Ad fraud Awareness-2019 survey report

Ad Fraud
Awareness
How Much Do
Digital Marketers
Really Know
About Ad Fraud?
A Research Study
Created by Fuse Insights
Sponsored by:

My name is Matt Gallant, I’m CEO of tribeOS and I’ve been a digital
marketer for over twenty years.
I made my first online sale in 1998, and I still fondly remember when
advertisers and publishers were able to make a proper return on ad
spend running digital campaigns. But sadly, the digital marketing
landscape is very different today than it was back then, and that’s
because because it’s become overrun by scammers and spammers.
Industry giants like Newsweek have been forced to admit to buying
fake traffic. Advertisers are losing a whopping $51 Million every
single day. And ad fraud has now officially become the second most
profitable organized crime in the world, second only to drug
trafficking.
It’s gotten so bad that Procter & Gamble, the largest brand
advertiser in the world, cut their digital ad spend by $200 Million a
year and actually increased their reach by 10%. How is that
possible? Simple, they were no longer throwing money away on
bots and click farms.
And yet, most people don’t know what ad fraud is and know even
less about how it works to steal advertising budgets. That’s why
my team and I decided to make an investment in this research
study. Rather than looking at the spammers and scammers, at
digging into how ad fraud is being conducted and how much money
is being stolen, we wanted to focus directly on the people and
teams who are running digital ad campaigns.
We believed that awareness about ad fraud remained strikingly low
and we wanted to have real data to back it up. Knowledge is power,
understanding where the gaps in our own knowledge are is the first
step toward change.
We are committed to remaining at the bleeding edge of the fight
against ad fraud. Despite what you may believe, ad fraud affects
every person, every team, and every company that advertises
online.
I hope that armed with this data, you are able to forge a clear path
toward protecting yourself and your ad spend. We are a movement,
and we are growing.
Welcome to the tribe.
Matt Gallant
CEO of tribeOS

Most Marketers
are Unfamiliar with
Ad Fraud
How Big of a
Problem do
Marketers Think
Ad Fraud Is?
Key Takeaways &
How to Protect
Yourself
Appendix
Who Participated
in this Survey?
Table of Contents
5
12
21
26

Godzilla image Vecteezy.com
$
1⁄3Experienced marketers
are not familiar with
ad fraud or have never
heard of it
Most respondents
see ad fraud as the
BIGGEST PROBLEM
(or one of the biggest)
facing the industry
Most marketers have a limited understanding of
what ad fraud is and how it works
Only 13%
of those respondents have a
working knowledge of ad fraud
and how it works
1⁄33⁄5
¯_(ツ)_/¯
55%
have no idea how much is lost
globally each year to ad frauddo not see ad fraud as affecting them
33%
think they
know it
77%
have heard
of ad fraud
94%
do not identify
as experts
Only 11%
of respondents have
a working knowledge
of ad fraud

Most Marketers
are Unfamiliar
with Ad Fraud

Ignorance is bliss?
4⁄5see ad fraud as a
consumer problem
not a problem for
digital marketing
1⁄3experienced marketers
are not familiar with
ad fraud or have never
heard of it
of marketers surveyed have
never heard of ad fraud
77%
have heard
of ad fraud
64%
don’t really
know what
ad fraud is
22%
85%
of those respondents could not
give an accurate, working description
of ad fraud and how it works
Even though 49%
of those respondents have
10+ years experience
in digital advertising

MOST MARKETERS ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH AD FRAUD
Only 11% of
marketers surveyed
could give an
accurate deﬁnition
of ad fraud
Everyone who said they’d heard of ad fraud
was asked in their own words to describe it.
We then read their responses and
summarised them – as shown in this chart.
77% of marketers said they’d heard of ad
fraud. But when asked, only 15%* of them
were able to describe ad fraud in terms the
digital marketing industry would accept.
These terms include: fake data, being
charged for ads that aren’t shown, and fake
interactions, etc.
3% said they really don’t know what ad
fraud is.
8 out of 10 provided an incorrect description
of what ad fraud is focusing on ads that
defraud consumers, pretend to be from
legitimate brands and so on.
Only 18% of all respondents who claimed to
be ‘expert’ or ‘experienced’ in digital
marketing gave a correct description of ad
fraud.
*Marketers were asked to write in their own words
what ad fraud is and how it works.
In your own words, how would you
describe online ad fraud and what it is?
Fake/ bot traffic/ interactions
Fake data
Charging for ads that aren't shown
Fake/copied ads; ads pretending to be from a speciﬁc brand/org
False claims in ads
Phishing/ ads to steal (consumer) data
Ads defrauding consumers
"Fraud", fake/ false ads
Ads that lead to fraudulent sites
Other
Don't know/ unsure
Base: all respondents who have heard of online ad fraud (210)
Correct
3%
20%
2%
1%
6%
15%
18%
25%
2%
6%
10%

Only 1 in 3 experienced marketers
think they know digital advertising well
70% of survey respondents are senior management or higher.
Respondents have an average of 11 years experience working in
marketing
100% act as marketing ‘decision makers,’ meaning that they act
as the resident marketing expert and subject matter expert for
their organization.
The majority of respondents are solely responsible for marketing
within their organization.
Despite having over a decade’s experience in marketing, very
few see themselves as experts.
18% of people who said they’ve worked in marketing for 10+ years
say they have no, or minimal, knowledge of digital advertising.
And which of these answers
best describes your
knowledge and experience
of digital advertising?
7%
20%
44%
24%
6%
Expert:
Experienced:
Some exposure
Minimal
None
Base: all respondents (274)

While 3/4 have heard of ad fraud,
only 1/3 (think they) know what it is
64% of our respondents said they’re not familiar with ad fraud –
including half (49%) of those who have 10+ years of digital
marketing under their belt.
1 in 3 (30%) of those who said they’re ‘experienced’ or ‘expert’ in
digital advertising also said they’re not familiar with or haven’t
even heard of ad fraud.
Only 58% of people who say they’re familiar with ad fraud are
actually experienced in digital marketing – and as we’ll see, what
they understand of ad fraud is perhaps not what should be
worrying them as marketers.
How familiar, if at all, are you
with online ad fraud?
1%
22%
41%
26%
9%
Very familiar
Quite familiar
Not very familiar
Not at all
Don't know

They don’t know what they are or how they
work, but marketers have heard of the tactics
fraudsters use steal ad spend
All those respondents who claimed to have heard of ad fraud were
then asked about specific ad fraud mechanisms, as charted here.
When prompted, 2/3 of marketers claim to have at least heard of
bot traffic and click farms. As detailed above, they probably don’t
know much about how they work or, more importantly, what it
means for their campaigns, but it’s still promising.
And as a proportion of all the marketers we surveyed, that’s half
who have heard of bot traffic and click farms.
Similarly, about half of marketers surveyed have heard of buying
traffic; fewer than half know about domain spoofing, hidden/
invisible ads, and so on.
Which of these different types
of ad fraud (if any) do you
know about?
43%
49%
57%
62%
66%
Bot traffic, click farms
Buying traffic
Domain spoofing
pop-unders, hidden or invisible ads
Cookie stuffing
Base: all respondents who have heard of online ad fraud/ all respondents (210/ 274)

Despite a lack of awareness about ad fraud,
marketers understand that it is rampant
All respondents who know anything about digital marketing or
have heard of ad fraud (91% of our 274 marketers) were asked
about the presence of ad fraud in particular digital channels. The
good news is that, regardless of how well they understand what ad
fraud is, they realise it’s fairly rampant.
4 out of 5 people who know anything about digital marketing said
that they think there’s ad fraud on social ads.
Only 3% of this group think that there deﬁnitely isn’t ad fraud in
social channels. And it’s a similar story with other online ad
solutions – the majority of respondents asked think that they’re
prone to at least some ad fraud. But more than that, only a tiny
minority think there’s no ad fraud in these formats.
Also worth noting is that 1 in 5 admit that they really don’t know, for
any channel, whether there’s fraud or not.
In general, how much ad fraud
do you think there is with each
type of ad below?
A Lot of fraud
Base: All respondents who have some experience with digital marketing or heard of online ad fraud (249)
Social ads (on Facebook, Twitter etc)
Online display ads (banners, etc)
Ads in mobile apps
Search ads (Google AdWords)
Online video ads (pre-roll, in-banner video etc)
Some ad fraud Don’t knowNone
21%
5%
51%
23%
21%
6%
48%
25%
22%
2%
46%
30%
22%
4%
43%
31%
18%
3%
38%
42%

How Big of a
Problem do
Marketers Think
Ad Fraud Is?

While marketers may have heard of ad
fraud, the majority are unable to give
an adequate description of what it is
and how it works. This becomes even
more striking when marketers are
asked deeper questions about who is
hurt by ad fraud and who should be
responsible for putting an end to it.
I haven’t
been affected ...probably
“It’s a big problem... but it’s not my problem.”
The misunderstanding of what ad
fraud is and who it affects inﬂuences
the marketers’ whole perception of
how relevant ad fraud is to their own
day-to-day marketing efforts.
36%
3⁄5 say their own campaigns haven’t,
or probably haven’t been affected
say they deﬁnitely haven’t
been directly affected
$
1⁄3
¯_(ツ)_/¯
have no idea how much is lost
globally each year to ad fraud
Most respondents
see ad fraud as the
BIGGEST PROBLEM
(or one of the biggest)
facing the industry
Only 13%
of those respondents have a
working knowledge of ad fraud
and how it works
55%

HOW BIG OF A PROBLEM DO MARKETERS THINK AD FRAUD IS?
Ad fraud is seen as a big problem by most
who’ve heard of it – but for many that’s based
on misunderstanding what it is
Everyone who had heard of ad fraud was asked how big a problem
it is for the online ad industry.
More than half said it’s one of, if not the, biggest problems facing
the online ad industry right now.
But that still leaves a third who don’t see it as a huge issue, and 1 in
10 who really aren’t sure.
Given the understanding of ad fraud demonstrated previously,
though, this doesn’t necessarily indicate that marketers understand
it as a big problem for them.
In fact, of those marketers saying it’s the, or one of the, biggest
problem(s) facing the industry, only 13% described ad fraud in terms
we’d use.
Given what you know about
ad fraud, how serious a
problem do you think it is for
the online advertising industry
as a whole? Please select the
one answer you think best
describes it
Single biggest problem facing online ad industry today
One of the biggest problems facing online ad industry
A big problem, but there are much bigger concerns
facing the industry right now
It’s really not a big problem for the online ad industry
Don’t know
Base: all respondents who have heard of online ad fraud (210) t
9%
5%
31%
46%
9%

Most don’t
know how
much ad fraud
costs the
industry; but
arguably that’s
irrelevant to
them
Few respondents really
understood the financial impact
of ad fraud at a global level.
(Although there are numerous
competing figures in the
industry, we’ve worked on the
assumption that ad fraud costs
$51 Million a day and $19 Billion
a year).
1/3 of respondents who have
heard of ad fraud said they just
have no idea how much is lost to
it each year in $; and a similar
number don’t know as a
proportion of total ad
spend either.
At a broader level, the answers
perhaps also illustrate that many
marketers don’t really think
about how much is spent on
advertising globally – for people
whose success is measured in
terms of their own specific
marketing tactics, does it really
matter that much?
Which of these is closest to
the total amount lost globally
to ad fraud every year?
…and as a proportion of
global ad spend?
<$50,000
$50,000
500,000
5,000,000
50,000,000
500,000,000
5,000,000,000
50,000,000,000
>50,000,000,000
Don't know
<10%
10-25%
25-50%
50-75%
>75%
Don’t know
Base: all respondents who have heard of online ad fraud (210)
*Correct11%
35%
6%
10%
14%
10%
8%
32%
2%
5%
19%
30%
11%

There’s a
cognitive gap
between “it’s
a big problem”
and “I might
have been
affected”
This idea that “ad fraud is a big problem, but I don’t think it applies
to me” is evident when respondents were asked about their own
digital campaigns.
3 out of 5 believe that their own digital campaigns haven’t been
subject to ad fraud and only 1 in 5 concede that they may have run
into it.
17% at least say they genuinely don’t know.
Those who say they have (probably) had issues with ad fraud are
disproportionately likely to be in the marketing industry; they’re also
more likely to say they’re experienced in digital marketing and
familiar with ad fraud.
Perhaps more alarmingly, 3/4 of those who said they definitely
haven’t had ad fraud work for firms that have run social ads in the
last year, about a third have run online video ads, and a little over 1
in 4 have run display ads.
Overlay those numbers with the proportion saying social, search
and other ads have ad fraud (p17), and you can see quite vividly this
idea that “ad fraud is a problem, but doesn’t affect me.”
It’s possible this stems from the small budgets people are working
with, and an idea that “ad fraud is something that only happens on
those big complex campaigns,” or “I’m just placing ads through the
Facebook interface, so I’m safe enough.” But the truth is it’s the
smaller players who suffer the costs of ad fraud most.
Base: all respondents who have had some
experience with digital marketing (202)
Thinking back to your own
work in marketing, have any
of the digital campaigns
you’ve worked on ever
been subject to ad fraud?
Yes, definitely
Probably, although it’s 100% certain
Possibly, although it seems unlikely
Definitely not
Don’t know
17%
36%
25%
13%
8%

Buying ad
space from
well known
publishers tops
the list for
solving
ad fraud
Our respondents have demonstrated that they’re not really aware of
why ad fraud is such a problem, and the importance to their own
campaigns – and so when 6 out of 10 agree that “only buying from
well-known publishers” is a solution to ad fraud, it’s valid to wonder
the extent to which they rely upon it.
And if they see that as a solution but don’t know much about the
mechanics of ad fraud, does it leave them even more open to
domain spoofing?
Also notable is that only a quarter realise that checking standard
campaign data isn’t a solution for ad fraud.
There’s clearly a big opportunity here to educate marketers not just
that they should be taking these steps, but what they actually mean.
Based on what you know of ad fraud, which of
these would you say would solve ad fraud?
Base: all respondents who have some experience with digital marketing or heard of online ad fraud (249)
Definitely solves
ad fraud
Helps but isn’t
the whole answer
Don’t know
what this is
Not a
solution
11%
44%
38%
7%
21%
16%
54%
10%
26%
18%
47%
10%
17%
24%
47%
12%
18%
15%
51%
16%
24%
6%
51%
19%
10%
9%
59%
23%
Only buying ad space from well-known publishers
Using an ad verification vendor (MOAT, DoubleVerify...)
Not paying per impression, click or other metric which can be easily faked
Checking the standard campaign data (impressions, clicks...)
Checking a site’s ads.txt before buying any ad space there
Using inclusion/ exclusion lists of sites to include or exclude from your online ad campaign
Paying for more expensive ad inventory rather than buying cheaply

3 out of 5 see the marketer as at least some
responsibility for preventing ad fraud; but most
think it’s the publishers, networks, agencies
who should crack down
This question was asked of all marketers who have experience of
digital marketing or who have heard of ad fraud.
3 out of 5 feel that the marketer has a role to play in helping prevent
ad fraud.
Most marketers believe that publishers, networks and ad platforms
should take responsibility for preventing ad fraud seems
well-placed.
But again, this sits somewhat at odds with respondents’ perceptions
of their own liability, exposure to and role in preventing ad fraud.Based on your knowledge, who
do you think is responsible for
preventing ad fraud?
12%
4%
48%
15%
24%
49%
12%
Totally responsible Partly responsible Don’t knowNot at all
14%
9%
55%
22%
14%
6%
55%
25%
14%
5%
55%
25%
35%
The ad networks (such as Oath, Google AdSense etc) selling the ad space
Ad platforms or exchanges where ad space is bought and sold
The online publisher/ websites on which the ads appear
The advertiser’s media agency that buys the ad space
The marketer that’s paying for the ad campaign
Base: all respondents who have had some experience with digital marketing or heard of online ad fraud (249)

3 out of 5 think digital advertising is so
complicated that ad fraud is inevitable
By the end of the survey, many respondents had a better
understanding – or at least stronger opinions – of ad fraud.
Perhaps most headline-worthy is that among all our marketer
respondents (274), 3 out of 5 feel that ad fraud is an inevitable
corollary of the complexity of the digital ad ecosystem. But again,
more than half concede that marketers have to take at least some
responsibility for where their ads run online.
4 out of 5 believe that publishers are responsible for ensuring all
ads are visible and served to people – and only 7% disagreed.
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Disagree Agree Neither Agree
Nor Disagree
Publishers and website owners are
responsible for ensuring that all the
ads on their sites are visible, and
served to people, not bots
Digital ad buying is so complex
it’s no wonder there’s fraud
Ultimately, the marketer paying
for the campaign needs to take
responsibility for where their ads
are shown
Really, when it comes to online
ads there’s no way of knowing
what ads are appearing where,
and who’s seeing them
6%
8%
4%
2%
20%
14%
10%
5%
12%
18%
24%
37%
21%
22%
27%
14%
41%
38%
35%
43%

Ad networks don’t take enough
responsibility for their involvement
in ad fraud
None of the online ad campaigns
I’ve worked on have ever had
issues with fraud
When I’ve run online campaigns,
I’ve always been happy with how
successful they’ve been
When I run online ad campaigns,
the ad vendors and solutions I use
do enough to protect me from fraud
Ad fraud is less of a problem
than it used to be
Respondents are a little less sure of their own
exposure to ad fraud
The survey was designed such that respondents had to answer for
each statement – so the % saying “neither agree nor disagree” is
insightful.
For example, we can see that when asked about their own issues
with ad fraud, there’s a significant minority of respondents who
really aren’t sure.
Only 31% said their ad vendors and solutions protect them from
fraud – a quarter said they definitely don’t, and 45% essentially
don’t know.
And when pressed, although 42% said their digital ad campaigns
have never suffered from fraud, a quarter think they have, and a
third aren’t confident enough to give an answer either way.
Thinking more broadly about online and mobile advertising,
how much do you agree or disagree with these statements?
Disagree Agree Neither Agree
Nor Disagree
Base: all respondents who have had
some experience with digital marketing (202)
23%
6%
8%
8%
28%
18%
20%
15%
3%
7%
8%
20%
10%
24%
31%
22%
3%
5%
23%
37%
45%
33%
35%
22%
47%

Key
Takeaways
& How to
Protect
Yourself

KEY TAKEAWAYS & HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
The 4 Key Gaps in Ad Fraud Awareness
Our research indicates that there are 4 critical gaps in the general level of awareness that digital
marketers have about what ad fraud is and how it works.
GAP 1
THE RELEVANCY GAP
Our data shows that while respondents are aware of ad fraud on a generic level, or have at least
heard of ad fraud in a vague sense, what ad fraud is, how it works, and how it affects them directly as
digital marketers remains a bit of a mystery.
For instance, more than half of the digital marketers we surveyed said ad fraud is one of, if not the,
biggest problems facing the online ad industry. However, that still leaves a third of respondents who
don’t recognize that ad fraud is a critical issue and 1 in 10 who really aren’t sure at all.
In addition, of those marketers who realize it’s one of the biggest problems facing digital advertisers,
only 13% described ad fraud in familiar terms used by those more savvy on the issue. Meaning only a
small fraction who understand that ad fraud is a big problem, actually understand what ad fraud is.
And perhaps most alarmingly, the vast majority don’t see it as something that they themselves are
affected by.
GAP 2
AD FRAUD IS A PROBLEM, BUT NOT MY PROBLEM
And this is where you see the relevancy gap clearly take hold. Consider these results as conﬁrmation
of that fact:
6 out of 10 believe that their own digital campaigns aren’t subject to ad fraud
Only 1 in 5 concede that they may been impacted by ad fraud
17% at least say they genuinely don’t know
Perhaps more alarming, is that 3/4 of those who said they haven’t experienced ad fraud actually work
for digital marketing ﬁrms that run social ads! This includes a third that have run online video ads, and
a little over 1 in 4 that have run display ads.

GAP 3
MARKETERS FAIL TO APPRECIATE THE TRUE COSTS OF
AD FRAUD
Because of disconnects #1 and #2, few respondents fully comprehend the financial impact of ad fraud
at a global level. In essence, respondents see a number like $51 Million lost every day to ad fraud as
“someone else’s problem” and not theirs.
This data point confirms that previous insight: 1/3 of respondents who have heard of ad fraud said they
just have no idea how much is lost to it each year in dollars; and a similar number don’t know any figure
(such as industry estimates of 30-50%) as a proportion of total ad spend either.
GAP 4
WHO’S ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR AD FRAUD?
Respondents felt social ads were more vulnerable to ad fraud than display ads. So, digital marketers
know ad fraud exists but aren’t sure how relevant is to their campaigns. Now, how do they feel about
who’s ultimately responsible?
Answers to that question carry a two-fold importance: first where the problem lies and second who’s
responsible for fixing it.
4 out of 5 believe that publishers are responsible for making all ads visible and served to
people – and only 7% disagreed
3 out of 5 agree that “only buying from well-known publishers” is a possible solution.
3 out of 5 feel the marketer should take at least some responsibility for preventing ad
fraud; but more say the publishers/ networks/ agencies must prevent it
Only a quarter realise that checking standard campaign data is not a solution for ad fraud
Looking at this section of the study results reveals a contradiction of sorts: while 3 out of 5 stated the
marketer bears some responsibility in preventing ad fraud there is still the apparent disconnect about
their own liability, exposure to and role in preventing ad fraud.

A FINAL TAKEAWAY
The complexity of the ad buying process
complicates matters
By the end of the survey, many respondents had a better understanding – or at least stronger
opinions – of ad fraud. In fact, 3 out of 5 feel that ad fraud is an inevitable outcome because of the
complexity of the digital ad landscape. And as a reminder, more than half concede that marketers
should take some responsibility for where their ads run online.
Overall, the insights gained on this research study show more education and awareness are needed
across the board for in-house marketers as well ad digital ad ﬁrms and marketing consultants as well.

So what can we, as digital marketers, do to
forge a clear path towards protecting ourselves
and our ad spend from scammers and,
ultimately, end ad fraud once and for all?
UNDERSTAND AD FRAUD
Above all else, it is quite critical that we, as digital marketers, take the first step in educating ourselves
about what ad fraud is, how it works, and how our own campaigns and return on ad spend might be
affected.
Luckily, there are a number of very dedicated independent researchers committed to investigating,
documenting, and publishing the latest developments, stats, and figures about how scammers are
stealing campaign dollars.
I would urge you to look into the work of Dr. Augustine Fou along with the ad fraud collective Social
Puncher where you can learn not only about just how bad ad fraud has become, but also about
emerging tactics fraudsters use to steal ad spend.
Stay up to late on the latest ad fraud news at websites like sadbottrue.com, The Drum, AdAge, and the
IAB.
And you can check out our blog at www.tribeos.io/blog where you will find educational articles to help
you get a better understanding of what ad fraud really is and how it works.
GET INVOLVED IN THE FIGHT TO END AD FRAUD
And finally, become a part of our tribe and join the fight to end ad fraud. Sign up to for our waitlist and
get early access to tribeOS, the only digital advertising marketplace that makes stopping at fraud and
protecting your hard earned ad spend our #1 priority.
Together, we can stop ad fraud once and for all.

Who
Participated in
this Survey?

274American Canadian
Survey Sample Overview
274 marketing
decision-makers in Canada
and the US
70% of survey respondents
are senior management or
higher
30% of marketers surveyed
said they’re expert or
experienced in digital advertising, even though all
respondents act as the resident marketing expert and
decision maker for their organization.
Only 32% say they are experienced or experts in
digital marketing.
22% of marketing decision makers say they have
minimal or no knowledge about digital advertising.
Ad fraud is extremely relevant
to the people we surveyed for
this study. It has a direct affect
on their professional
performance and the return on
ad spend generated by their
digital ad campaigns.
Respondents have an average
of 11 years experience working
in marketing
The majority of respondents
are solely responsible for
marketing within their
organization and act as the
resident marketing expert for
their companies
58%
Spending on
Digital Ads
42%
Spending on
Offline Ads

APPENDIX • WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS SURVEY?
We surveyed a representative cross-section
of the marketing community
Marketing decision-makers – that’s both offline and online marketing
The majority are marketers in non-marketing organizations.
They’re the marketing SME for their business – responsible for its
marketing initiatives over the course of the year.
Some are from the marketing and publishing sector, and in total 10% of
respondents work for an agency, or an ad tech/ad verification firm. But
they’re very much in the minority.
Most work for small to medium size companies and teams.
The marketing budgets they influence are commensurately small and
digital ad formats feature heavily in their marketing efforts.
86% spent on marketing in the last year; of that 86%, 2/3 spent less than
$50,000 ...and for the majority, at least half of that went on digital formats.
Respondents are a diverse group, and a fairly representative
cross-section of the marketing community. They may not have huge
budgets, but they have to handle marketing for their entire organization
– and so ad fraud is a vital consideration for them.

In total 274 people completed the survey, 255 (93%) from
AskingCanadians’ panels and 19 from external sources. Of
those externally sourced respondents, 14 are in the US.
The geographic spread of Canadian respondents is shown;
among US-based respondents, 38% are in the South, 23%
West, 20% Midwest and 19% in the Northeast.
Just under half (47%) of respondents are college/ university
graduates, and a further 23% have a post-grad qualiﬁcation.
Sample Proﬁle
Base: all respondents/
all in Canada (274/ 255)
Ontario 48%
Prairies 21%
BC 17%
Atlantic 9%
Quebec 4%
Northeast 19%
South 38%
Midwest 20%
West 23%
77%
Canadian
23%
American
7%
External
93%
Panel

Which of these best describes
your job title/ level?
Half of respondents are C-Level, with 2/3 being senior management
level or above.
Three quarters (77%) of respondents in Canada work in companies
of up to 10 employees, reﬂecting the extent to which the economy
is dominated by small companies; but also that for any given job
title - such as “the person responsible for marketing” - that skew of
small companies is even more pronounced.
Respondents in the US unsurprisingly work for slightly larger
companies: 1 in 3 works for a company of 1 to 10 employees, and
22% work in companies of more than 250 people.
Respondents are predominantly senior
management and work for small ﬁrms
How many employees does
your company have, across
all offices and locations?
Other 11%
Non-management 8%
(Consultant, Executive, Associate, etc)
Other management 11%
(Director, Manager, Team Manager)
Senior Management 14%
(SVP, VP, Senior Director, etc)
C-Suite 56%
(incl President, Managing Director, etc)
67%
13%
9%
4%
5%
1-10
11-50
51-250
251-1000
>1000

About 4/5
are not in
marketing
organisations
Areas in which make or
influence decisions as part of
your job, including acting a
decision maker for clients or
other organisations
A fifth (57) of respondents
work for businesses in
marketing, comms, media or
publishing. Of those 57, a third
work for agencies (ie 7% of
our total sample), a fifth for
media publishers, and a small
number (8 respondents) for
ad tech firms or ad networks.
Apart from them and a
handful of consultants listed
under ‘other’, everyone else
(ie about 4/5 of respondents)
is a marketer in a
non-marketing organisation.
Everyone who completed the
survey is a marketing
decision-maker. 6 out of 10
are responsible for both
digital and offline plans, with
18% handling just
offline marketing.
Areas in which make or
influence decisions as part
of your job, including acting
a decision maker for clients
or other organisations
Offine Marketing 18%
Digital Marketing 21%
Both 61%
Marketing, Communications
Retail and Hospitality
Real Estate, Finance, Insurance
Arts and Entertainment
Construction and Skilled Trades
Health and Fitness
Media, Publishing
Education, Health or Social Services
Manufacturing
Non-profit Organizations
Wholesale, Distribution
Agriculture
Natural Resources, Mining, Oil & Gas
Transportation, Shipping, Warehousing
Pharmaceuticals, Medicine
Gov't, Public Administration, Utilities
Others
19%
1%
1.1%
0.7%
1.5%
1.5%
2%
3%
4%
4%
5%
5%
6%
6%
7%
7%
12%
16%

Most have extensive marketing experience but
they’ve spent less time with digital marketing
Time worked in or been involved
in marketing/digital marketing
On average respondents to the survey have 11 years’ experience
with marketing. 8 out of 10 have spent more than 2 years working
in or involved with marketing, half have more than 10 years under
their belt, and only a quarter have less than 4 years’ experience.
As a group they have a bit less experience with digital – the
average is 6 years’ working with digital marketing. And 30% of
respondents say they’ve never worked with digital, or have done
so for less than a year.
Still, that means 7 out of 10 have at least a year’s experience –
and of course, 82% are involved in making digital marketing
decisions for their organisation.
Never <1yr 1-2yrs 2-4yrs 4-6yrs 6-8yrs 8-10 10-15 >15yrs
Marketing (in general)
Digital Marketing
9%
8%
12%
9%10%
12%
9%
13%
17%
38%
13%
9%
6%7%8%
7%
12%

Spending
Habits

2/3 work for organizations running marketing at
least every year; most have small budgets
2/3 of respondents work for organisations that undertake
marketing at least annually, with only 1 in 10 saying their company
never advertises.
More speciﬁcally, 8 out of 10 said their organisation has spent on
marketing in the last 12 months. On average, their organisations
spent $110,000 in the last 12 months, although this is skewed by the
few organisations spending >$1,000,000. The majority spent less
than $50k in the last year; unsurprisingly larger organisations
spent, on average, more.
NB: the question didn’t specify USD/ CAD, so it’s expected that respondents
answered in their own currency.
Does your company do any
marketing or advertising,
whether for itself or on behalf
of any clients or other
organisations?
Amount spent on
marketing/ advertising in
last 12 months, incl for any
clients or other orgs
No 11%
>1m
to 1m
to 750k
to 500k
to 250k
<%50,000-
$100,000
<%50,000
Nothing
Most of
the Time 46%
Certain Times
of Year 21%
Rarely 23%
16%
55%
7%
5%
4%
1%
0%
1%

On average, 58% of marketing spend
went to digital ads
Those whose organisations have invested in marketing in the last
year were asked what proportion was spent on digital formats.
Virtually all said that at least some of the budget went on digital
formats. The average spent on digital was 58% of the marketing
budget for the last 12 months. 63% said that half or more had been
spent on digital ads.
The most popular formats were social and search ads: 72% and
43% respectively of those whose ﬁrms spent money on digital in
the last year said their efforts included ads on social platforms or
search engines.
35% had included display ads, 33% online video and 14% mobile
in-app ads.
What proportion of this was
spent on digital ads?
20%
22%
13%
9%
8%
19%
6%
100%>75%50-75%~50%25-50%<25%None
Base: respondents whose organisation has spent on mktg in last year (209)

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