Saudi Arabia’s digital ecosystem is undergoing rapid growth, with digital advertising playing a key role in engaging Saudi’s young, tech-savvy, highly engaged population. However, the cultural significance of Saudi society underscores the need to prioritise brand safety and suitability to ensure messages resonate positively with audiences.
According to DoubleVerify’s 2024 Global Insights Report, the MENA region falls behind when it comes to brand safety and suitability, with violations exceeding the global benchmark. In 2023, violations in MENA accounted for 12.5 per cent of all ads served, more than double the global benchmark of 5.8 per cent. Despite this, progress is evident, with MENA violations decreasing by 14 per cent compared to 2022.
The rise of Gen AI and user-generated content has amplified the spread of unsafe and misleading material online, raising notable concerns. Over half of global respondents in the report believe that AI has a ‘significant’ negative impact on media quality. With social media’s global reach, the Kingdom’s population is more exposed than ever to misinformation, disinformation and inflammatory content. As AI-generated content and UGC continues to proliferate, access to comprehensive brand safety and suitability solutions in Saudi Arabia will be essential.
This shift highlights why ad verification is a crucial part of digital advertising in the region, protecting brands from unsafe content. Given the rapidly evolving global political landscape and news cycle, brand safety and suitability should be a top priority for advertisers.
Brand safety and suitability in Saudi Arabia involves ensuring ads are placed in high-quality, culturally appropriate contexts. As the digital media landscape continues to diversify, Saudi advertisers must actively manage media quality across various platforms.
AI and ad verification
Despite the challenges posed by AI, the report highlights its role as a solution, with 55 per cent of global media buyers indicating that AI-driven campaign optimisation positively impacts media quality. A key factor in the overall global decline in brand safety violations is the increase in the utilisation of AI-led, custom pre-bid brand suitability protections.
AI-powered ad verification tools are revolutionising how brands protect themselves from unsuitable placements. These tools use machine learning to proactively identify unsuitable placements before bidding, preventing wasted ad spend on low-quality impressions.
AI can analyse and identify content that fails to meet an advertiser’s brand safety standards, categorising it into a list of sites that require monitoring or blocking. AI continuously updates and manages this list, helping brands protect their reputation and avoid funding unsuitable content through their advertising budgets.
By leveraging AI, brands advertising in Saudi can ensure that every ad impression aligns with their values and business goals. This technology helps advertisers avoid costly mistakes and enhances campaign efficiency. Pre-bid controls reduce waste for advertisers by allowing bids to be placed on suitable impressions. For publishers, they allow monetisation of impressions that don’t align with one brand’s suitability criteria but could be a fit for another.
Building a better ad ecosystem
Ad verification is not just about protecting individual brands – it’s about fostering a transparent and accountable digital ecosystem. By adopting ad verification solutions, Saudi advertisers contribute to creating a responsible advertising environment that benefits both brands and consumers.
This approach increases consumer confidence and ensures that digital advertising is ethical, relevant, and aligned with local cultural standards. In the long term, this will create a more resilient advertising market, where brands can thrive without compromising their reputations.
As the impact of AI-generated content continues to grow, it is vital for MENA advertisers to invest in brand safety and suitability solutions. While areas within MENA – most notably the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – are performing better when it comes to protecting media quality, significant opportunities for improvement remain.
Media buyers in the region should look to North America as an example, where the adoption of AI-driven, pre-bid protections has increased, reducing the market violation rate to 5.2 per cent.
As we approach 2025, ad verification should be seen as an essential tool for advertisers seeking to protect their brand image, optimise ad spend, and build trust with their audiences.
By Daniel White, Regional Vice President, MENA at DoubleVerify.
