Authored by Industry Leaders from Across Europe
Provides Valuable Insights, Key Considerations and Best Practices for Contextual Advertising
28th July, Brussels, Belgium: IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem, has today released its ‘Guide to Contextual Advertising’ to provide further education on alternatives to third-party cookies and to help planners and buyers of media navigate this solution.
This guide has been developed by experts from IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee. It offers a definitive round-up of what contextual advertising is, and the opportunities it provides in Europe, particularly in a post-third party cookie world. It also offers key considerations and best practices. In doing so, it ensures that buyers of media have the necessary tools and knowledge to implement effective contextual advertising campaigns.
Contextual advertising has always been a fundamental part of the marketing mix, but advancements in technology and a shift towards privacy-focused solutions, accelerated by the end of third-party cookies, have brought contextual advertising back into focus. Commenting on the role that contextual advertising plays in the digital ecosystem today, David Goddard, Chair of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee & Senior Director, Business Development at DoubleVerify said “With the demise of cookies, marketers are seeking new ways to optimise campaign performance and to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of their ad campaigns, as well as creating more meaningful consumer experiences. In today’s privacy-first ecosystem, contextual advertising is one privacy-safe solution that works. The guide, written by experts from across the advertising ecosystem, highlights the evolution of, and opportunity for, contextual advertising perfectly and provides best practices for applying this strategy as we move into a post third-party cookie world. We encourage all industry stakeholders to read this guide to help maximise the potential that contextual advertising brings.”
It has been a collaborative effort to produce this European-level industry guide for contextual advertising, with contributors including Bloomberg Media, CNN International, Comscore, DoubleVerify, IAS, Magnite, PubMatic, Rakuten Advertising, Triton Digital and Xandr.
Commenting on the value of the Guide to Contextual Advertising, Nick Welch, Programmatic Director, Northern Europe for IAS said "All eyes are on contextual targeting as the industry continues to phase out from third-party cookies. Data and sophisticated technology are coming together to enable marketers to move in the right direction with precision and at scale. As digital media quality continues to evolve and we navigate through the latest industry regulations, IAB Europe's Industry Guide to Contextual Advertising is beneficial to understand the latest developments in contextual targeting opportunities. IAS is excited to have contributed to the guide, which covers important components including a step-by-step guide to planning contextual campaigns and emerging digital channels such as CTV."
"Against the backdrop of a cookieless world, contextual advertising is more important than ever,” Simon Baker, Head of Programmatic EMEA at Bloomberg Media said. “This seismic shift in the industry presents an opportunity for premium publishers to leverage their unrivaled access to audience insights in order to better serve client needs and objectives.”
Rachel Gantz, General Manager, Activation Solutions at Comscore also said “Comscore has long supported clients with GDPR friendly contextually driven targets. We are delighted to have contributed to the latest guide from IAB Europe to share our experience and highlight the vital importance of contextual advertising for the future of our industry.”
This guide is a key output for IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee this year and follows the updated ‘Guide to Post Third-Party Cookie Era’, which was released in February 2021. The committee aims to increase understanding of the programmatic ecosystem and the impact it’s having on digital advertising and to influence industry initiatives to improve the ecosystem. Digital advertising in a post third-party cookie world is a key area of focus and industry topic for the committee in 2021.
For third-party cookie solutions such as contextual advertising to flourish, it is vital to work together as an industry to ascertain guidelines and best practices for each solution. Commenting on IAB Europe’s focus to raise awareness on such solutions, Helen Mussard, Chief Marketing Officer, IAB Europe said, “When we set out at the start of 2021, a main focus for the committee was to continue to educate the market and build confidence in digital advertising and marketing solutions that provide alternatives to third-party cookies. Being able to provide a forum for members to collaborate, and share best practices and advice in this area has never been more important for the future of our industry. The Guide to Contextual Advertising shows that by working together we can open up new opportunities and share great ideas to ensure success.”
IAB Europe is working with some of its members to provide additional insight into post third-party cookie solutions, including contextual advertising, through a series of webinars, guides, and working groups. These will continue to be expanded upon, alongside new initiatives, for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.
The Guide to Contextual Advertising can be downloaded from IAB Europe’s website here.
Authored by Industry Leaders from Across Europe
Provides Valuable Insights, Key Considerations and Best Practices for Contextual Advertising
28th July, Brussels, Belgium: IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem, has today released its ‘Guide to Contextual Advertising’ to provide further education on alternatives to third-party cookies and to help planners and buyers of media navigate this solution.
This guide has been developed by experts from IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee. It offers a definitive round-up of what contextual advertising is, and the opportunities it provides in Europe, particularly in a post-third party cookie world. It also offers key considerations and best practices. In doing so, it ensures that buyers of media have the necessary tools and knowledge to implement effective contextual advertising campaigns.
Contextual advertising has always been a fundamental part of the marketing mix, but advancements in technology and a shift towards privacy-focused solutions, accelerated by the end of third-party cookies, have brought contextual advertising back into focus. Commenting on the role that contextual advertising plays in the digital ecosystem today, David Goddard, Chair of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee & Senior Director, Business Development at DoubleVerify said “With the demise of cookies, marketers are seeking new ways to optimise campaign performance and to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of their ad campaigns, as well as creating more meaningful consumer experiences. In today’s privacy-first ecosystem, contextual advertising is one privacy-safe solution that works. The guide, written by experts from across the advertising ecosystem, highlights the evolution of, and opportunity for, contextual advertising perfectly and provides best practices for applying this strategy as we move into a post third-party cookie world. We encourage all industry stakeholders to read this guide to help maximise the potential that contextual advertising brings.”
It has been a collaborative effort to produce this European-level industry guide for contextual advertising, with contributors including Bloomberg Media, CNN International, Comscore, DoubleVerify, IAS, Magnite, PubMatic, Rakuten Advertising, Triton Digital, and Xandr.
Commenting on the value of the Guide to Contextual Advertising, Nick Welch, Programmatic Director, Northern Europe, IAS said "All eyes are on contextual targeting as the industry continues to phase out from third-party cookies. Data and sophisticated technology are coming together to enable marketers to move in the right direction with precision and at scale. As digital media quality continues to evolve and we navigate through the latest industry regulations, IAB Europe's Industry Guide to Contextual Advertising is beneficial to understand the latest developments in contextual targeting opportunities. IAS is excited to have contributed to the guide, which covers important components including a step-by-step guide to planning contextual campaigns and emerging digital channels such as CTV."
"Against the backdrop of a cookieless world, contextual advertising is more important than ever,” Simon Baker, Head of Programmatic EMEA at Bloomberg Media said. “This seismic shift in the industry presents an opportunity for premium publishers to leverage their unrivaled access to audience insights in order to better serve client needs and objectives.”
Rachel Gantz, General Manager, Activation Solutions at Comscore also said “Comscore has long supported clients with GDPR friendly contextually driven targets. We are delighted to have contributed to the latest guide from IAB Europe to share our experience and highlight the vital importance of contextual advertising for the future of our industry.”
This guide is a key output for IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee this year and follows the updated ‘Guide to Post Third-Party Cookie Era’, which was released in February 2021. The committee aims to increase understanding of the programmatic ecosystem and the impact it’s having on digital advertising and to influence industry initiatives to improve the ecosystem. Digital advertising in a post third-party cookie world is a key area of focus and industry topic for the committee in 2021.
For third-party cookie solutions such as contextual advertising to flourish, it is vital to work together as an industry to ascertain guidelines and best practices for each solution. Commenting on IAB Europe’s focus to raise awareness on such solutions, Helen Mussard, Chief Marketing Officer, IAB Europe said, “When we set out at the start of 2021, a main focus for the committee was to continue to educate the market and build confidence in digital advertising and marketing solutions that provide alternatives to third-party cookies. Being able to provide a forum for members to collaborate, and share best practices and advice in this area has never been more important for the future of our industry. The Guide to Contextual Advertising shows that by working together we can open up new opportunities and share greater ideas to ensure success.”
IAB Europe is working with some of its members to provide additional insight into post third-party cookie solutions, including contextual advertising, through a series of webinars, guides, and working groups. These will continue to be expanded upon, alongside new initiatives, for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.
The Guide to Contextual Advertising can be downloaded from IAB Europe’s website here.
The European Connected TV (CTV) market has soared in recent years to become one of the hottest topics in our industry. Where the worlds of TV and digital have been gradually merging over time, more and more consumers have been tuning out of traditional Linear TV options and moving into online streaming, paving the way for the CTV phenomenon. In Europe, CTV presents a huge opportunity for advertisers to reach engaged audiences with the right message. But for the CTV market to reach its full potential in Europe scale is key, and for that to happen programmatic CTV needs to be adopted.
In this blog post, we caught up with some of the contributor’s to our Guide to the Programmatic CTV Opportunity in Europe and members of the Programmatic Trading Committee to find out what the status of programmatic trading for CTV across Europe is, what buying options are currently available, and what we need to do to scale CTV programmatically.
What is the status of programmatic trading for CTV across Europe? How does this compare to other regions, like North America and APAC?
“It’s a really exciting time for CTV in Europe. While it’s still relatively early days for the channel, we’re seeing a lot of developments on the broadcaster side and ever-growing numbers of brands and agencies incorporating it to supercharge their campaigns.
North America is naturally further ahead but can provide a great snapshot of what’s to come. A major factor that’s impacted adoption in Europe is that linear TV has been so successful for the established broadcasters that they’ve been resistant to programmatic and the change that it brings. However, we’re really seeing the tide turning on this with many big players beginning to embrace digitalisation.
We expect to see European broadcasters evolve their digital TV offering space in the coming months, aligning increasingly closely with other digital channels. Our recent research found that nearly one in five (19%) of Brits watch more than 16 hours of streaming a week - so it’s understandable broadcasters want to keep pace with consumer appetite. As this happens, advertisers will shift increasingly large proportions of budget to this channel.” Patrick Morrell, Director, Inventory Partnerships, The Trade Desk
“According to our latest research, The Future of CTV advertising in Europe, there is a lack of unified definition across the region. During the research, we encountered not only a lack of consistency in what constitutes CTV across different markets, but we also found an array of definitions within markets. For some, it’s any TV connected to the internet. For others, it’s smart TVs, or even on-demand only. And in markets where HbbTV and IPTV are prevalent, there was no consensus on whether those technologies constituted “connected TV”. In one market HbbTV is regarded as connected TV, and in others it isn’t.
In our research, we found a two-speed Europe – large global players with unified content and tech infrastructure are moving relatively quickly, while local players, often with legacy TV businesses, are moving more slowly. Nevertheless, they are actively setting up OTT/CTV operations, though with diverse models and strategies, and in a more incremental fashion.” Hitesh Bhatt, Director, Publisher Development, CTV, EMEA, PubMatic
What are the buying options available for CTV programmatically? How is it typically bought and through what deal type?
“All markets are available for CTV buying, but, across Europe, the majority of CTV inventory is bought through Private Marketplaces (PMPs). Broadcasters will typically go for Programmatic guaranteed with some 1-2-1 preferred deals, but this is changing, and more are opening up PMPs. OTT First publishers will tend to offer PMPs as their preferred route to market.” Patrick Morrell, Director, Inventory Partnerships, The Trade Desk
“With highly engaged, addressable audiences to reach on CTV, marketers should no longer be looking at programmatic as an afterthought, but as an essential part of their strategy to bring more efficiency and accountability into their media investments. Programmatic technology gives brands the dexterity they need in a changing marketplace. They can stop a campaign almost immediately and have a new one up and running within hours.
Programmatic doesn’t just pertain to the open marketplace. It also means gaining access to private, premium marketplaces and environments that give buyers assurance that their campaigns are running where they want them to. In fact, the majority of CTV transactions occur within curated, private marketplaces, giving buyers greater control as to how they structure deals and more insight into how their ad dollars get spent.
Programmatic makes it much easier for buyers to manage all of their placements and vendors through a single source or deal ID.” Hitesh Bhatt, Director, Publisher Development, CTV, EMEA, PubMatic
“The lack of both OpenRTB standards in the open marketplace and a reliable definition of OTT across ad tech platforms has combined with TV publishers’ desire to maintain control over their inventory to produce a closed, deals-based economy when it comes to OTT/CTV.
When it comes to OTT/CTV, deals serve as a proxy for the lack of tech and TV’s traditional direct buying process in three major ways: defining the inventory, providing control, and improving accountability/reporting.
OTT/CTV deals typically take three forms. Private Marketplaces (PMPs): a deals-based method for suppliers to offer ad inventory packages built around audience data, impression attributes, content type, etc., to a group of buyers pre-approved by the publisher. Preferred Deals / Direct Deals: 1:1 deals established between a publisher and a buyer for a fixed-price CPM. And Programmatic Guaranteed Deals: deals established between a publisher and a buyer for a fixed-price CPM that guarantees access (reserved traffic) to a minimum number of impressions for the buyer, and a minimum spend to the publisher.” Adam Noble, Product Marketing Director, Index Exchange
How can a buyer scale CTV programmatically? What types of clients are you seeing have the most success?
“It really depends on what they’re trying to achieve and what the goals of the campaign are. The beauty of CTV is that it offers flexibility and the ability to test so advertisers can really hone campaigns according to their objectives. For instance, if they’re simply trying to maximise reach, they should keep the target audience broad. But if they’re looking for something more response-led, then it makes sense to run a test to find out where their audience is geographically, and on which publishers. What many people don’t appreciate is that it's incredibly cost-effective to run tests, and it will help inform and optimise future campaigns.
There’s no one type of client that CTV works better for - like any digital channel, it has universal benefits and appeal. The key is spending time getting to know how the channel works - with the help of partners - to ensure you’re making the most of it.” Patrick Morrell, Director, Inventory Partnerships, The Trade Desk
“With programmatic buying, brands and agencies win access to addressable audiences at scale. For example, buyers can easily go to 30 premium CTV publishers at once, all with the ability to reach their target audience. This is a planning advantage so buyers do not have to buy from many publishers individually like they would have to in a non-programmatic environment.
Programmatic pipes put CTV inventory in one drive, and we’re seeing demand increase across the board. With programmatic’s targeting capabilites, advertisers of all sizes can deliver their messages for optimal impact to engaged viewers. Whether it’s a buyer from a major agency or a small DTC marketer, programmatic CTV opens up access to premium inventory, regardless of budget size. The attraction of the DTC brands or regional brands is something that many agencies are excited about.” Hitesh Bhatt, Director, Publisher Development, CTV, EMEA, PubMatic
“This depends heavily on the buyer type, audience criteria, and campaign goals. Large buyers will often broker direct deals with premium suppliers, such as broadcast and cable TV networks, as well as select digital pure-plays with scale and/or gated access to inventory, such as Hulu. In addition to direct deals, buyers of all sizes will tap into private marketplaces established by OTT/CTV SSPs for scale across the broader spectrum of OTT inventory that often includes a substantial portion of FAST and vMVPD supply. Such marketplaces typically take the form of general, run-of-network pools of OTT inventory accessed via a deal ID that is targeted by the buyer’s DSP. These marketplaces are also often verticalised according to the buyer needs, with separate deal IDs for CTV-only inventory, and/or deals based on price point, contextual category, audience segment, etc.
Clients with the most success tend to work across the spectrum of deal access, from direct negotiation with publishers to ensure baseline access to premium supply, and DSP activation of multiple SSP marketplaces to ensure scale for fulfillment and audience targeting.” Adam Noble, Product Marketing Director, Index Exchange
What are the typical targeting methods available and what do you recommend to partners?
“With any advertising activity, understanding the desired outcome is key. We work with our clients to understand what they are looking to achieve - which is often multiple elements, of varying priorities. Then, with the help of our platform, we use these goals as the starting point for the campaign plan. Our advanced AI technology is embedded across the platform and analyses millions of data points to help advertisers ensure their CTV buying is as optimal as possible.
This process encompasses a number of different targeting options from demographic to geography to genre. We also work with partners such as Samsung TV Plus who offer data technology that captures everything happening on the glass and enables a more customised content discovery experience.
The key is to stay flexible. It can be tempting to get a fixed idea about the targeting method to pursue, but one of the benefits of CTV is the ability to evaluate performance and update accordingly - so we encourage advertisers to take advantage of that.” Patrick Morrell, Director, Inventory Partnerships, The Trade Desk
“This sounds obvious but the fact that we still tend to target individual users, rather than considering the context of the content, is something that needs to change. The media landscape has evolved, the technology has evolved, and the innovation in the space has really driven new opportunities to leverage the potential of contextual advertising. Thinking contextually creates a number of benefits. Firstly, it ensures accurate content classification, so the brand suitability and targeting are on-point. It's consumer privacy-friendly. It extends reach and allows you to target broader audiences while still allowing for a certain amount of precision in finding audiences at a certain point in their buying journey. Finally, it reduces ad fatigue. The viewer only sees the ad in the right context, so it doesn't feel as though the ad is following them around.” Hitesh Bhatt, Director, Publisher Development, CTV, EMEA, PubMatic
“OTT campaigns are often targeted according to basic demographic targets such as age and gender, zip-based location, and interest-based audience segments composed by data management platforms.
True addressability is limited for OTT campaigns given that Connected TVs are cookie-less devices often viewed by a household, rather than one specific individual. As a result, most OTT targeting is done according to HH file and IP address, which works well for targeting basic audience segments from DMPs, but are inadequate for accessing that next layer of targeting and insight, such as who, exactly, is in front of the TV right now. Authenticated audiences built upon publisher networks of first-party data allow SSPs to help increase match rates by enriching the audience signals sent to buyers, however, this data is often hard to scale without the help of identity and graph partnerships, and even then, is challenged by a dynamic of shared logins and inaccurate data associated with IPs and HH files. As a result, contextual signals are often defaulted to in order to help improve targeting for campaign relevancy.” Adam Noble, Product Marketing Director, Index Exchange
How do you measure the success of CTV campaigns?
“Without wishing to sound like a broken record, it really depends what you’re looking to achieve. At The Trade Desk, we work with various partners that can offer our clients different measurement metrics, according to their goals. For example, for reach and frequency – we work with several measurement specialists that can measure the reach and frequency of your campaigns vs. linear and BVOD, clearly demonstrating the added benefits of including CTV. We also work with a specialist company to help track brand uplift. Patrick Morrell, Director, Inventory Partnerships, The Trade Desk
“Without a doubt, there needs to be a greater push in the industry around standards for measurement. As an industry, we need to agree on what to measure and how to measure across all platforms. This includes a common set of metrics to compare the performance of OTT to linear TV, especially around reach and frequency.
At the moment we have lots of data sitting in silos, there needs to be a shared approach to measurement that is used consistently across all platforms and channels. This will require a lot of collaboration, which may be tough, but will really help OTT take off, and more importantly, provide advertisers with confidence in this new space.” Hitesh Bhatt, Director, Publisher Development, CTV, EMEA, PubMatic
“A majority of OTT campaigns use basic delivery metrics to define success, such as fulfillment, delivery pacing, video completion rates, eCPM, and qualitative reviews of impression delivery by publisher, platform, device, etc. OTT buyers will often seek campaign reach and frequency metrics, as well as brand studies that measure incremental and unique reach compared to linear TV campaigns. While some buyers employ attribution vendors to execute studies related to consumer actions triggered by the campaign, these advanced tactics tend to be reserved for campaigns with large budgets and scale.” Adam Noble, Product Marketing Director, Index Exchange
We know that client adoption of CTV, especially programmatically, is significantly lower than in the US. What do you think needs to happen for Europe (or your specific market) to close the gap and encourage more investment in this exciting emerging channel?
“Europe is far more fragmented than the US, and the technology is different. The market in Europe is also different in that it’s dominated by the broadcasters, so for us to catch up with the US we will need the broadcasters to continue their journey towards a programmatic-first mindset. We have seen a significant amount of progress over the past 12 months, but there’s still plenty of work to do.
Additionally, in the US, there are fewer restrictions on targeting and data. GDPR requires a different approach, but it doesn’t prevent effective targeting. The key thing to understand is it’s not something you go around, instead, you need to work within its boundaries. IDs are a key part of the solution, as they bridge the gap between CTV and other media channels – providing holistic targeting. If broadcasters start to adopt IDs, it will truly unlock the power of CTV.” Patrick Morrell, Director, Inventory Partnerships, The Trade Desk
“In many of the European markets, the education and awareness piece still needs to be worked on. The technology really must work seamlessly and provide the TV-like experience that’s so important to the consumer, the publisher, and the buyer.
While CTV isn’t exactly programmatic yet, it’s worth noting learnings from the rise of digital display ads (which became programmatic). Display went somewhat down a rabbit hole, as the market quickly developed into a contest about who had built the best one-to-one targeting machine. While some publishers and tech players may well have excellent data sets to enable micro-targeting on CTV, it is essential that CTV respects the empirically proven value of linear TV and that it remains the number one platform to build brands and attain cost-effective reach in a high-quality environment.” Hitesh Bhatt, Director, Publisher Development, CTV, EMEA, PubMatic
This week's guest editors are Filip Sedefov, Legal Director for Privacy at IAB Europe & Giulia Sala, Senior Associate at DGRS and legal counsel for IAB Italy. In this post, they share their views on the Italian data protection authority's (Garante's) newly published set of guidelines on cookies and other tracking tools. They discuss the new challenges for ID solutions and look at what is strictly necessary to ensure compliance.
On July 10th, Italy’s data protection authority (the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali - “the Garante”) published a fresh set of Guidelines on cookies and other tracking tools. These new Guidelines complement and specify the Garante’s previous guidelines on the topic, which date back to 2014. The new Guidelines represent the expectations of the regulator when it comes to compliance with Italy’s implementation of article 5(3) of the ePrivacy directive, which establishes a consent requirement for storage and access operations on a user’s device. The final version of the Guidelines comes at the end of a one-month consultation period and six months of analysis of contributions (including from IAB Italy). It follows the publication of guidance on the topic by a number of other prominent European DPAs such as France’s CNIL, Ireland’s DPC, Spain’s AEPD, Denmark’s Datatilsynet as well as - on the topic of GDPR consent specifically - the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). All guidance by DPAs so far is aligned and compatible with IAB Europe’s TCF. Below, we take a brief look at the content of this latest cookie consent guidance by a European regulator, which companies have six months to comply with.
Scope of the Garante’s Guidelines
As mentioned above, the Guidelines refer to the implementation of the consent requirements of the ePrivacy Directive in Italian law (art. 122 of the Personal Data Protection Code). In the digital advertising context, this means they provide indication of the criteria the Italian regulator will use to assess whether or not valid consent was collected by a digital publisher - or their third-party ad tech partners - for storage and access operations on the user’s device, that are related to the delivery and measurement of advertising and content.
Although the Garante’s prior 2014 Guidelines on “Simplified arrangements to provide information and obtain consent regarding cookies” still apply, these were in clear need of an update following the reforms brought about by the GDPR. The regulator explicitly calls out new privacy notice requirements (e.g., data retention periods), more elaborate consent requirements as well as reinforced transparency and accountability principles, and promotion of privacy by design and by default as elements underpinning its updated guidance.
The Garante also clarifies that the Guidelines apply to all tracking tools. It draws a rather detailed and interesting distinction between “active identifiers” (i.e., cookies) and “passive identifiers”, such as fingerprinting or other tracking tools, that do not necessarily presuppose storage of information on the user’s device but are assimilated to such operations for the purpose of its recommendation.
Collecting valid consent
The Garante offers relative flexibility in the implementation of different methodologies for gathering consent. It sets out some best practices in terms of presenting the information to the user while allowing for approaches that deviate from these as long as valid consent can be adequately demonstrated in line with the accountability principle.
The inevitables: scrolling and cookie walls
Although controversial, continued scrolling by the user was considered a valid consent mechanism in Italy for several years, following the entry into force of the GDPR and at least until the EDPB’s Guidelines 05/2020 on consent “officially” invalidated it last year. In these new Guidelines, the Garante addresses the issue of “scrolling” consent directly. Unsurprisingly, the DPA follows the previously established position of the EDPB, indicating that “scrolling” cannot, in and of itself, be considered as constituting valid consent. However, the Garante still - and somewhat more prominently than other regulators - defends its 2014 stance (established namely following efforts by IAB Italy), which is that scrolling may constitute a significant component of a pattern of user interactions that could lead to a positive conclusion about their clear and unambiguous intent to consent.
Similarly, when it comes to cookie walls the Garante also follows the conclusions of the EDPB’s consent guidance (para. 39), which states that “in order for consent to be freely given, access to services and functionalities must not be made conditional on the consent of a user to the storing of information, or gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a user (so-called cookie walls)”. The regulator leaves the door open, however, for a case-by-case assessment of the legality of cookie walls, in cases where the service provider offers the possibility to access equivalent content or services without consent. Still, the inevitable question of whether a paid alternative would satisfy the “equivalent offer” requirement, or under what conditions it would satisfy it, remains unanswered.
What’s in a UI? Consent notice UI requirements
With regard to transparency and user interface (UI) functionality, the Garante - as in its 2014 guidance - maintains an endorsement of consent request by way of a prominent banner or notice (e.g., a CMP UI), presented to users upon their first visit to a digital property. It nevertheless recognises that other methods of obtaining consent are also possible when particular processing requires it, such as through a log-in or authentication process. These pose their own challenges, which we discuss briefly in a separate section further below.
The new Guidelines contain relatively detailed views from the regulator about acceptable UI design, content, and functionality. The DPA recognises, for example, that a UI may be surfaced on different devices and expects UIs to be designed in a way that takes adequate account of the context and environment in which a user is viewing them so that the transparency objective is fulfilled. In addition, the Guidelines specify that user-facing interfaces should, at the very least, respect the following best practices:
Where a user takes no action or actively rejects consent, that decision should, according to the Garante, be respected for at least six months. However, the UI can be resurfaced earlier in cases where one or more processing operations or third parties are significantly modified, or where it is impossible to identify what choices the user has made, for instance, because they have deleted the cookies on their device. There is no specified period for storing consent or an indication of when the user should be reminded they can withdraw their consent.
The key: standardisation
On several occasions in the guidelines, the Garante encourages standardisation. In particular, the regulator estimates that users would greatly benefit from standardisation of UI types of commands, colours, functions, and content. The DPA also refers to the fact that dedicated technical cookies can be used to record and maintain the status of a user’s preferences and serve to document their prior actions with regard to such preferences for compliance and accountability purposes.
IAB Europe’s Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) is the most prominent instrument in the digital advertising context that promotes and operates standardisation precisely around these topics. The table at the end of this blog article attempts to provide a high-level overview and comparison of Garante’s requirements next to those of the TCF. It serves to demonstrate that TCF policies are aligned with the Garante’s latest Guidelines and that the Framework can be implemented in a way that is fully compatible with the regulator’s expectations.
New challenge for ID solutions and enrichment activities?
Interestingly, since the first draft of the Guidelines, a new paragraph has been introduced, which specifically refers to processing activities that accompany the creation of an account or authentication with an existing account. This is raised in the context of alternative methods to collecting consent that do not involve surfacing a banner or notice.
The Garante provides the example of a user accessing a service through the use of authentication or login credentials. It then states that, in such cases, when the account is created, there is an opportunity for the digital service provider (i.e., publisher) to inform the user and request consent for the use of cookies and other trackers. The regulator appears to suggest that, in addition to storage and access consent, users authenticated through login, must be asked to consent specifically to any activity that links different data sets, irrespective of whether these are from the same or different devices. In other words, the Guidelines could be read as effectively establishing a prohibition on the crossing of data relating to navigation carried out through the use of multiple devices, where prior and specific consent has not been obtained. This could be a challenge for ID solutions or any data controllers involved in linking offline and online data.
An elaborate view on what can be considered as “strictly necessary”
Like the ePrivacy Directive and Italian implementing legislation, Garante’s guidelines make a distinction between strictly necessary technical trackers and so-called “profiling” trackers, used for purposes that are not absolutely required for the operation of a digital property. The question, as always, is what exactly qualifies as a strictly necessary technical storage operation for which transparency must be provided, but which does not require the user’s consent. Interestingly, the Italian regulator goes further in its reflection than others on this point and adopts a slightly more nuanced position, specifically when it comes to first-party analytics.
In short, the regulator is of the opinion that cookies or trackers that serve first-party analytics purposes, can qualify as strictly necessary and hence not be subject to a consent requirement. This is only possible, however, where the following minimisation techniques have been cumulatively applied to these cookies and other trackers:
(i) The possibility of identifying the user is precluded, and they cannot serve to identify a device. The regulator suggests this can be achieved by masking appropriate IP address portions (e.g., at least to the 4th component) so as to introduce sufficient uncertainty in attribution;
(ii) They are used in relation to a single website/app; and
(iii) Third parties intervening in these activities (i.e., who provide the publishers with a measurement service) do not combine such data with other data or statistics of visits to other websites, nor transmit such data to other third parties except in the case where the production of statistics refers to multiple domains attributable to the same publisher (i.e., group’s websites).
Moreover, where a publisher carries out statistical analysis on their own, without the intervention of third parties, they may do so also in relation to multiple domains, websites, or apps, without the above-mentioned minimisation techniques, for as long as such operations do not serve the purpose of making commercial decisions. In essence, this means that a publisher is allowed to carry out statistical analysis on multiple web properties for technical reasons (e.g., deciding on storage and backup requirements) but not for commercial ones (i.e., deciding on digital ad space offering).
Garante’s Guidelines and the TCF
As promised earlier, below is a table that offers a high-level view of how some of the requirements in Garante’s new Guidelines compare to those set out in IAB Europe’s TCF. As always, it’s useful to keep in mind that TCF Policies set a minimum standard and that organisations should, in addition to TCF, implement more stringent requirements where these exist locally.
| Topic | Garante updated Guidelines on cookies and other trackers | Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) |
| Scrolling consent | Scrolling cannot in itself be considered as an affirmative action by the user that signifies their consent. | TCF does not define “affirmative action” therefore allowing for flexibility depending on local regulatory requirements and guidance. However, Appendix B, Policy C(b) TCF requires “Accept” and “Settings” calls to action in the initial layer of the Framework UI at the very least. |
| Cookie walls | Cookie walls are not allowed in principle, as they do not constitute “freely given” consent, except where it can be verified, on a case-by-case basis, that the service provider offers the possibility to access equivalent content or services without consenting to cookies / other trackers. | TCF does not define “freely given” consent therefore allowing for flexibility depending on local regulatory requirements and guidance. Appendix B, Policy C(h) TCF, however, accounts for cookie walls (if and where these are allowed) and their impact on other TCF UI requirements. |
| Prior information | Cookies / trackers that are not strictly necessary cannot be placed prior to informing the user and collecting their consent. | Cookies / trackers that are not strictly necessary cannot be placed prior to informing the user and collecting their consent. See e.g., Policies 13(3) and 14(4) TCF. |
| Use of cookie banners / notices | Encouraged. The banner / notice must be prominent and separate from other information. | Required. The banner / notice must be prominent and separate from other information. See Appendix B, Policy C(a) TCF. |
| Content of cookie banners / notices | The banner / notice must allow the user to
- view essential information about the use of cookies/trackers - view essential information about collection and processing related to digital advertising - Call to action to accept - Call to action to access settings - Call to action to refuse or other means of closing the banner that entails refusal - access a secondary layer or privacy policy that contains extended information - access a secondary layer where purpose / third party -specific choices can be made. |
The banner / notice must allow the user to
- view essential information about the use of cookies/trackers - view essential information about collection and processing related to digital advertising - Call to action to accept - Call to action to access settings - access a secondary layer or privacy policy that contains extended information - access a secondary layer where purpose / third party -specific choices can be made. See full information requirements in relation to consent in Appendix B, Policy C TCF. |
| Consent toggles | Consent choices must be set to “off” by default. | Consent choices must be set to “off” by default. See Appendix B, Policy C(d) TCF. |
| Resurfacing UI | Users must be able to modify their choices by resurfacing the banner through an easily accessible link. | Users must be able to modify their choices by resurfacing the banner through an easily accessible link. See Appendix B, Policy C(f) TCF. |
| Purpose limitation & data minimisation | Only data necessary to fulfil a specific, strictly defined purpose are collected. | Only data necessary to fulfil a specific, strictly defined purpose are collected. See Purposes, definitions and guidance in Appendix A TCF. |
| Design / colours and dark patterns | Design and colours cannot be deceptive. Text treatment of commands should be identical. | Design and colours cannot be deceptive. Text treatment of commands should be identical. See Appendix B, Policy C(g) TCF. |
In this week's member-guest post, we hear from Stephanie Hanson, Offering Manager at OneTrust as she explores the CTV landscape and shares privacy best practices to follow.
The time has finally come to cut the cord. Internet streaming TV models are quickly becoming the norm worldwide compared to past cable TV models. At the same time, privacy regulations are popping up around the world, requiring companies to adjust their digital privacy experiences based on different requirements. How can companies jump into the CTV space and confidently adhere to privacy guidelines while meeting consumer expectations in regards to how their data is collected and shared? Read this article to find out.
Dipping into the CTV Pool
A streaming service can provide consumers with video, audio, or other content delivered online. Just a few examples of the more popular streaming services include Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Netflix. In fact, half of Americans (60% of them young adults) access video content through online streaming services.
With a growing number of consumers utilising streaming services, publishers shouldn’t overlook these outlets as an opportunity to advertise. Many publishers already have taken advantage of this new revenue stream, with 60% of Digital Buyers saying that they’ll shift Linear TV dollars to Connected TV (CTV) advertising in 2021). Whereas OTT (over-the-top) is the delivery method for streaming content, CTV (ConnectedTV) is the device on which the streaming services run. Advertisers can purchase ad space from publishers to display across OTT services and CTV applications.
Targeting and efficiency are two of the main benefits publishers and advertisers can hope to see by investing in CTV advertising. However, there are plenty of other advantages of adopting this new strategy. While CTV is a new channel that companies are tapping into, it’s essential to understand requirements that accompany OTT and CTV, especially when it comes to data privacy.
Benefits of CTV Advertising
One reason advertisers are shifting towards CTV advertising is that it is an effective method for reaching target audiences. Because of the nature of streaming services, content is already topic-specific. If you know the demographics and psychographics of your audience, there’s a good chance you can locate them and show them highly targeted ads via the content they’re consuming on CTV.
Advertisers can reap the benefits of CTV advertising by taking a cross-channel approach. Advertising can now span across your website, social media sites, mobile devices, and OTT platforms.
Brands that focus on multi-channel advertising report an average 500% improvement in ROI. It’s not hard to be convinced of the value of CTV advertising. However, with any new advertising outlet, there are always some unknowns.
CTV Advertising and Data Privacy
While CTV advertising certainly is an exciting new advertising venture for publishers, we shouldn’t forget the importance of privacy. As these are new advertising arenas many publishers are still navigating what best privacy practices look like when it comes to OTT and CTV. This new landscape includes a whole ecosystem of partners and vendors who are now receiving personal information.
Consent and privacy strategies should always be at the forefront of planning and incorporated into OTT and CTV platforms. Just like other marketing channels, it is critical to ensure transparency and provide consumers with choice over data collected for advertising purposes via streaming.
In addition to this, publishers leveraging the IAB TCF (Transparency and Consent Framework) v2.0 framework must ensure they are using a verified CMP, such as OneTrust, to appropriately capture consent and preferences to effectively signal it downstream to ad tech vendors.
Although implementing privacy-first practices should be well-thought-out it is always well worth the while. Some of the benefits include honouring consumer privacy and creating a trusted brand relationship with consumers through transparency. Additionally, consented inventory can lead to higher revenue for publishers.
Conclusion: Rely on CTV Privacy Technology
The potential in CTV advertising for publishers is exciting. By providing viewers with a seamless user experience while respecting their data preferences, you have a good chance of making this channel a viable consented revenue stream.
CTV app consent technology is your golden ticket to achieving compliance with privacy regulations while also meeting your advertising goals.
Brussels, 16 July 2021 - Open Letter on the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Advertising
We are a broad-ranging coalition of European stakeholders from the digital advertising and media ecosystem, including digital media publishers, content creators, communications agencies, technology providers, eCommerce businesses, entrepreneurs, and software developers. As the European Parliament moves to finalise its position on the proposed Digital Services Act (DSA), we respectfully voice our firm opposition to the ban on targeted advertising that has been put forward by some political groups. More broadly, we call on the EU legislator to recognise the value of the EU’s existing legal framework for privacy and data protection and to avoid the inclusion of provisions in the DSA that would undermine it.
We fully support requirements in the DSA proposal that seek to improve the overall B2B and B2C transparency of digital advertising. However, we cannot endorse a European law that aspires to constrain online business models through bans and prohibitions of practices that are already comprehensively regulated by existing privacy and data protection laws. If reflected in the final text, such disproportionate, unjustified restrictions would heavily undermine the sustainability of European media and the open internet as well as perpetuate legal uncertainty, including by creating unprecedented complexity in compliance and enforcement.
The functioning of democracies critically depends on citizens having access to services, knowledge and information online. A ban on targeted advertising would effectively strip businesses of critical revenue that enables them to guarantee such access and deprive European citizens of a significant portion of the content and services they benefit from today. Without a clear alternative, more content and services would be pushed behind paywalls, with disproportionate effects on lower-income households in particular. Consumers who do not wish to receive personalised advertising or be “tracked” online can simply leverage existing law to refuse it, before they even start consuming ad-supported content.
The recently-released Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021 cites ‘pressing concerns about what happens to those who have limited interest or who can’t afford it’ as ‘more high-quality content [is] disappearing behind paywalls’, whereas a study requested by the CULT Committee 'Europe's media in the digital decade’ warns of a ‘decline in the access to relevant information’ as a result of content becoming paid-only.
Moreover, such measures would undercut market entry opportunities for start-ups and SMEs in need to reach their customers, create brand awareness and scale, especially in current times when economic recovery is key. Personalised ads are instrumental for regional SMEs and exporters with unique products who need to reach a global customer-base, but also essential for EU´s big brand champions whose business is fundamentally supported by improved addressability, as they seek to provide the right marketing messages to the right audience at the right time.
The EU has the most sophisticated privacy and data protection legal framework in the world, with heavy sanctions. If the Parliament wishes to increase consumer trust online - one of the adduced objectives of the DSA proposal - it should insist on effective enforcement of that current framework and reject the temptation to extend the scope of the DSA in ways that would create regulatory turmoil and put the financial stability of the Europe’s local businesses and media in peril.
Signatories
European and International Level Associations Signatories
The PDF of the open letter can be accessed here - 16th July - DSA & Digital Advertising Industry Open Letter
According to the recently released AdEx 2020 study, the European digital ad market is now programmatic first with 50.6% of all display spend now transacted programmatically.
Programmatic is a big deal. But to really understand the status of programmatic adoption across Europe on both the buy and the sell-side of the digital advertising industry, we need your help. IAB Europe is inviting all stakeholders, from advertisers and agencies to ad tech and publishers, to answer the 2021 Programmatic Survey! Take part here.
Now in its seventh year, this survey aims to illustrate the current adoption of and attitudes towards programmatic advertising. The results will help inform the IAB Europe Programmatic Trading Committee that provides guidance on developing a programmatic advertising strategy for publishers, agencies, and advertisers.
The deadline to complete the survey is Friday 6th August and it takes just 10 minutes to complete. Plus your response will be treated in the strictest confidence and all respondents will be sent a copy of the 2021 report with full results.
Help us uncover how programmatic advertising attitudes, adoption, and strategies are evolving. Take the survey today!
Check out last year's report to see what the findings provide so much value and insight.
Trust.id Becomes The Shared Campaign Identifier (SCID)
Paris, France, 12th July 2021: Today, EDIPUB in partnership with IAB France, IAB Europe, Union des marques, UDECAM, SRI and IAB Tech Lab announced a major rebranding of their campaign traceability and transparency industry initiative, Trust.id. The collective industry initiative has been renamed SCID (Shared Campaign Identifier). Already part of the OpenRTB (Real Time Bidding) as an extension, the specification has been updated to reflect the name change.
With heightened regulation, the complexity of the digital advertising ecosystem and the need to ensure that user privacy is respected, it has never been more important to ensure transparency and traceability for all digital advertising campaigns, notably for advertisers who want to track and measure their digital investment.
SCID will enable a campaign to be monitored throughout its lifecycle. The goal is to keep following a campaign, provide more transparency, and bring the links in the programmatic chain closer during the reporting operations. This unique and dedicated SCID field will be easily identifiable for all stakeholders regardless of the demand-side platforms (DSPs), and supply-side platforms (SSPs) used by the buy and sell side.
“Over the last few years, we have witnessed the initiative gaining industry traction due to our commitment to test, incorporate feedback and communicate the work through different events and webinars. Today, the rebranding is another step. Maintaining the same objective, we want to give the programmatic ecosystem more transparency and traceability around each campaign with the SCID,” commented Alexandre Nderagakura, Technical Director, IAB Europe.
Commenting on the level of industry support, Didier Beauclair, Director of Efficiency and Transparency at Union des marques said “Advertisers, together with media agencies and publishers have long identified that a shared campaign identifier was the missing link for transparency and safety – and therefore trust - of the programmatic value chain. Our members as well as global advertisers through the WFA (World federation of advertisers) have been very supportive of this great initiative and are keen on making it a global standard.”
Jean-Baptiste Rouet, President of the Digital Committee UDECAM also commented “UDECAM has been supporting this initiative from the start and has carried out test campaigns to ensure that the shared campaign identifier has successfully passed through the value chain between buyer and seller without discrepancy. We are very happy to take a new step to make sure that SCID is widely adopted in all countries to guarantee brands ever more transparency in this complex and ever-changing ecosystem.”
SCID will now be rolled out to other key European markets to help with industry feedback and market adoption. Commenting on the plans, Evelyne Sosnovsky , Executive Director at EDIPUB said “We‘ve been rolling out the Trust ID initiative for the past two years in France. With the rebranding to SCID ‘Shared Campaign Identifier’, we will be able to roll it out shortly in Poland, Portugal, and Denmark. The aim is to make it an OpenRTB global standard”.
“SCID is the real proof that a local solution can be deployed globally, be adopted as a norm and that supply and demand can be brought together around transparency. A major advance for the industry. The more understanding we bring in the value chain the easier we make the market to operate” said Véronique Pican Vice president IAB France.
The SCID spec is now available within the IAB Tech Lab GitHub as an extension in order to support SCID in programmatic transactions. This will allow anyone (tech platforms, publishers, and buyers) to use it and provide feedback on the usage. For full details on how SCID works and is integrated within OpenRTB, please read IAB Tech Lab’s blog post.
"IAB Tech Lab has been promoting technical transparency in the advertising and media industry on both the sell side – with ads.txt, sellers.json and SupplyChain Object – and the buy side – with buyers.json and Demand Chain Object. We are happy to see the SCID initiative gain momentum and hope that this will result in a more consistent level of campaign transparency across the supply chain, helping with reconciliation and accountability,” said Amit Shetty, Vice President, Programmatic & Partnerships, IAB Tech Lab.
“We are very happy to see that the project initiated in 2017 with Union des marques and Edipub is finally being rolled out. SCID, as an international standard, will bring the long-awaited traceability to our programmatic markets” said Hélène Chartier, General Manager, SRI.
Press Contacts:
Helen Mussard, CMO, IAB Europe - mussard@iabeurope
About IAB EUROPE:
IAB Europe is the European-level association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem. Through its membership of national IABs and media, technology and marketing companies, its mission is to lead political representation and promote industry collaboration to deliver frameworks, standards and industry programmes that enable business to thrive in the European market
About IAB France
Créée en 1998, l’Interactive Advertising Bureau France (IAB France) regroupe les acteurs de la communication digitale autour d’une triple mission : (1) structurer la communication digitale grâce à l'élaboration de normes et au partage de bonnes pratiques, (2) favoriser son usage et (3) optimiser son efficacité en vue du développement d'une industrie forte et responsable au service d'une croissance durable. Elle compte à ce jour 125 sociétés membres, représentant l’ensemble des acteurs de la chaîne de la vente et des technologies de la publicité digitale.
L'IAB France est l'un des interlocuteurs naturels des autorités et pouvoirs publics, des médias et des autres associations professionnelles en matière de communication digitale. L'IAB France est une association indépendante, membre du 1er réseau mondial d'associations représentant l'écosystème de la communication digitale : l'Interactive Advertising Bureau. www.iabfrance.com
About EdiPub
EdiPub est une association de l’interprofession publicitaire créée en 1996 , présidée par TF1 pub , qui regroupe tous les acteurs de l’achat d’espace en France : régies publicitaires, agences média, syndicats professionnels et offreurs de solution pour les médias TV, Radio, Print, Publicité Extérieure et Digital . Son objet est de dématérialiser et d’optimiser les échanges commerciaux entre les partenaires depuis la création de l’offre jusqu’à la facturation et les bilans de campagne et reportings. C’est sur la sollicitation de ses membres syndicats professionnels (UDM , UDECAM, SRI , SNPTV) qu’EdiPub a entamé ses travaux pour aboutir à un identifiant unique de campagne programmatique, le SCID.
A propos de l’Union des marques
L’Union des marques est l'organisation représentative des marques. Elle compte 6600 membres au sein de ses 230 entreprises adhérentes, de toutes tailles, tous statuts, tous secteurs et représente plus de 1500 marques. Elle a pour mission de promouvoir la liberté de communiquer en développant une communication responsable et de renforcer l'efficacité des actions marketing et communication. L’Union des marques est une plateforme d’inspiration et d’échange, de mise en contact, d’accompagnement et de représentation.
A propos du SRI
En 2021, le SRI réunit 27 Membres, régies internet - 20 Minutes, 366, Altice Media Ads & Connect, Amaury Média, Boursorama, Canal+ Brand Solutions, Cdiscount Advertising, CMI Media, Drive Media, France TV Publicité, GMC Media, Lagardère Publicité News, Leboncoin, Les Echos Le Parisien Médias, M Publicité, M6 Publicité, MEDIA.figaro, Meltygroup, NRJ Global, Orange Advertising, Planet Advertising, Prisma Media Solutions, Reworld MediaConnect, SeLoger, Solocal, TF1 Pub & Verizon Media - et 7 Partenaires, exerçant une activité complémentaire et/ou technologique de monétisation publicitaire - Alliance Gravity, Digiteka, Facebook, Freewheel, Google, Smart et Xandr. Ensemble, ils partagent leurs expertises, décryptent le marché et ses tendances, notamment au travers de la publication de l’Observatoire de l’e-pub, et font la promotion d'une publicité digitale responsable. www.sri-france.org
A propos de l’Udecam
L’Union des Entreprises de Conseil et Achat Media réunit 26 Agences medias, architectes des stratégies de moyens au service des objectifs branding et business des marques.
L’Udecam réunit: Anacrouse, Artefact, Dentsu (Carat et IProspect), Havas Group. Media (Fullsix Media, Havas Media, Arena Media, 79), GroupM (KR Wavemaker, Mediacom, Mindshare), IPG Mediabrands, Mediatrack, Oconnection, OmnicomMediaGroup (OMD, Remind-PhD, Fuse), Premium, Publicis Media (Zenith, Starcom, Blue 449), Repeat, Values.
Depuis 1996, cette association est une instance de dialogue et de concertation avec les différents partenaires des médias et de la communication mais aussi entre les collaborateurs des Agences. Elle valorise l’expertise média et hors-média, défend les intérêts collectifs de ses adhérents et les représente auprès de tous les acteurs du marché : pouvoirs publics, organismes professionnels et interprofessionnels, médias, annonceurs et relais d’opinion.
So far this year, IAB Europe’s committees and taskforces have produced some incredible outputs. From an updated guide on the Post Third-Party Cookie Era and a new Guide to the Programmatic CTV Opportunity in Europe to a deep dive into Brand Safety in CTV and over 20 virtual events, it's been a great start to 2021.
If you're keen to get involved after the summer break, we'd love to have you join us! We have a range of committees and taskforces that every IAB Europe member can join, and below, we’ve put together a summary of our committees so you have all the information you need to sign up and get involved.
Why join a Committee?
Being a part of a committee will help you to expand your knowledge and network, and provide valuable education and guidance to the wider community. You can stay up to date on the latest regulatory affairs and public policy initiatives that promote self-regulation, best practices, and industry standards. Most of our committees organise events, so you have the opportunity to become a speaker or moderator at large events, which bring together hundreds of industry peers. Finally, being a part of a committee means you can influence the work we are doing to drive forward the future of our industry.
What’s involved?
Each committee has a monthly conference call with a quarterly face to face meeting when we can meet again. The committee Chair and Vice-Chair lead each session and proactively involve members to get the very best from each meeting. The latest projects and outputs will be discussed so members can decide what they’d like to get involved with and work on. Most committees will focus on two to three key projects each quarter which could range from producing a white paper or discussing the latest policy situation to conducting industry research and market insights. For any output you are involved with, you and your company will be cited in the report and have the opportunity to be involved in subsequent PR or events.
What Committees can I join?
Please see below for an overview of the committees you can join. For more details on the committees with details on the Chairs, work plan, and contact details, please click here.
On 6th July, IAB Europe hosted its first Digital Audio Day of 2021.
The event brought together the shapers, creators, and noisemakers of digital audio advertising to discuss everything you need to know about this channel!
Through a series of panel discussions and keynote speeches, we discussed all things audio from the audio landscape and programmatic audio, right through to audio measurement, standards, and podcast trends.
In this post, you'll find an overview of each of the sessions covered, as well as the video recordings from each of the sessions for you to view in your own time.
Watch the full event recording here.
Opening Keynote: The Audio Landscape in 2021 and Beyond - Daniel Knapp, Chief Economist, IAB Europe.
In this opening keynote presentation, Daniel Knapp focused on the recently released AdEx 2020 Report to share what the audio landscape in Europe looks like in 2021 and beyond.
Watch the session recording here.
Panel 1: The Audio Landscape
Following on from Daniel’s presentation, this panel discussed how the audio market has evolved over the last year, highlighting the latest investment figures and developments in the market. They shared their thoughts on what this means going forward to help scale the audio advertising opportunity.
The panel was moderated by Catherine Cribbin, Member Services Manager, IAB UK, who was joined by:
Watch the session recording here.
Keynote: Measuring the Audio Moment - Moomal Shaikh, Senior Product Manager, Oracle Advertising
Audio is on the rise (ask yourself- how many podcasts are recommended to you on a weekly basis?) but there’s still work to be done to measure IVT, brand safety, and overall performance on audio channels. In this keynote we heard Moomal Shaikh break down the state of audio measurement today, and where it’s going.
Watch the session recording here.
Keynote: Unleashing the Value of Programmatic Audio – Benjamin Masse, Global Managing Director, Strategy & Market Development, Triton Digital
Online audio is blossoming around the world through a wealth of new content, new formats, and new experiences. In this educational and thought-provoking session, Triton Digital’s Benjamin Masse presented both strategy and best practices for the programmatic monetisation of online audio. From trends across Europe and as compared to the rest of the world, this session provided helpful information on how best to optimise yield, and keep audio inventory in the spotlight in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Watch the session recording here.
Keynote: Great Talkers. Even Better Listeners – Lee Thompson, Strategy Director, AudioOne
In his talk, Lee explored Irish people’s relationship with digital audio. Based on findings from the most recent wave of IAB Ireland’s Digital Audio Consumption & Behaviour research he lifted the lid on the love affair with Audio and explained how, in the space of a few short years, digital audio has become a media planning favourite.
Watch the session recording here.
Keynote: Top 10 Podcast Trends in 10 Minutes – Adam Bowie, Business Development Manager, BBC World Service
Everything you need to know about the fast-moving podcast marketplace, examining the latest trends and numbers. This session challenged some preconceptions and provided insight and background into a continually evolving digital audio space, including the impact of social audio, subscriptions, and exclusivity.
Watch the session recording here.
Keynote: Update on Digital Audio Global Technology Standards – Where We Stand, and Where We Go – Oliver von Wersch, Founder & CEO, vonwerchpartner, consulting for IAB Tech Lab
The presentation gave an overview of the current state of IAB Tech Lab’s Digital Audio Standards, and provided insights into planned developments in 2021.
Watch the session recording here.
IAB Europe's hotly-anticipated full 2020 AdEx Benchmark Report is now live for all the world to see! Released on 1st July 2021, the report is the definitive guide to advertising expenditure in Europe. It covers 28 markets and details the formats and channels that contributed to digital advertising’s annual growth of 6.3 percent in 2020, culminating in a market value of €69bn.
You can download the full AdEx 2020 Report here.
But if you're looking for key facts, stats, and all the highlights from the report (the ones you absolutely must know), then be sure to check out our short videos, featuring our very own Chief Economist, Daniel Knapp below:
Keen to learn even more? Why not join us on 8th July for a Special Economic Trends Forum where Daniel Knapp will dive into the report to look at key digital ad spends and trends in 2020, and share must-know highlights and key takeaways. Register here to secure your space today!
In this week’s member-guest post, we hear from Igor Gubin, Region Manager, Europe at Admitad Affiliate Network, as he reveals the very promising outlook for online fashion sales.
The pandemic and lockdown was a massive blow to the fashion industry with sales decreasing in 2020. This year, however, has already proved otherwise: according to Admitad Affiliate, the number of online orders in the fashion industry increased by +73% from January to April 2021. Gradual removal of restrictions and activities of partners have contributed to this growth.
Meanwhile, the amount of European fashion orders has grown by + 28%, demonstrating that customers have reduced their average check, but at the same time are ready to buy more often. The interest towards websites of brands has grown as well - from the beginning of this year the number of clicks has increased by 18% in comparison to the previous period.
Residents of Ireland, Italy, Slovakia, Denmark and Slovenia increased the total cost of purchases in the fashion industry faster than others. The TOP-10 is closed by Holland, Czech Republic, Finland, Poland and Greece. Let's see which European countries can boast the largest average check for online orders in the fashion segment:
These EU countries show the highest average shopping basket value for online orders in the fashion industry in the first quarter of 2021
Online is the New Offline, Despite Partial Relaxation of the Strict Lockdown Rules
Most European countries are cautiously moving towards lifting COVID-19 restrictions and residents are spending more and more time outside due to the warmer temperatures. The Austrian government announced an easing of the rules from June 10th. From June 14th, the Czech Republic allowed visits to restaurants, bars, and guest rooms to take place. In Italy, the curfew will be lifted in the summer, whilst Germany enjoys lifting some of the current restrictions from June 7th, allowing restaurants to be opened to visitors both indoors and outdoors.
However, cautiousness is here to stay. Most consumers need a test to go shopping offline - meaning that part of the spontaneous fun is no longer there. This explains their spending habits are moving more and more into online shopping.
Seasons No Longer Exist
Fashionistas skipped the summer wardrobe renewal last year as almost all of Europe was in a tough lockdown in April / May 2020. Therefore, buyers triggered a new wave of demand for online shops in late spring and early summer. They have also been motivated to replenish their summer wardrobe with a growing list of countries opening their borders, ready to welcome travelers and vacationers.
Traffic, and More Traffic.
During the pandemic, not only has the number of online communities increased but also the number of websites willing to partner with brands as part of the affiliate marketing program has increased too. This means that the rewards are no longer generated via banners or contextual advertising (pay per click), but measured according to consumer orders (pay per action). The number of such providers and partners increased by +12% at the beginning of the year.
According to the Admitad Affiliate network, most of the orders in the fashion industry now come from these traffic sources:
The fashion future looks promising
Both experts and stakeholders expect further growth in the fashion industry. With the recovery and a growing wave of customers, competition between brands in standard promotion channels will intensify. Therefore, it is important to look for new ways to interact with the audience, experiment, actively work with partners, and make yourself known in order to focus the audience's attention on your brand.
