IAB to tackle ‘5 biggest issues in digital’

The IAB has begun a new initiative to tackle what it has defines as the five biggest issues in digital at the moment, including brand safety, viewability, fraud, (ad verification issues) and ad blocking and privacy.

Dubbed “IAB Believes”, the initiative is in response to mounting criticisms about digital advertising.

“The increasing role of data and automated technologies in the online ad trading process means ad verification – be it viewability, ad fraud or brand safety – and privacy, has rightly come under increasing scrutiny,” says IAB UK’s CEO Guy Phillipson. “However, it’s time to turn up the volume on the solid progress we’re making in tackling these issues in collaboration with partner trade bodies – domestically and overseas – and technology vendors.”

Each statement sets out a concise industry position, the direction for each challenge and demonstrates how they are being tackled.

Phillipson states: “I’m confident that in 12 months’ time issues such as viewability, ad fraud and brand safety will be simple, straightforward hygiene factors for display advertising – as long as all those in the industry follow guidelines set by groups such as the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS) and the Digital Trading Standards Group (DTSG).”
Digital advertising is the fastest-growing ad medium in the UK – worth £7.2bn, up 14% year-on-year. It accounts for approximately 39% of the total UK ad market.

Phillipson concludes: “My call to action is to focus energies on working together on the evolving programme to tackle digital’s biggest issues, rather than complaining from the sidelines. We’re all in it together – it’s not just an IAB problem, these are shared issues on what is a global platform.”

IAB Believes: Summary of the five statements

1. The IAB believes in brand safety online. Maintaining processes that ensure a safe environment for ad trading, thereby minimising the risk of misplacement, protecting the integrity and reputation of brands, and stifling the funding of content and services that infringe copyright.

2. The IAB believes in maximising ad viewability. Working across the industry with accredited technology partners to develop cross platform standards, our goal is to achieve effective viewability, engagement and attention for advertisers’ online campaigns.

3. The IAB believes in tackling ad fraud head on. We are committed to ensuring that the significant investment brands make in digital advertising is effective and reaches the right audience. Working with our industry partners, we will issue practical advice, and accredit technology solutions to stamp out fraud in the supply chain.

4. The IAB believes in an ad funded internet. Our goal is to help make all forms of digital advertising more effective, efficient and relevant to people¹s interests. We want to help brands reach their audience and to provide revenue to publishers so they can continue to make their content, services and applications widely available at the appropriate cost. We believe ad blocking undermines this approach.

5. The IAB believes in privacy. Together with our industry partners across Europe and beyond, we are working to ensure advertising businesses give citizens greater transparency and control over the information that is collected and used to make advertising more relevant and effective.

Nigel Gilbert, VP Strategic Development EMEA at AppNexus, states: “As a company fully committed to creating a better internet, we are really excited about the IAB Believes initiative, which recognises the progress made in addressing some of the most controversial issues facing digital advertising. In an industry that has long wrestled with the twin challenges of quality and verification, it is time to acknowledge that big strides have been made and that solutions and policies ensuring a transparent and reliable marketplace for online inventory are now available, making a responsible online adverting ecosystem a reality, while marking the beginning of a new golden age of digital understanding. ”

AOP’s, Managing Director, Tim Cain said, “AOP sees the IAB Believes initiative as being in alignment with the key issues and challenges for premium content digital publishers, and is working alongside IAB and other industry associations as part of JICWEBS to address these challenges”

Analysis

In response to the IAB statement this morning around ad viewability, Jon Buss, Managing Director, Northern Europe, Criteo,

“The IAB statement notes the challenges around ad viewability, including confusion around the term and inconsistency of measurement, and goes on to discuss the framework the IAB plan to deliver to provide a benchmark around viewability.

“The fact that online advertising is not bound by footfall in the same way that billboards in Times Square and Piccadilly Circus are means brands need to increasingly work harder in order to capture consumer attention. Couple this with advancements in technology, the increased proliferation of devices and a waning consumer attention span and tackling the challenge of viewability becomes even more essential.

“It is our opinion that personalisation is vital to viewability. Additionally, the implementation of a strong cross device strategy allows brands to target consumers throughout the path to purchase, across multiple devices. It is clear that getting mobile right is important, but as consumers hit saturation point from constant consumption of content around them, brands need to shift focus to following pairs of eyes, rather than single devices.

“It is great to see the IAB is committed to creating a consistent viewability standard for online advertising and we would welcome the opportunity to work with the IAB in any capacity.