'The bad guys will develop ever more devious attacks'

Is click fraud under control, or is the problem likely to get worse?
I don't think it's under control from a global perspective — we wouldn't be having this conversation otherwise, right? It's now being addressed in mature markets, but will still become an issue where pay-per-click online advertising hasn't even arrived yet.
Andreas Sigl Head of global interactive marketing, Nissan
Click fraud will end up like virus attacks. The good guys will develop better and better defences and the bad guys will develop ever more powerful and devious attacks. In the end, click fraud will never be 100 per cent eliminated, but its impact on advertisers will continue to decline until it is irrelevant.
David Ketchum Chairman, Asia Digital Marketing Association

How badly is click fraud tainting the internet's reputation among advertisers?
Online advertising has been growing from a chaotic environment into a more accepted and credible media instrument. But let's not forget the fact that the internet is still in its infancy compared with established traditional media channels. So, a certain risk factor is acceptable during this growth.
Andreas Sigl Head of global interactive marketing, Nissan
The internet's reputation as a great place to advertise is intact. In fact, as in the offline world, no matter how good the policemen are, there is bound to be some crime. The criminals should be punished, not the system.
David Ketchum Chairman, Asia Digital Marketing Association

Is click fraud making advertisers think twice about search marketing, a key problem area?
Advertisers should always think twice about any kind of marketing. Just because search is hot, it's no holy cow. We're spending a lot of money and should expect a measurable return on our marketing investment. And we need to be able to trust those metrics. It's simple: media budgets will go where measurable and trusted ROI will be delivered.
Andreas Sigl Head of global interactive marketing, Nissan
For advertisers and agencies that already understand the power of search and other online advertising opportunities, they will further scrutinise every advertising deal offered to them, every results report and every invoice.
David Ketchum Chairman, Asia Digital Marketing Association

Will industry-introduced safeguards ever completely eradicate the problem?
Traditional media is shifting to new media, as will budgets, focus, third party ecosystems players and safeguards. Advertisers will become more demanding and media properties need to protect their brand and value proposition, or their entire business model will collapse. So there are many players interested in making this work.
Andreas Sigl Head of global interactive marketing, Nissan
There will always be clever, evil individuals with highly sophisticated technology trying to overcome industry safeguards, as long as there is money to be made illegitimately. However, industry efforts are worthwhile and effective in addressing the problem.
David Ketchum Chairman, Asia Digital Marketing Association

What is an acceptable level of click fraud?
Fraud is never acceptable. Systematic fraud with automated scripts or computer programmes is malicious and needs to be prosecuted.
Andreas Sigl Head of global interactive marketing, Nissan
The approach to click fraud elimination should be zero tolerance and 99 per cent effectiveness.
David Ketchum Chairman, Asia Digital Marketing Association

Does the business model of pay-per-click have a future, or are other revenue sources becoming more relevant?
Pay-per-click is a good start, but not the ultimate business model. From a marketer's perspective, it's important to follow prospects through the purchase funnel towards becoming a lead — and later a customer. A click is only a single snapshot in this process and we need to understand the connections and pay for the complete customer journey where possible.
Andreas Sigl Head of global interactive marketing, Nissan
A well-run, legitimate auction in which the market decides the price for online advertising is still one of the most efficient, fair ways of pricing online advertising. And pay-per-click has a strong future, particularly when it is considered as part of pay-for-performance.
David Ketchum Chairman, Asia Digital Marketing Association