Ready to move beyond generic targeting? Download our essential guide to master contextual relevance and ensure your campaigns connect when and where it truly matters this festive season.

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In this exclusive “Masters of Media” series, Integral Ad Science (IAS) speaks to the Movers and Shakers of the APAC advertising industry on all digital matters.

With over 13 years of experience in digital marketing, Saurav Kumar has developed deep expertise in paid media, programmatic advertising, and performance optimisation. Currently, Saurav serves as Paid Media Lead at Merck Group in Bengaluru, India, where he leads a team that manages campaigns worldwide through innovative strategies and ROI-focused execution.

Saurav’s career spans global agencies and ad-tech firms such as MediaMath, Neo Ogilvy, Omnicom Media Group, and Mindshare, where he successfully managed high-value accounts including IBM, eBay, Honda, Dell, and Uber. Across these roles, he has built a strong track record in media strategy, trading, optimisation, and client partnership, consistently delivering efficiency gains and revenue growth.

Saurav thrives at the intersection of data, technology, and marketing creativity. He is passionate about mentoring teams, fostering innovation, and leveraging AI-driven solutions to shape the future of digital marketing.

IAS: Can you discuss any recent changes or advancements in digital advertising technologies or platforms that have had a significant impact on your digital campaigns?

Saurav: AI and Machine Learning in Media Buying – Platforms like DV360, The Trade Desk, and Meta Ads have integrated advanced AI-driven bidding and optimisation tools. This has allowed us to move from manual optimisation to predictive, automated models that improve efficiency and scale results faster.

Privacy & Cookieless Future – With the deprecation of third-party cookies, contextual targeting, clean rooms, and first-party data strategies have become critical. We’ve started testing cookieless solutions to ensure measurement accuracy and audience reach in the future.

IAS: If there’s one myth related to programmatic you’d like to squash, what would that be?

Saurav: One common myth I’d like to squash is that programmatic advertising only drives lower costs or cheap inventory. Many still assume programmatic is a “race to the bottom” focused on efficiency alone.

In reality, programmatic today is about precision, transparency, and value. The right strategy enables access to premium inventory, advanced targeting, and deep insights that traditional buying methods cannot offer. It’s not just about lowering CPMs, it’s about reaching the right audience, in the right context, at the right moment, and driving measurable business outcomes.

At Merck and in my past roles, I’ve seen programmatic deliver brand lift, awareness, and incremental revenue, not just clicks or cheap impressions. The real power of programmatic lies in its ability to combine data, technology, and creativity to achieve both performance and brand objectives.

IAS: What metrics or KPIs do you track to measure the effectiveness of digital advertising campaigns at Merck? How do you ensure these metrics align with the company’s overall goals?

Saurav: At Merck, the KPIs we track depend on the campaign objective, but broadly, they fall into three categories:

1. Awareness Metrics – Reach, impressions, viewability, and video completion rates to measure how well we’re building brand visibility.
2. Engagement Metrics – Click-through rates, engagement rates, and quality site visits to gauge audience interaction.
3. Business & ROI Metrics – Lead generation, conversions, cost per acquisition (CPA), and incremental revenue contribution to assess the true business impact.

To ensure alignment with Merck’s overall goals, we start by mapping campaign objectives directly to business priorities, for example, focusing on incremental revenue rather than just vanity metrics. We also work closely with stakeholders and analytics teams to establish benchmarks and conduct post-campaign analysis, ensuring the insights are actionable for future strategies.

This way, our measurement framework evaluates campaign performance and demonstrates how digital investments are driving tangible business outcomes.

IAS: What measures can the advertising industry take to combat the trust and transparency challenges in the digital supply chain?

Saurav: Trust and transparency are ongoing challenges in the digital advertising supply chain, but the industry has been making progress. We believe there are four key measures that can strengthen this further:

1. Adopting Industry Standards – Wider adoption of initiatives like ads.txt, sellers.json, and SupplyChain Object can reduce fraud and make it clearer which partners are actually involved in the transaction.
2. Strengthening Measurement & Verification – Partnering with independent verification vendors (IAS) ensures transparency in viewability, brand safety, and fraud detection.
3. Encouraging Supply Path Optimisation (SPO): Reducing the number of intermediaries in the supply chain helps cut hidden fees, improve efficiency, and build trust with advertisers.
4. First-Party Data & Privacy Compliance – As cookies phase out, building strategies around consented first-party data ensures advertisers can still reach audiences effectively while respecting privacy and regulatory frameworks.

Ultimately, combating trust and transparency issues requires collaboration among advertisers, agencies, publishers, and tech partners, with a shared focus on accountability, clean data, and measurable outcomes.

IAS: Any advice for leaders on talent retention and supporting a hybrid workforce?

Saurav: Talent retention in a hybrid workforce comes from culture, clarity, and connection. My advice to leaders would be:

1. Prioritise Flexibility within a Structured Framework – Hybrid work is most effective when there’s a balance between autonomy and clear expectations. Define goals and outcomes, but allow flexibility in how teams achieve them.
2. Invest in Continuous Learning – Retention improves when employees feel they are growing. Offering upskilling opportunities, certifications, and exposure to new technologies keeps talent motivated and future-ready.
3. Foster Connection & Belonging – In hybrid setups, it’s easy for employees to feel disconnected. Leaders need to create intentional moments of collaboration team huddles, virtual check-ins, or in-person offsites to strengthen bonds.
4. Recognise & Empower – Regular recognition of contributions, coupled with empowering employees to take ownership, builds trust and loyalty.
5. Lead with Empathy – Understanding individual circumstances and offering support through wellness initiatives or flexible policies helps build a culture where people feel valued beyond their output.

In my experience, when leaders combine flexibility, growth, and empathy, they not only retain top talent but also build a more engaged, high-performing hybrid workforce.

IAS: What’s your favourite book, podcast, or movie and why?

Saurav: One of my favourite books is “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind” by Joseph Murphy. I value it because it highlights how much our mindset and thought patterns influence our outcomes in both personal and professional life.

For me, it’s a reminder that success isn’t just about strategy and execution, but also about cultivating the right mindset, staying positive, resilient, and open to possibilities. I’ve often found that applying these principles helps me approach challenges with clarity and confidence, whether in leading teams or driving complex campaigns.

IAS: What advice would you give to fresh talent entering the industry?

Saurav: My advice to fresh talent entering the digital advertising industry would be:

1. Stay Curious and keep Learning – This industry evolves faster than most, constantly changing platforms, tools, and regulations. Building a habit of continuous learning will set you apart.
2. Master the Fundamentals—While new technologies are exciting, a solid grounding in marketing basics, consumer behaviour, media planning, and measurement makes you adaptable across roles.
3. Be Creative – Success in digital advertising comes from balancing analytics with creativity. Don’t just focus on numbers, think about the human story behind them.
4. Embrace Technology and AI– Tools like programmatic platforms, DV360, or AI-driven optimisation are becoming core skills. Early comfort with these will give you a strong edge.
5. Mentorship & Collaboration – Learn from experienced colleagues, ask questions, and build networks. The best growth comes from sharing knowledge and experiences.

Above all, approach your career with an ownership mindset, treat campaigns, clients, and projects as if they were your business. That mindset accelerates growth in this field.

The post MASTERS OF MEDIA – SAURAV KUMAR, PAID MEDIA LEAD, DIGITAL MARKETING, MERCK GROUP appeared first on Integral Ad Science.

Retail deal days arrive with the promise of unprecedented reach and record-breaking sales. Yet beneath the impressive campaign metrics lies a harsh reality: as inventory expands to meet demand, advertising quality can deteriorate. 

The intensity of modern deal seasons — Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Walmart Holiday Deals, Target Circle Week, and the Black Friday/Cyber Monday finale — drives digital advertising competition. Brands pour massive budgets into compressed time windows, creating a perfect storm of inflated costs, cluttered ad environments, and opportunistic low-quality inventory that thrives in the chaos.

For marketers navigating these high-stakes periods, understanding the hidden risks of ad clutter and Made-for-Advertising (MFA) site proliferation isn’t just about protecting budgets — it’s about ensuring every impression drives meaningful consumer engagement when attention is most valuable and scarce.

Defining MFA, Ad Clutter, and AI Slop Sites

Before we understand the impact of MFA sites and ad clutter on programmatic campaigns, we first need to understand what constitutes MFA and ad clutter, and where AI slop fits into the puzzle.

• MFA sites are web pages built to conduct ad arbitrage and feature low quality content (e.g. spam sites or ad farms) created solely to serve ads.
• Ad clutter sites feature high ad density and high ad-to-content ratio, leading to lower performance. 
• AI-generated slop sites are considered ad clutter, though they aren’t one and the same. IAS found that 57% of consumers consider spammy sites inappropriate content, and another 70% say they trust brands less when advertising near inappropriate content.

The impact of MFA and ad clutter sites on campaign performance is massive. In an IAS analysis, we found that conversion rates on quality sites are 174% higher than conversion on MFA sites, and 91% higher than conversions on ad clutter sites. Marketers who don’t avoid MFA and ad clutter sites aren’t just showing up in the wrong places — they’re also missing out on sales.

Elevated Risks During Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and Other Deal Days

When retail calendars hit their tentpole events, MFA and ad clutter risks escalate sharply. Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Target Circle Week, and Walmart Holiday Deals are designed to drive mass consumer attention and spending — but they also trigger a surge in low-quality inventory that marketers must navigate.

According to IAS analysis, MFA rates climb during each of these events, rising by 6% during Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, 8% during Target Circle Week, and an even higher 10% during Walmart Holiday Deals.

At the same time, ad clutter rates escalate even more dramatically, with spikes of 53% on Amazon Prime Day, 11% during Target Circle Week, and 15% during Walmart Holiday Deals.

These numbers paint a stark picture: as consumers flock to these shopping windows, low-quality inventory floods the ecosystem with ad clutter and MFA sites designed to siphon ad dollars. 

For advertisers, this means higher costs for placements that make little to no impact. And instead of amplifying brand presence during high-demand periods, budgets can become spread thin across irrelevant, low-quality environments. 

Marketers who proactively filter MFA and ad clutter inventory protect their investments and keep performance tied to real consumer engagement — not digital noise.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: More Shoppers, More Clutter

If retail-specific deal days raise the stakes, Black Friday and Cyber Monday take them to the extreme. These back-to-back events compress unprecedented consumer demand into a single long weekend, creating a key moment for both marketers and bad actors in the digital ecosystem.

The data tells the story: MFA rates jump 14% before versus during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, while ad clutter rates skyrocket by a staggering 157%.

For marketers, the takeaway is clear: retail deal days demand vigilance, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday require airtight safeguards against MFA and ad clutter. Every impression must be intentional, appearing in environments that consumers both trust and engage with.

How IAS Helps During Peak Deal Seasons

When the digital ad environment reaches its most chaotic during Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Walmart Holiday Deals, Target Circle Week, or Black Friday and Cyber Monday, maintaining control of quality is vital.

This holiday season, avoid all MFA and ad clutter sites as identified by IAS’s AI-driven MFA site classification technology. IAS empowers marketers with predictive science that pre-screens pages so you can filter out content that is not suitable for your brand while not overblocking potentially appropriate or positive contexts, before a bid is even placed. 

Access our latest guide, “Break Through the Holiday Noise,” to find out how to best leverage these tools this holiday season. Because in moments when sales matter most, every impression should count.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL GUIDE

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The Mission

Kimberly-Clark partnered with IAS and NCSolutions (NCS) to understand how media quality impacts business outcomes — specifically sales lift and return on ad spend (ROAS). With growing interest in attention-based metrics, the brand wanted to validate if IAS Quality Attention could translate into improved outcomes across different digital formats.

The Approach

The study was conducted in two parts. Test 1 ran in Q2 2024 and focused solely on browser display media. Test 2, which ran in Q4 2024, expanded to include video and mobile in-app formats. NCS’s Sales Effect methodology was used to compare sales from exposed households to a modeled baseline, isolating the incremental impact of exposure to higher-attention media.

For both tests, IAS segmented impressions by below-average and above-average Quality Attention scores, allowing Kimberly-Clark to directly compare sales outcomes between the two.

The Results

In Test 1, limited to browser display, there was no significant difference in sales lift between low and high attention segments. But in Test 2, where display, video, and in-app ads were included, the picture changed dramatically.

Attention scores rose by 36%—from an average of 53 in Test 1 to 72 in Test 2. More importantly, households exposed to above-average attention media in Test 2 saw a 313% higher sales lift than those in the below-average group. The results highlighted how video and in-app formats, when paired with high attention scores, could significantly influence purchase behavior.

Return on ad spend also improved. In both tests, higher attention was correlated with stronger ROAS, but the effect was most pronounced in Test 2. With the addition of high-attention formats, ROAS increased by 78%, reinforcing the link between quality attention and real business outcomes.

Why It Matters

This study demonstrated that attention isn’t just a branding metric — it’s a key indicator of performance. By optimizing toward IAS Quality Attention, Kimberly-Clark was able to identify high-value inventory, allocate budget more effectively, and drive measurable impact on sales.

If you’re still measuring success by impressions alone, you’re leaving impact on the table. Like Kimberly-Clark, you can turn attention into real business outcomes—higher sales, stronger ROAS, and smarter media investment.

DOWNLOAD FULL CASE STUDY

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With the holiday season around the corner, consumers are thinking about their plan for buying gifts for their loved ones. This includes budgeting and looking at where they are going to shop. Consequently, advertisers are thinking about how to appeal to consumers during the holiday season.

This study explores how consumers are approaching the upcoming holiday season. It also seeks to understand how consumers factor in digital advertising when purchasing products and how they perceive ads next to the content they are viewing online. 

You can now download the full research report

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