Integral Ad Science (IAS) has released the 21st edition of its Media Quality Report (MQR), providing marketers with an extensive analysis of more than 300 billion daily digital interactions across the open internet, Connected TV (CTV), social platforms, and other digital channels. The report highlights emerging trends in media quality, advertising performance, and campaign optimization as AI-driven content and digital video continue to reshape the advertising landscape.
According to IAS, digital video continues to outperform traditional display advertising as marketers increasingly prioritize attention-driven media strategies. Global video viewability reached 79.7%, exceeding display viewability of 67.9% by 11.8 percentage points, reinforcing the growing importance of immersive video experiences across Connected TV and social platforms.
The report also found that campaigns optimized around attention generated stronger business outcomes. Controlled campaign studies showed a 56% increase in attention scores, a 76% reduction in cost-per-click, and household-level sales lifts that were up to 313% higher for high-attention video advertisements.
These findings align with IAS's broader industry research, where digital video and social media continue to rank among marketers' highest investment priorities.
While overall media quality has improved across many digital channels, IAS identified mobile web display as the primary contributor to advertising inefficiencies.
Although mobile web display represented 45.1% of global impressions, it accounted for 54.9% of brand suitability violations, 71.5% of ad clutter, and 71.9% of Made-for-Advertising (MFA) impressions. The report further notes that MFA rates on mobile web display are now four times higher than those on desktop environments.
IAS suggests that advertisers can improve campaign performance by combining open internet reach with page-level optimization, enabling them to filter low-quality inventory while preserving scale and improving advertising effectiveness.
The report highlights how artificial intelligence is reshaping digital advertising as AI-generated content, creator ecosystems, and increasing media fragmentation create new challenges for marketers.
"In an era of AI-accelerated content, buying massive scale is no longer enough; winning brands are optimizing for verified attention that drives business outcomes," said Lidiane Jones, CEO of Integral Ad Science. "Our latest Media Quality Report shows that navigating this new landscape requires more than just defensive guardrails. Marketers need proactive, AI-driven intelligence to cut through the synthetic noise, eliminate invisible waste, and transform media quality into a true performance engine."
The findings suggest that future advertising success will increasingly depend on balancing campaign reach with transparency, quality measurement, and AI-powered optimization.
Beyond performance metrics, the report also identifies a positive relationship between sustainability initiatives and media quality.
According to IAS, advertisers that measured and reduced carbon emissions through green-certified media campaigns consistently achieved stronger quality performance. In the EMEA region, certified campaigns recorded a 3.9 percentage point improvement in quality impression rates, while campaigns within the Travel & Entertainment sector achieved an 8.7 percentage point increase.
The results indicate that environmentally conscious media buying strategies can complement campaign effectiveness while supporting broader sustainability objectives.
As digital advertising becomes increasingly complex, IAS's latest Media Quality Report reinforces the importance of combining AI-powered optimization, trusted measurement, and high-quality media environments. With marketers investing more heavily in video, Connected TV, and social platforms, maintaining transparency and reducing media waste will remain essential for maximizing advertising performance and return on investment.
Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a leading global platform that connects AI-powered media quality to real business outcomes—from brand perception to sales lift. We empower brands, agencies, and publishers to drive transparency, reduce waste, and unlock growth across the open internet, social, CTV, and audio. By transforming massive data scale into actionable intelligence, IAS helps marketers optimize global campaigns in real-time to maximize the return on every media dollar invested. Learn more at integralads.com.
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