The Interactive Advertising Bureau 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 and the Digital Marketing Committee of the Association of National Advertisers. 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, VP/Content Protection, Internet, Motion Picture Association of America.
