BEST OF 2017: The reliability of digital metrics and brand safety were much in the news in 2017, which began with Procter & Gamble CMO Marc Pritchard issuing an ultimatum to publishers and agencies – and continued with brands reacting to reports they could be inadvertently funding extremism.

A WARC Best Practice paper, How to improve digital media transparency, was the most read article on this topic, setting out practical steps for advertisers – which are advised to take an active role in the stewardship of their media investments.

In the second-most read article, P&G’s Pritchard to digital deadbeats: Game over, Pritchard set out his five deploy-or-depart terms of engagement which he expected to be operational by the end of the year.

He continued his rewriting of the playbook in the third most-read piece, P&G’s Pritchard takes on fakes, fraudsters and fearmongers, in which he argued for a reframing of the client-agency relationship so that it becomes a true partnership.

By the time of the dmexco conference in September, Pritchard was looking beyond the clean-up of the digital space. In the fourth most-read article, P&G’s Pritchard: A new wave of brand building innovation beckons, he said it was time to solve the problem of annoying ads and focus on mass, one-to-one messages.

Finally, in Digital Transparency: 10 questions marketers need to ask their media agency, two VCCP Media executives examined the problem of digital transparency from a client perspective, providing best practice on what to ask media agencies in order to ensure advertisers can navigate the complex challenges of the digital landscape.

Sourced from WARC