With ad fraud becoming more of a problem in the advertising industry, the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) has recently updated its Gold Standard requirements to help address the challenges posed by malvertising, scam ads and poor quality ads.
The new Buyers.json and DemandChainObject standards have been introduced to provide greater transparency from buy-side entities on how digital ads are published. So, what do marketers need to know?
Firstly, what is the IAB Gold Standard?
Crimtan has long been committed to improving digital advertising standards through responsible advertising and adhering to best practice industry initiatives, supported by our Gold Standard certification.
The Gold Standard’s aims are to:
- Reduce ad fraud through implementing the ads.txt initiative on all sites selling digital advertising. This shows who is authorised to sell a specific site’s inventory, preventing the selling of spoofed or fake inventory.
- Improve the digital advertising experience by adhering to the LEAN principles and the standards set by the Coalition for Better Advertising.
- Increase brand safety by working with TAG to ensure that the Display Trading Standards Group (DTSG) Brand Safety Principles are valuable, applicable and continue to evolve with market expectations.
What’s the latest Gold Standard update?
Advertisers must now also adhere to the IAB Buyers.json and DemandChain Object standards. These standards aim to reduce ad fraud through providing greater transparency to publishers on who is involved in buying the creative embedded in a given bid response, helping them more easily identify the sources of malvertising attacks and protect themselves and their users.
How can advertisers achieve Gold Standard accreditation?
To gain certification, companies must prove they have complied with the necessary commitments above to meet the Gold Standard, including the latest updates on ad fraud. They are then entitled to use the colour Gold Standard Certified Badge on their website and marketing materials.
In the future, the Gold Standard could also expand to cover other aspects such as audience measurement and viewability. Crimtan has already gone one step further than the Gold Standard requirement by completing an independent audit confirming successful implementation of the TAG anti-fraud principles.
If you’d like to know more about how we work to continuously improve digital advertising standards, get in touch with one of our experts today.