Crimtan is proud to participate in the launch of the TAG Brand Safety Certified Program

Find out why we’re delighted to announce that we were one of just 112 companies to be certified by the new TAG Brand Safety Certified program.

The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), is the world’s leading program to fight criminal activity and protect brand safety in digital advertising.

And this month, they announced the launch of the TAG Brand Safety Certified Program, the ad industry’s largest and broadest global brand safety certification program.

Only 112 companies were certified through the program for the launch, and Crimtan are proud to be one of them. Other TAG Brand Safety Certified companies include:

  • Amazon Advertising
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • GroupM
  • Havas
  • Kroger
  • Omnicom Media Group
  • Samsung Ads
  • Sky Ltd.
  • Thomson Reuters
  • TripAdvisor
  • Twitter
  • Walmart

Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG, said of the certification:

“There is no magic bullet to ensuring brand safety, but it would be brand malpractice not to adopt these industry-consensus standards to reduce that risk.

“With broad adoption at launch across every sector of the supply chain, the TAG Brand Safety Certified Program will help companies demonstrate their commitment to brand protection and ensure that advertising partners have taken the necessary steps to reduce the risk of unsafe ad placements.

“This program completes the TAG certification suite, so companies now can adopt a unified set of solutions that shows their leadership in addressing ad fraud, malvertising, and brand safety challenges.”

The TAG program reduces the risk of misplacement of advertising

The purpose of the TAG Brand Safety Certified Program is to significantly reduce the risk of the misplacement of advertising on digital media of all types. So all companies can help protect brand safety and strengthen the integrity of digital advertising.

The program promotes the flow of advertising budgets to companies that set high standards and support the industry’s framework for brand safety, and serves the entire digital advertising supply chain by providing transparency, choice and control for buyers.

This enables buyer to secure advertising inventory with confidence, and creates a brand safety framework for sellers that increases the value of certified sellers’ inventory.

Recent brand controversies have shown the potential backlash from consumers when brands don’t take steps to prevent their ads from running with unsafe and inappropriate content.

According to research conducted by TAG and the Brand Safety Institute, more than 80% of consumers say they would reduce or stop buying a product if it was advertised in situations involving extreme or dangerous content.

What companies need to get the TAG Brand Safety Certified Seal

To achieve the TAG Brand Safety Certified Seal, companies need to achieve the following:

  • Every Direct Buyer, Direct Seller and/or Intermediary must ensure that all new and updated agreements for digital advertising services adhere to the program’s Brand Safety Principles, including specific brand safety criteria, policies, and procedures, as well as takedown, monitoring, and compliance requirements. Contracts must also require the use of independently validated Content Verification services or inclusion/exclusion lists.
  • Every Direct Buyer, Direct Seller and/or Intermediary must ensure that 100% of its monetizable transactions are reviewed by one or more independently validated Content Verification services or inclusion/exclusion lists as defined in its digital advertising agreements.
  • Every Direct Buyer, Direct Seller and/or Intermediary must document the specific policies and procedures it has to minimize the risk of ad misplacement.

The program also sets rigorous standards for all companies offering Content Verification Services.

This includes technical standards and disclosure requirements around the classification and blocking of ad serving on media properties which contains content deemed inappropriate by an advertiser, as well as capabilities around the categories and types of content it can use in its services.

We’re also participants in the JICWEBS Digital Trading Standards Group (DTSG) Program

Many of the companies certified for the launch of the TAG Brand Safety Certified Program were, like Crimtan, also participants in the former JICWEBS Digital Trading Standards Group (DTSG) Program before the TAG merger.

The TAG Brand Safety Certified Program will continue to be part of the IAB Gold Standard for UK companies.

Want to learn more about how we ensure our advertising adheres to the highest international standards? Get in touch and we’d be delighted to chat.