On 12th June 2015, the European Commission launched a public consultation as part of its initiative to remove contract law obstacles related to online purchases of digital content and tangible goods.
The consultation is part of the Commission’s initiative, announced in its Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe, to issue an amended legislative proposal for cross-border contract rules for the sale of digital content and tangible goods before the end of 2015.
The proposal will(i) cover harmonized rules for digital goods while (ii) allowing traders to rely on their national laws based on a focused set of key mandatory EU contractual rights for domestic and cross-border online sales of tangible goods. The Commission will also submit a proposal for a review of the Regulation on Consumer Protection Cooperation in order to develop more efficient cooperation mechanisms.
Download IAB Europe’s response to the consultation.
By David Frew, Senior Programmes Manager at IAB UK and member of the IAB Europe Programmatic Trading Committee.
In the 18th century a number of innovations in the textiles industry kicked off the industrial revolution – the single biggest societal change since the discovery of fire and the domestication of animals. Textile production went from a home-based, artisanal method where quality could vary between individual producers to a standardised and efficient system. Other industries began harnessing these efficiencies and moving towards machine-powered labour and the quality of life for the general populace increased, along with life expectancy.
There have been many innovations since then that have led to booms in efficiency – the standardisation of shipping containers and automation of global trade in the 1950’s, the move to algorithmic share trading in the 1970’s revolutionising global finance, the use of sabermetric analysis that took the Boston Red Sox to victory in 2004 and changed the way baseball is played, but the one that consumes a lot of our free time these days is the Internet and programmatic trading has fundamentally changed the way that online advertising is being traded.
At this year’s dmexco conference, IAB Europe announced that the total programmatic advertising market in Europe has jumped 70.5% from €2.14bn in 2013 to €3.65bn in 2014. The full report is available here. There is absolutely no doubt now that programmatic has taken the world by storm and the same benefits and efficiencies that previous industries have seen are translating into our space.
The U.S. may have been the primary advocate of programmatic technology but the countries of Western Europe are quickly catching up and adoption in Central Europe is rising fast too with over 100% growth in 2014. IAB Europe is at the forefront of educating and explaining what this Road To Programmatic looks like and how companies from across the entire digital marketing ecosystem can set themselves straight on the path.
Put together by experts in multiple disciplines within programmatic and with a diverse range of inputs from across Europe, the Road to Programmatic white paper should be your ultimate reference guide to this revolution. Covering both the basics and the advanced topics in what could otherwise be an obtuse and unnecessarily complex area beset by acronyms and jargon, the white paper sets out to make your life simpler.
The future is definitely looking a lot more automated and there is still ample time to become an expert if the Attitudes Towards Programmatic Advertising report is to be believed as investment is set to continue increasing, regardless of market or stakeholder. This truly is a time of innovation and revolution and the best way to shape the future is to be a part of its creation.
To find out more about programmatic strategy development you can watch the IAB Europe Road to Programmatic webinar series:
Operational Considerations
Buy-Side Considerations
Sell-Side Considerations
The International IAB US/ABC UK Spiders & Robots List is a key resource for digital media owners to minimise non-human traffic being counted in their web analytics. Established and launched in 2006 by ABC and the IAB US, it is a list of known robotic user agents that is updated and shared with subscribers each month. Media owners can apply the list to their digital analytics, and this ensures that these known robotic user agents can be recognised and separated for reporting.
Robotic user agents explore the internet and index content so relevant sites can be easily found for search purposes or for ad placement. They are entirely legitimate and provide a useful and effective function. However, as a side effect of exploring the internet, they can significantly impact ad impression and site traffic counts if included in a company’s analytics. Traffic consisting of robotic user agents is non-human rather than fraudulent; the technology exists to be helpful to internet users and has not been ‘disguised’ as a human user. This means that they can be easily detected and filtered by implementing the Spiders & Robots list.
Implementation of the Spiders & Robots list is a fundamental step for companies who want to promote transparency and trust in digital ad trading by minimising non-human traffic counted in their web analytics. Implementation of the list is required in the U.K. via the JICWEBS Web Traffic Standards, and in the U.S. via the IAB's Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines.
Media agencies and advertisers can trade with greater confidence with media owners who demonstrate a commitment to transparent trading, as it provides reassurance that digital campaigns are reaching their intended audience.
It is important to filter out known non-human activity as a basic first measure to reduce any invalid traffic being reported in web analytics. Fraudulent activity from unknown sources is now being addressed by industry representatives through JICWEBS and with ABC in their ongoing work to reduce exposure to ad fraud.
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To stop spiders affecting your data download the registration form below and send it to the IAB Europe Team: communication@iabeurope.eu.
Note: IAB Europe members get a special discount on the subscription rate.
“International data transfers are the life blood of the digital economy”, said Townsend Feehan, IAB Europe CEO. “Today’s ruling brings with it significant uncertainty as to the future possibility for such transfers. All parties must now ensure that those transfers, on which the EU’s digital economy so critically depends, may continue in a manner that enables continued growth and innovation, while providing adequate protection for EU citizens’ personal data.”
IAB Europe believes that the new framework should provide a level playing field and the legal certainty that today’s ruling has called into question, and ensure effective enforcement by U.S. authorities of data protection commitments entered into by companies operating under it. Predictable rules are imperative for the achievement of the EU’s digital single market. This way, companies of all sizes will be able to reap the benefits of the global digital economy. Today’s ruling is also an opportunity to strengthen transatlantic cooperation, and we urge the U.S. and EU to seize that opportunity.
In the meantime, we look to the European Commission to quickly issue guidance to companies that depend on Safe Harbour for their data flows to the U.S.
For more information, please contact Townsend Feehan (feehan@iabeurope.eu or +32 478 275 074).
