” Mary Anne He said.

All in all, CSA ME aims to underscore Havas Midde East’s ongoing commitment to make the overwhelming manageable, through a centralised approach to data and tech that combines a deep understanding of clients’ businesses, with in-network data and tech expertise.

It is backed by a global network of more than 400 data scientists, data engineers, machine learning and AI experts, behavioural economists, digital technology specialists, and data strategy consultants.

Jamie Seltzer explained further, “At CSA, we provide measurement solutions that allow brands to model and allocate their investments across short-term and long-term objectives.”

Seltzer concluded, “Our clients have access to an interface that allow them to interact with the data and build simulations of different scenarios even if they don’t have a data or technical background which helps them understand campaign performance across brand and performance metrics and find the ideal balance for them.”