Mrityunjay Kumar on mitigating brand safety risks in ₹50,000 cr industry

As India’s digital ad market surpasses ₹50,000 crore, brand safety concerns are becoming increasingly critical. Ad misplacements, programmatic fraud, and weak verification mechanisms expose advertisers to reputational risks and financial losses.
Mrityunjay Kumar, Co-founder of Mashrise Private Limited, shares insights on how advertisers can mitigate these risks through stronger verification measures, government regulations, and AI-driven solutions. He discusses the need for industry collaboration to enhance transparency and accountability, ensuring a safer and more trustworthy digital advertising ecosystem in India.

Given India’s growing digital ad market, how vulnerable are Indian brands to similar ad misplacements on unsafe websites, and what steps should advertisers take to safeguard their campaigns?
India’s digital ad market, projected to exceed ₹50,000 crore, offers immense growth potential but also exposes brands to risks like ad misplacements on unsafe websites. Additionally, programmatic pitfalls, ad fraud, and weak brand safety controls make Indian advertisers particularly vulnerable, leading to reputational damage and wasted budgets. The evolving brand safety infrastructure further complicates monitoring and control.
To mitigate these risks, advertisers should define clear campaign goals, implement robust audience targeting, use premium inventory, leverage brand safety tools, regularly review placements, and work with trusted ad networks. Employing third-party verification services and registering trademarks can also help protect intellectual property and ensure ads appear in a secure environment, safeguarding both brand integrity and ROI.
With India’s regulatory bodies increasingly scrutinizing digital platforms, do you think the government should impose stricter ad verification guidelines, similar to global best practices?

Today, Indian brands practice transparency and customer trust. The world's best practices, such as the EU's Digital Services Act and US Truth in Advertising laws, require accountability and antifraud protection. India's expanding digital economy is plagued with issues such as deceptive ads, scams, and deepfakes, which demand strong verification.
In response to this, enforcing tighter regulations would increase transparency in advertisements, prevent deceptive practices, and make digital advertising responsible. By aligning with global standards, India can safeguard consumers while making the online ad ecosystem fair and competitive. This would need cooperation between regulators, platforms, and advertisers to create a safer, more transparent, and more trustworthy ad environment.
How can Indian ad tech firms, verification companies, and advertisers collaborate to ensure greater transparency and accountability in digital advertising to prevent such brand safety failures? How can AI play a role in mitigating ad fraud issues and addressing the issue of brand safety?
Indian ad-tech firms, verification companies, as well as advertisers should work together to develop a transparent and accountable digital advertising ecosystem. This could involve data-sharing partnerships, standardized verification frameworks, and the implementation of AI-based monitoring systems.
Additionally, AI reduces the impact of ad fraud and sustains brand safety by studying massive sets of data in real time for suspicious activity, restricting visible ads, and preventing ad placements on harmful content. Machine learning models also refine targeting to enhance contextual analysis and improve ad visibility. Hence, combining AI verification tools with industry norm best practices will allow these stakeholders to root out fraud, improve ad performance, and maintain brand image while securing the digital advertising scenario in India.