Integral Ad Science announced the launch of the IAS Election Lab. Led by IAS Research and Insights, Data Science, and Brand Safety Specialists, the IAS Election Lab aims to provide strategic guidance and actionable insights for advertisers during the global election season.
“As election season intensifies, marketers must be increasingly mindful of the content that they run adjacent to, which could range from misinformation to undesirable subject matter that may not be brand safe or suitable,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS. “The IAS Election Lab is committed to using the power of data science to help brands navigate the risks and opportunities that the elections will bring and provide actionable insights to ensure marketers can focus on performance.”
The IAS Election Lab’s tentpole research addresses marketers’ concerns as we enter the election season, including how to avoid misinformation and controversial content around Super Tuesday and other political events, while continuing to effectively reach engaged audiences and maintain brand reputation.
Highlights From The IAS Election Lab Research Include:
News-related misinformation appears to rise in conjunction with high-profile news events. This year, traffic peaked two days before Super Tuesday, marking a threefold increase compared to the Q1 volume rate.
Ads adjacent to risky political party content had a 66% lower success rate and a 29% higher, or $0.82 increase, in cost per conversion. Similarly, ads adjacent to news-related misinformation had a 53% lower success rate and an 8% higher, or $0.23 increase, in cost per conversion.
After tracking the volume of negative sentiment political party impression traffic throughout Q1 2024, the IAS Election Lab found that traffic spiked in tandem with salient political events — including Super Tuesday.
During the 2020 presidential election, IAS observed that more than three in four consumers believed online advertising would play an important role in determining the outcome of the election.