Latest news with #Eskimi
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Qataris rank third globally in daily online ad exposure: Study
Tribune News Network Doha Internet users in Qatar are shown almost 1,200 ads daily, according to a new study by Eskimi, a leading creative and media technology platform. This number positions Qatar in the third place among countries most exposed to digital ads. 'Try imagining the ads you've seen today. Let me guess — you remember none or a very few. We are exposed to thousands of ads daily, but become resistant to them. In many instances, we do not even need ad-blockers, as our brains do just that. With this comes a challenge for businesses — how to cut through this block and get noticed,' said Vytautas Paukstys, CEO of Eskimi. To draw these conclusions, Eskimi researchers investigated ad statistics from apps and websites across 188 countries worldwide. Below are the key takeaways from the study. While Qataris are heavily exposed to digital ads, a few countries rank even higher. Internet users in Nauru, a tiny island in Oceania, are the most exposed to digital ads worldwide. One individual is shown almost 1,600 placements daily. Iceland ranks second with over 1,500 ads. Among the analysed countries, the average number of ads displayed to a person per day varies from tens to almost 1,600 ads every day. Across all the studied markets, internet users are exposed to more app ads than website ads. This difference is particularly pronounced for internet users in Qatar, who experience four times more ads on apps than on websites. According to Paukstys, multiple factors affect ad exposure differences. Device types and internet connectivity play a role here, as devices display ads differently, and faster connections allow for more complex and engaging ad formats to load more quickly. Moreover, certain countries receive more attention from advertisers than others. The more competitors for the ad space, the less likely that the ad placement will stay vacant. This factor is relevant for both the popular advertising markets and smaller countries in terms of population. For instance, Nauru, an island exposed to digital ads the most, has only over 10,000 residents, so ad impressions per user tend to be much higher than in larger countries. Online habits of country residents also impact the number of ads they are exposed to daily. The recent 2025 Global Digital Report by Meltwater and We Are Social reveals significant differences in the country's average time spent online. South Africans, for instance, spend almost 10 hours online every day, while Japanese people spend only four. Knowing display ad exposure trends in various countries can significantly help businesses develop smarter advertising strategies, said Paukstys. Suppose one knows that in a particular market, internet users are flooded with ads. In that case, advertisers can prioritise investing in engaging rich media visuals over placing a high number of static creatives in standard ad placements. 'Being exposed to hundreds of ads is very different from truly seeing them. When people are bombarded with too many ads, they tend to tune out and become immune to the messages. To break through ad fatigue, advertisers need to step up their game by returning to creativity and evaluating the actual impact of their campaigns,' said Paukstys.
Broadcast Pro
2 days ago
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
UAE ranks among top countries for digital ad exposure: Eskimi
Among the analyzed countries, the average number of ads displayed to a person per day varies from tens to almost 1,600 ads every day. A new global study conducted by Eskimi, a creative and media technology platform, has found that internet users in the United Arab Emirates are exposed to nearly 850 digital advertisements each day. This figure places the UAE 12th among countries with the highest daily ad exposure, highlighting the region's growing prominence in the digital advertising landscape. Eskimi's research, which analysed ad statistics from websites and apps across 188 countries, paints a revealing picture of the modern digital environment. While 850 ads per day might seem excessive, some countries see significantly higher numbers. Nauru, a small Pacific island nation, tops the global list with users encountering nearly 1,600 ads daily. Iceland follows closely behind, with over 1,500. Vytautas Paukstys, CEO of Eskimi, said: 'Try imagining the ads you've seen today. Let me guess – you remember none or a very few. We are exposed to thousands of ads daily, but become resistant to them. In many instances, we do not even need ad-blockers, as our brains do just that. With this comes a challenge for businesses – how to cut through this block and get noticed.' The study reveals that app-based ads are far more prevalent than website ads in most countries, with UAE users experiencing app ads at triple the rate of web-based ones. Several factors contribute to these disparities, including device types, internet speeds, and overall connectivity. Countries with faster, more stable internet connections are able to load more complex and dynamic ad formats, increasing the overall volume. Paukstys also explained that ad saturation is driven not just by population size or infrastructure but by advertiser competition. In smaller countries like Nauru, limited user bases lead to an unusually high number of impressions per person. Conversely, densely populated and popular advertising markets experience increased competition, filling available ad space more consistently. Online habits further influence exposure levels. Citing the 2025 Global Digital Report by Meltwater and We Are Social, the study notes vast differences in average online time. South Africans, for instance, spend nearly ten hours online daily, compared to just four hours in Japan — a factor that directly impacts the volume of ads viewed. According to Paukstys, insights like these can help marketers develop more effective advertising strategies. Rather than simply pushing a high volume of static ads, he advises businesses to invest in engaging formats and creative content that can stand out in cluttered environments. 'Being exposed to hundreds of ads is very different from truly seeing them,' he said. 'To break through ad fatigue, advertisers need to step up their game by returning to creativity and evaluating the actual impact of their campaigns.' With attention becoming a new currency in the digital ad space, many advertisers are turning to advanced AI tools and analytics to go beyond impressions and clicks, focusing instead on genuine user engagement and campaign effectiveness. Paukstys offered several practical recommendations for marketers in highly saturated ad markets. He emphasised the importance of innovation through modern demand-side platforms, the value of localisation to better connect with audiences, and a renewed focus on creativity to make campaigns stand out. The study's findings are based on anonymised ad data from Eskimi and other industry sources, compiled in May 2025. Researchers calculated average daily ad exposures by analysing ad request volumes in relation to the number of internet users in each country. They also broke down ad placements by type, comparing ratios of app versus website ads to better understand user experiences across different digital environments.
WIRED
12-02-2025
- Business
- WIRED
This Ad-Tech Company Is Powering Surveillance of US Military Personnel
Joseph Cox Dhruv Mehrotra Feb 11, 2025 11:00 PM In a letter to a US senator, a Florida-based data broker says it obtained sensitive data on US military members in Germany from a Lithuanian firm, revealing the global nature of online ad surveillance. Last year, a media investigation revealed that a Florida-based data broker, Datastream Group, was selling highly sensitive location data that tracked United States military and intelligence personnel overseas. At the time, the origin of that data was unknown. Now, a letter sent to US senator Ron Wyden's office that was obtained by an international collective of media outlets—including WIRED and 404 Media—reveals that the ultimate source of that data was Eskimi, a little-known Lithuanian ad-tech company. This article was created in partnership with 404 Media, a journalist-owned publication covering how technology impacts humans. For more stories like this, sign up here. Eskimi's role highlights the opaque and interconnected nature of the location data industry: A Lithuanian company provided data on US military personnel in Germany to a data broker in Florida, which could then theoretically sell that data to essentially anyone. 'There's a global insider threat risk, from some unknown advertising companies, and those companies are essentially breaking all these systems by abusing their access and selling this extremely sensitive data to brokers who further sell it to government and private interests,' says Zach Edwards, senior threat analyst at cybersecurity firm Silent Push, referring to the ad-tech ecosystem broadly. In December, the joint investigation by WIRED, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), and analyzed a free sample of location data provided by Datastream. The investigation revealed that Datastream was offering access to precise location data from devices likely belonging to American military and intelligence personnel overseas—including at German airbases believed to store US nuclear weapons. Datastream is a data broker in the location data history, sourcing data from other providers and then selling it to customers. Its website previously said it offered 'internet advertising data coupled with hashed emails, cookies, and mobile location data.' That dataset contained 3.6 billion location coordinates, some logged at millisecond intervals, from up to 11 million mobile advertising IDs in Germany over a one-month period. The data was likely collected through SDKs (software development kits) embedded in mobile apps by developers who knowingly integrate tracking tools in exchange for revenue-sharing agreements with data brokers. Following this reporting, Wyden's office demanded answers from Datastream Group about its role in trafficking the location data of US military personnel. In response, Datastream identified Eskimi as its source, stating it obtained the data 'legitimately from a respected third-party provider, Vytautas Paukstys, CEO of Eskimi, says that 'Eskimi does not have or have ever had any commercial relationship with Datasys/Datastream Group,' referring to another name that Datastream has used, and that Eskimi 'is not a data broker.' In an email responding to detailed questions from the reporting collective, M. Seth Lubin, an attorney representing Datastream Group, described the data as lawfully sourced from a third party. While Lubin acknowledged to Wyden that the data was intended for use in digital advertising, he stressed to the reporting collective that it was never intended for resale. Lubin declined to disclose the source of the data, citing a nondisclosure agreement, and dismissed the reporting collective's analysis as reckless and misleading. The Department of Defense (DOD) declined to answer specific questions related to our investigation. However, in December, DOD spokesperson Javan Rasnake said that the Pentagon is aware that geolocation services could put personnel at risk and urged service members to remember their training and adhere strictly to operational security protocols. In an email, Keith Chu, chief communications adviser and deputy policy director for Wyden, explained how their office has tried to engage with Eskimi and Lithuania's Data Protection Authority (DPA) for months. The office contacted Eskimi on November 21 and has not received a response, Chu says. Staff then contacted the DPA multiple times, 'raising concerns about the national security impact of a Lithuanian company selling location data of US military personnel serving overseas.' After receiving no response, Wyden staff contacted the defense attaché at the Lithuanian embassy in Washington, DC. It was only after that, and on January 13, that the DPA responded, asking for more information. 'Once additional information is received, we will assess the situation within the scope of our competence and determine the appropriate course of action,' the DPA said, according to Chu. The Lithuanian DPA told reporters in an email that it 'currently is not investigating this company' and it 'is gathering information and assessing the situation in order to be prepared to take well-informed actions, if needed.' If the Lithuanian DPA does decide to investigate and finds Eskimi in violation of GDPR provisions, the company could face significant consequences—including fines up to €20 million. Wyden's office also contacted Google in November, to alert them to Datastream saying that Eskimi, a Google advertising partner, was selling the location data of DOD personnel overseas, Chu says. Jacel Booth, Google spokesperson, wrote in an email that 'Eskimi is currently part of Google's Authorized Buyer program and must abide by our policies.' 'Google regularly audits its Authorized Buyers program participants, and reviews allegations of potential misconduct,' the spokesperson adds. Even if Google does act against Eskimi, there may be plenty more advertising companies ready to sell harvested location data. 'Advertising companies are merely surveillance companies with better business models,' Edwards says. This story was produced as part of an ongoing reporting project from an international coalition of media outlets, including and Bayerischer Rundfunk (Germany), Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (Switzerland), BNR Nieuwsradio (Netherlands), NRK (Norway), Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), Le Monde (France), and WIRED and 404 Media (US).
