{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox company | name = Telemetry | logo = Telemetry Company Logo.jpg | logo_size = 220px | caption = | type = Private | foundation = 2009 | founder = [[Anthony Rushton]]<br />Russell Irwin<br />Beau Chesluk | defunct = 2017 | location = [[London, England]] | area_served = Worldwide | key_people = Anthony Rushton (CEO)<br />Russell Irwin (CTO)<br />Beau Chesluk (COO)<br />Alex Frith (CFO) | industry = [[Online advertising]] | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | num_employees = 54 <small>(2011)</small><ref name="mfrost">Maisha Frost, [http://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/252721/Keeping-track-of-internet-ads "Keeping track of internet ads,"] ''[[Daily Express]]'', 15 June 2011.</ref> | homepage = {{URL|telemetry.com}} }}
'''Telemetry''' was an independent [[online advertising]] security and optimization firm, with offices in [[London]] and [[New York City]]. In January 2017, Telemetry shut down amid declining revenues.<ref name="rshields">Ronan Shields, [https://www.businessinsider.com/486-million-anti-ad-fraud-firm-telemetry-has-shut-down-2017-1?client=safari "$486 Million anti-ad fraud firm Telemetry has shut down,"] ''[[The Drum (magazine)|The Drum]]'', 11 January 2017.</ref>
==History== Telemetry was founded in 2009 by [[Anthony Rushton]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/01/10/anti-fraud-outfit-telemetry-poised-close-its-doors-directors-file-new-company-name|title=Anti-fraud outfit Telemetry poised to close its doors as directors file for new company name|work=The Drum|access-date=2018-06-05|language=en}}</ref> Russell Irwin and Beau Chesluk.<ref name="rgribben">Roland Gribben, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/8684952/Video-advertising-firm-looks-for-lift-off.html "Video advertising firm looks for lift-off,"] ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 9 August 2011.</ref> The three began collaborating in 2001, when they created branded online video games under the name JailDog.<ref name="aduff">Amy Duff, [http://www.director.co.uk/magazine/2011/9_October/partnerships-telemetry_65_02.html "Partnerships: Anthony Rushton, Beau Chesluk and Russell Irwin,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110193324/http://www.director.co.uk/magazine/2011/9_October/partnerships-telemetry_65_02.html |date=2013-11-10 }} ''Director'', October 2011.</ref><ref>[https://econsultancy.com/nma-archive/50246-jaildog-develops-games-engine-for-global-markets "JailDog develops games engine for global markets,"] econsultancy.com, 17 June 2004.</ref> They launched the online TV station WeDigTV in 2007,<ref>[http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/analysis/wedigtv-to-launch-interactive-ad-only-online-tv-channel/2058553.article "WeDigTV to launch interactive ad-only online TV channel,"] ''[[Marketing Week]]'', 8 November 2007.</ref> winning a 2008 [[Emmy Award#International Emmys|International Interactive Emmy Award]] for Best International Interactive TV Network.<ref name="aduff"/><ref>[http://www.iemmys.tv/news_item.aspx?id=60 "The 2008 International Interactive Emmy Award Winners,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413014218/http://www.iemmys.tv/news_item.aspx?id=60 |date=13 April 2008 }} The International Emmy Awards. Retrieved 28 May 2014.</ref> In order to get Telemetry off the ground, Rushton, Irwin and Chesluk each invested £10,000 of their own money.<ref name="rgribben"/> Within two years of its launch, the company was valued at £175 million.<ref name="rgribben"/>
Telemetry's system was initially developed exclusively for video, embedding code into an online video to record click-through and mouse activity in real-time.<ref name="mfrost"/> In 2012, the company expanded into the display and other forms of online advertising.<ref name="tbradshaw">Tim Bradshaw, [http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8d44e210-6dc7-11e1-b9c7-00144feab49a.html#axzz2kC3FGzOe "Web watchers ensure you see the right ads,"] ''[[Financial Times]]'', 15 March 2012.</ref> In January 2017, Telemetry shut down amid declining revenues.<ref name="rshields"/>
==Methodology== Telemetry is a private company, working independently with online digital video advertisers and agencies to provide impartial, detailed analytics and auditing in real time. The company tracks the efficiency and exposure gained by online digital advertising campaigns in order to ensure accountability and determine the true value of the campaign, exposing inflated [[Reach (advertising)|reach]] and [[Impression (online media)|impressions]]. It investigates whether or not the ads were delivered on a suitable website, to the desired market, alongside the intended type of content.<ref name="bgutman">Brandon Gutman, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/06/28/what-you-need-to-know-about-buying-digital-video-advertising-at-least-for-today/ "What You Need To Know About Buying Digital Video Advertising (At Least For Today),"] ''[[Forbes]]'', 28 June 2012.</ref><ref>Jim Edwards, [http://www.businessinsider.com/telemetry-document-ad-budgets-asian-porn-2013-12 "This Leaked Document Shows How Big Brands’ Ad Budgets Get Spent On Asian Porn Sites,"] ''[[Business Insider]]'', 13 December 2013.</ref> Previously, advertisers had to rely on biased analytics from the vender (essentially reporting on themselves) or traditional ad server statistics, which had not been designed to track online digital video advertising campaigns.<ref name="bgutman"/><ref name="arushtoneconomist">Anthony Rushton, [http://www.economistgroup.com/leanback/channels/avoid-fraud-rein-in-programmatic-buying/ "Avoid fraud, rein in programmatic buying,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030211157/http://www.economistgroup.com/leanback/channels/avoid-fraud-rein-in-programmatic-buying/ |date=30 October 2014 }} [[Economist Group]], 20 March 2014.</ref>
Telemetry has advised that in programmatic buying (when ads are bought and sold on a per-impression basis), the ways impressions are counted to set the price can be misleading. Ads purchased for pre-roll are sometimes placed instead into banner video ads, which are typically muted by the viewer, but still counted as if they were pre-roll impressions.<ref name="arushtoneconomist"/><ref>Anthony Rushton, [http://www.adweek.com/videowatch/truth-about-programmatic-web-video-155092 "The Truth About Programmatic Web Video,"] ''[[Adweek]]'', 22 January 2014.</ref> Telemetry encourages advertisers to be diligent in demanding details of placement quality to ensure their ads are running in the proper space at the proper time,<ref name="arushtoneconomist"/> and that the impressions they are trading are genuine impressions.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/videos/bestoftv/2014/08/22/exp-online-fraud-internet-advertising.cnn "Online advertising fraud increases,"] [[CNN]], 22 August 2014.</ref> Telemetry has occasionally faced criticism for bypassing media agencies selling digital ad space and working with advertisers directly.<ref name="mfrost"/> According to 2014 estimates by the [[Interactive Advertising Bureau]], approximately 36% of all reported Web traffic is considered fake, with the corresponding amount of fake ad views due to hijacked computers programmed to visit sites, cheating advertisers who pay based on the number of times their ad is loaded in response to a visit.<ref name="svranica"/>
==Investigations== Telemetry has exposed large frauds perpetrated in the online advertising landscape,<ref name="mfrost"/><ref name="svranica">Suzanne Vranica, [https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304026304579453253860786362?mg=reno64-wsj&url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304026304579453253860786362.html "A ‘Crisis’ in Online Ads: One-Third of Traffic Is Bogus,"] ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', 23 March 2014.</ref><ref name="akantrowitz">Alex Kantrowitz, [http://adage.com/article/digital/big-ad-injection-scheme-hits-target-youtube-walmart/293088/ "Meet the Ad ‘Injection’ Scheme Hitting Target, YouTube and Walmart.com,"] ''[[Advertising Age]]'', 15 May 2014.</ref> such as their 2014 investigation of [[Verizon Wireless]]'s online video advertising purchases, finding that in excess of $1 million had been spent on fake Web views. With Telemetry's advice, Verizon, the eighth-largest advertiser in the US, demanded make-goods.<ref name="svranica"/> Later in 2014, Telemetry investigated a [[Mercedes-Benz]] online advertising campaign, detecting suspicious traffic activity and finding that 57% of the campaign was viewed more often by automated computer programs than human beings. Mercedes was refunded for the false impressions.<ref name="rcookson">{{Cite web |last=Cookson |first=Robert |date=2014-05-26 |title=Mercedes online ads viewed more by fraudster robots than humans |url=https://www.ft.com/content/788d6d42-da6c-11e3-8273-00144feabdc0#axzz32wJzcvEd |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220330051450/https://www.ft.com/content/788d6d42-da6c-11e3-8273-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=2022-03-30 |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref><ref>[http://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2014/08/11/ats-london-panel-preview-click-fraud-detection-and-prevention/ "ATS London Panel Preview: Click Fraud Detection And Prevention,"] ExchangeWire, 11 August 2014.</ref> Telemetry also brought to the public's attention a scheme in which ads were forcefully "injected" onto popular sites (including [[Walmart.com]], [[YouTube]] and others) by third-party sellers without the site owners' knowledge, with the profits going to the third party.<ref name="akantrowitz"/> In June 2014, Telemetry uncovered an ad fraud scheme that had been going on for several months, in which websites running lucrative video ads were being placed in [[banner ad]]s on cheaper websites, with those behind the operation skimming around $10 million in video ad revenue per month. The scheme affected over 75 advertisers, including [[McDonald's]], [[Coca-Cola]] and [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]. Rushton called it the most significant instance of ad fraud Telemetry has seen.<ref>Alex Kantrowitz, [http://adage.com/article/digital/ad-fraud-operation-fools-detection-companies-nets-millions/293929/ "Ad-Fraud Operation Fools Detection Companies, Nets Millions,"] ''Advertising Age'', 30 June 2014.</ref> Telemetry has publicly called out such companies by name, for unethically monetizing digital ads without the site owner's permission and manipulating impressions, while often generating a negative user experience.<ref>Zach Rodgers, [http://www.adexchanger.com/online-advertising/telemetry-browser-plugins-for-video-ad-injection/ "Telemetry Calls Out Browser Plugins For Video Ad Injection,"] Ad Exchanger, 4 February 2013.</ref><ref>Alex Kantrowitz, [http://adage.com/article/digital/florida-ad-fraud-operation-skims-millions-advertisers/293631/ "Florida-Based Ad Fraudsters Skim Millions From Advertisers, Then Disappear,"] ''Advertising Age'', 11 June 2014.</ref>
==Clients== Telemetry's clients include [[Reckitt Benckiser]],<ref name="rgribben"/> [[Anheuser-Busch]],<ref name="rgribben"/> Verizon Wireless,<ref name="bgutman"/> [[L'Oreal]]<ref name="svranica"/> and Mercedes-Benz.<ref name="rcookson"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://telemetry.com/ Official Website]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in London]] [[Category:Online advertising services and affiliate networks]] [[Category:Web analytics]] [[Category:Software companies established in 2009]] [[Category:British companies established in 2009]]