IAB UK, a trade body for digital advertising in the UK, has announced it has introduced a number of updates to bolster the effectiveness and expand the scope of the IAB Gold Standard - its multi-pronged initiative to tackle challenges in the digital advertising industry, such as ad fraud and supply chain transparency - which forms a core part of Government-led work to address digital advertising harms.
Significantly, IAB UK says the Gold Standard has been expanded to encompass specifications for retail media and CTV for the first time.
For CTV companies, certification includes implementing IAB Tech Lab frameworks and tools to standardise the mechanisms of video delivery in CTV and track video ad creatives across platforms - both of which stand to significantly improve transparency and standardisation within the market, added IAB UK.
Meanwhile, Retail Media Networks looking to become Gold Standard certified will need to implement shared IAB definitions for what constitutes an ad impression, a click-through, viewability, video completion rates and sophisticated invalid traffic. IAB UK says these definitions are aligned with the media metrics in IAB Europe’s Retail Media Measurement Standards and the certification process will be independently audited by ABC.
IAB UK says it has also introduced a new sustainability pillar into the Gold Standard’s criteria that formalises steps to help reduce carbon emissions within the digital ad ecosystem. This includes requiring certified companies to utilise tools that prevent inconsistent and inefficient ad refresh rates, as well as requiring SSPs to implement bid floors to limit the computational load - and therefore the carbon output - of processing numerous low-value bids.
In addition to this, further changes have been made to existing pillars within the Gold Standard to strengthen the effectiveness of the initiative across multiple fronts. For example, IAB UK says:
- In order to help advertisers identify Made for Advertising sites created by publishers, certified direct sellers will need to list all subdomains
- To help combat scam ads, certified companies will need to have a formal written process in place to handle scam ad alerts from the Financial Conduct Authority
Commenting on the changes, James Chandler, IAB UK’s CMO, says: “The digital ad industry doesn’t stand still and the Gold Standard can’t either. The changes we have announced today add up to a substantially strengthened initiative that will help the industry to robustly tackle shared challenges, and shows how CTV and retail media are maturing to embrace a new level of standardisation.
“As well as building on the criteria, we have also reviewed the certification process to ensure that it’s efficient and easier for companies to navigate. We’re calling on IAB members to double down on support for the Gold Standard not just because it is the right thing to do for the industry, but because it makes business sense to take action against ad fraud, cut waste and improve transparency.”
IAB UK says the changes outlined above will apply to all new Gold Standard certifications from today (16 Jan). Companies that are already Gold Standard certified will need to adhere to it by 30 April 2025 or as their annual recertification comes up, whichever is soonest.
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