Publishers and platforms are busy. Things move fast in the digital ad world, and operations have many moving parts. That means anything that industry participants can do to streamline without sacrificing effectiveness is always welcome. And nowhere is that notion more prominent than in the perpetual fight against fraudsters and bad ads.

That places additional importance on choosing the right ad quality solution. Of course, you want to pick one with far-reaching, forward-looking technology that protects you from bad actors and their malicious intent today, tomorrow, and well into the future. But powerful, lasting ad quality isn't a set it and forget it type of proposal. As we're about to discuss, it's far more nuanced than that, requiring a partnership in the truest sense of the term.

The Difference Between an Ad Quality Partner and Provider

The terms provider and vendor are interchangeable. Transactional by nature, filling a specific need with a product or service – that's what providers and vendors do, and there is absolutely a place for them in the ecosystem.

But if you were a manufacturer looking for a new widget machine for your assembly line, something you needed to keep you ahead of your competitors, would you choose one that didn't come with a warranty? Or a squad of smart, empathetic customer service reps that know the product and industry inside and out? And that want to help you succeed? Of course not.

Given the importance of that machine to your business, you're going to choose one that is both a technological marvel and from a company that genuinely wants you to make the most of it. You want a company that feels a sense of accomplishment and pride when it sees you prosper because of that machine. That, in a nutshell, is the difference between a provider/vendor and a partner, and what every publisher and platform needs from an ad quality solution.

Going Beyond a Solution's Features & Functions

Partnership is a topic we've touched on in the past, most recently with our Publisher Ad Security Checklist For Ad Quality Solutions, just at a high level. As you saw in our checklist, choosing the right platform for your needs is a comprehensive process that encompasses many factors, including integration, solution scope and features, effectiveness, and the customer experience.

But if we were to drill further down, what are the granular details that would tell you, as a publisher or platform at war with fraudsters, that a particular solution is more than just a set of impactful features and functions? Well, for starters, a best-in-class customer service team backstops the solution. Likewise, the company itself is responsive to your needs and concerns, not just at the point-of-sale, but as long as you use the solution.

In other words, it has emotional equity in your enterprise and operations. It's passionate about the solution it provides you, excited to see you finally put bad ads in the rearview mirror, and feels like it has a tangible stake in your success. Further, its other customers speak well of the solution and couldn't be happier with their choice.

When you see all of those traits in a single solution during your research – along with essential technical features, a satisfying user experience, and smooth onboarding – what do you most likely have? A valuable partner in your fight against bad actors and malware.

What an Ad Quality Partner Means for You

So let's assume you use our checklist to guide your search for an ad quality partner, that you find a good fit for your team and needs, and the solution is already in place and blocking the black hats. What does that mean for you a bit further down the road?

• The solution scales as you grow, and pivots as your needs evolve.
• It frees up time and resources, particularly for your ad ops team, so that you can concentrate on growth.
• No matter the circumstances and environment – an influx of political ads, new regulatory forces, a drastic change in fraudster techniques, and countless others – you maintain the UX and continually protect your brand's safety.
• The partner always has an eye focused down the road, continually improving the technology’s flexibility so it can quickly address whatever new tactics the fraudsters might try in the future.

Ultimately, an ad quality partner empowers you, letting you take and retain control of your ad operations, even when it means swimming through fraudster-infested waters to maintain revenue streams.

Here at Ad Lightning, partnerships are at the center of everything we do, every decision we make. And our attention to detail makes a significant difference in the value we provide to our ad industry partners. In fact, one of our partners, Patch, summed up our relationships best by saying:

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.