IAB Member Networks and Exchanges Commit to Greater Brand Safety
NEW YORK, NY (JUNE 24, 2010) — The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today released the finalized “Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines,” a document that standardizes the information networks and exchanges provide to advertisers, enhances buyer control over the placement and context of advertising, and builds brand safety. The guidelines were finalized with feedback from stakeholders across the interactive advertising ecosystem including the Digital Committee of the Association of American Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Digital Marketing Committee of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). In addition, IAB member publishers and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) provided feedback on the provisions that protect advertisers from supporting illegal content.
“The feedback we received from marketers, agencies and publishers confirms that the guidelines are truly game-changing,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP, Industry Services, IAB. “The definitions, standards and practices covered by ‘Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines’ afford advertisers the highest level of brand safety when they buy on networks and exchanges.”
The final “Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines”:
- Allow for transparency of inventory sources, publisher relationships, content types, and ad placement details
- Provide universally defined content categories for advertisers
- Require that networks and exchanges rate content for audience segments
- Define categories of illegal content, for example, content that infringes on copyrights, and specify that they are prohibited for sale
- Outline data disclosure terms for off-site behavioral targeting and third-party data
- Provide for mandatory IAB training of appointed compliance officers in each certified network or exchange
- Include a list of terms and definitions for targeting and data that will help eliminate confusion
“These guidelines are an important first step towards ensuring that legitimate advertisers do not unintentionally support the market for illegal content on the Internet by running ads on sites that promote and sell such content,” said Kevin Suh, Vice President, Content Protection, Internet, Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.
About the IAB’s Networks & Exchanges Committee:
The IAB Networks and Exchanges Committee is comprised of senior leaders of ad networks and ad exchanges that are general member companies. The committee is dedicated to furthering the interests of ad networks and ad exchanges in today’s complex ad marketplace. Committee objectives are to foster the highest standards of professionalism and accountability in relationships with publishers, advertisers and the agency community, to develop programs that enable revenue growth, and to create best practices that protect consumers and the industry. A full list of Committee member companies can be found at: http://www.iab.net/networks_and_exchanges_committee
About the IAB:
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 460 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.
IAB Media Contact:
Marla Aaron
Director, Marketing Communications