In late 2024, IAB Canada identified a brewing issue in the digital advertising ecosystem—one that’s quietly impacting campaign performance, publisher monetization, and buyer accountability: signal strength.
At its core, the disconnect between buy-side expectations and sell-side realities around signal availability and reliability is threatening the very efficiencies programmatic was designed to deliver. What began as a technical nuance is now a systemic fault line.
Some publishers are leveraging signal strength strategically—choosing when and where to supply signals as part of their monetization planning. Others are simply overwhelmed. The task of classifying, labelling, and organizing content for an increasingly demanding marketplace can be a massive operational lift, with uncertain return on investment. As demand-side expectations continue to rise, many publishers report burnout under the mounting pressure to deliver more, with less.
Yet, the industry is at a crossroads. Preliminary data from IAB Canada’s 2025 Signal Strength Study tells a clear story: there is money being left on the table.
Key Findings:
- High-Value Signals Are Often Missing or Inconsistent
- Critical fields like Cookie/User ID/Hashed Email, Consent String, and Brand Safety Classifications show high levels of inconsistency and even complete absence in some cases.
- Page or App Category and Keywords or Semantic Context, essential for contextual targeting, also show notable gaps in consistency.
- Buyers Consider Certain Signals “Must-Have” Despite Reliability Issues
- Ad Format, Device Type, and Geo-Location were overwhelmingly ranked as “must-have” signals and yet are not consistently available across inventory.
- Even high-demand signals like Deal ID and Publisher Domain are reported as unreliable or missing by a significant number of participants.
- Emerging Signals Still Lack Clarity and Consistency
- Newer signals like Shoppable Content Indicators, Scroll Depth, and In-Game Ad Formats are viewed as “nice to have,” but their inconsistent presence suggests a need for clearer standards and operational support.
- Taxonomy and Labeling Divergence Could Undermine Measurement
- If one platform’s definition of a “news” category or “premium” format differs from another’s, the entire chain of optimization, measurement, and attribution risks collapse. Misalignment here is more than a nuisance—it’s a threat to data integrity.
IAB Canada is taking this issue seriously. With input from members across the ecosystem, we are working on a comprehensive output to be released in the coming days. This will include recommendations for clearer signal taxonomies, shared definitions, and strategies for closing the gap between buyers and sellers.
We extend our thanks to the industry for engaging with us on this important topic. If we want programmatic to continue delivering on its promise, strengthening signals isn’t optional—it’s essential.