As the managing organisation of the Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF), IAB Europe constantly strives to protect the integrity of the Framework and ensure that organisations who have signed up to the TCF comply with their commitments under the Framework Policies.
IAB Europe has been operating a Consent Management Platform (CMP) Compliance programme for CMPs registered for TCF since 2019. The CMP compliance programme comprises a pre-implementation validation stage and a post-implementation enforcement stage, which enables IAB Europe to monitor live CMP implementations for compliance with the TCF Policies. The CMP enforcement process can result in the suspension of the participating CMP from the Framework for non-resolved breaches of TCF Policies.
IAB Europe is now expanding the Compliance programme to Vendors registered for the TCF. The aim is to identify and enforce against instances of non-compliant Vendor implementations, which may reduce consumer protection, expose Publishers and Vendors to legal risks, and undermine the reputation of the TCF in the eyes of both regulators and users.
Scope of the Vendor Compliance Programme
In this first iteration of the TCF Vendor Compliance Programme, IAB Europe will audit live installations of Vendor technologies as integrated on Publisher properties and focus on assessing compliance with the following TCF policies:
Chapter III 16 (1) “A Vendor must not store information or access information on a user’s device without consent, unless the law exempts such storage of information or accessing of information on a user’s device from an obligation to obtain consent.”
Chapter III 16 (2bis) “A Vendor shall indicate on the GVL the maximum duration of information stored on a user’s device, including whether such duration may be refreshed.”
Chapter III 13 (6) “A Vendor must not create Signals where no CMP has communicated a Signal, and shall only transmit Signals communicated by a CMP or received from a Vendor who forwarded a Signal originating from a CMP without extension, modification, or supplementation, except as expressly allowed for in the Policies and/or Specifications.”
Chapter III 16 (17) “A Vendor must not transmit personal data to another Vendor unless the Framework’s Signals show that the receiving Vendor has a Legal Basis for the processing of the personal data. For the avoidance of doubt, a Vendor may in addition choose not to transmit any data to another Vendor for any reason”.
Chapter III 16 (20) “If a Vendor receives a user’s personal data without having a Legal Basis for the processing of that data, the Vendor must quickly cease processing the personal data and must not further transmit the personal data to any other party, even if that party has a Legal Basis for processing the personal data in question”.
Over time, IAB Europe will aim to expand its automated audit capabilities to enable it to carry out more comprehensive and efficient assessments of Vendor compliance. Needless to say that, while the policies above constitute the focus of this initial phase of the TCF Programme, IAB Europe will continue to monitor compliance with all TCF Policies and adopt enforcement measures where non-compliance is identified, in line with its prerogatives under the TCF Policies and Terms and Conditions.
Enforcement process
From the 1st of September 2021, the enforcement process will be as follows:
What is the TCF?
The IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) was created to help companies that serve, measure and manage digital and personalised advertising content comply with certain obligations of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ePrivacy Directive (ePD) when processing personal data or accessing and/or storing information on a user’s device. It consists of Technical Specifications and Policies that assist all companies in the digital advertising supply chain to meet transparency and user choice requirements.
The TCF enables publishers, through the means of a CMP, to inform and allow their users to exercise their choices on data processing pursued by them and/or the technology providers operating on their services (vendors). User choices are then recorded by the CMP in the form of signals (TC strings) to be transmitted and respected by the latter.
To ensure all parties can rely confidently on TC strings to determine their ability to process data, the TCF policies and technical specifications layout specific obligations and provisions for each category of participants (publishers, vendors and CMPs). IAB Europe supports participants in the application of their respective requirements through its compliance programmes.
For more information on the TCF or should you have any further questions on the TCF Vendor Compliance Programme, please do not hesitate to contact us at: communication@iabeurope.eu
On September 7 & 8, major brands and representatives from the digital economy will come together at Europe’s leading digital marketing & tech event! 400+ speakers will be taking the DMEXCO community on a journey into the digital future across 11 simultaneous streams.
IAB Europe is proud to be one such representative, as we host not one but two key presentations and panels. Join us and our panel of industry-leading experts on 7th September as we dive into the Digital Services Act (DSA) and whether a ban on targeted advertising is on the horizon, and also share the results of our latest Attitudes to Programmatic Advertising Survey.
10:20 - 10:40 CET - Is the EU About to Ban Targeted Advertising? - Find out more and register here!
16:00 - 16:20 CET - Programmatic Advertising in Europe: Latest Trends, Attitudes and Growth Drivers - Find out more and register here!
Check out the full agenda here.
#SettingNewPriorities: Industry-leading talks and premium networking opportunities
Network live with experts and industry leaders. Actively participate in masterclasses, workshops, fireside chats, and keynotes – all from the comfort of your own home. Be inspired by the latest developments and ideas from industry leaders and global players, with talks from:
Other confirmed speakers include Jen Fitzpatrick (Senior Vice President, Core at Google), Lindsay Nelson (Chief Brand and Experience Officer at Tripadvisor),
Timothy Young (President of Dropbox), plus many more big names and brands will be joining to deliver over 160 hours of premium content on an international scale.
Unlimited access to all content for the rest of 2021
Did you know the standard ticket also grants you free access to all the sessions through to December 31, 2021, via the video-on-demand library? You’ll also be able to use all the features of the omnichannel platform, continue to conveniently arrange appointments, and make new contacts up until the end of the year.
Visitors with a Premium ticket will be able to enjoy these services for an entire year! Plus you can secure a 20% discount on DMEXCO 2022, which will take place as a hybrid expo & conference.
Get your ticket and become part of the international DMEXCO community.
In this week’s member-guest post, we hear from Igor Gubin, Region Manager, Europe at Admitad Affiliate Network, as he shares his ideas on the measures e-commerce professionals should take to comply with privacy regulations and what needs to happen once cookies are dropped.
In the last few years, consumer data has enjoyed raging interest from both businesses and governments. The policy for collecting, storing, and analysing data for marketing has become tougher, and — even though not completely aligned among the parties — now holds all of them accountable. Very soon, we will have to confront ePrivacy regulation, a brand-new set of rules to make daily routine harder for anyone promoting and selling digitally.
Tracking user activity still remains crucial for advertisers, publishers, online entrepreneurs, and other marketers. Without it, running a data-driven business in online sales and traffic monetisation is next to impossible. Surely, such monitoring has to be fully compliant with every legislation. Nobody likes to get fined.
Though GDPR and ePrivacy are broadly discussed, only a few know — and even fewer can tell — what to do. What measures should e-commerce professionals take to comply? What are we going to do once cookie dropping and storage get regulated beyond recognition? I would be happy to share a few ideas. But before I do that, here are some alarming statistics.
State of affairs
London Economy researchers believe that after e-Privacy regulation (EPR) is adopted, European entrepreneurs may lose up to 30% of their income, and non-compliance fines will amount up to 4% of the companies’ annual revenue. No surprise that business owners are not particularly happy with the prospect. This is why implementation is taking so long — to date, the estimated time of the regulation’s arrival is around 2022.
Major companies are also concerned about data security and try to keep up with the shifting laws. Google, for instance, announced the company’s intention to get rid of third-party cookies in Chrome by 2023. This means marketers will no longer be able to collect user data as easily as before. Consequently, it will be more difficult to segment the audiences and personalise ads.
However, Google states that it’s going to assist marketers. The company is working on some new APIs that will help optimise advertising campaigns in a new way. Those are compound techniques, but should you find yourself deeply interested, you can read about them here. One of them is FLoC, the technology that some experts believe will ensure as accurate targeting performance as cookies do.
(Meanwhile, other popular browsers — Firefox and Safari — have stopped using third-party cookies to track user activity long ago.)
Apple doesn’t trail along and has already announced changes in the new respective versions of the iOS and macOS, as well as dropping the IDFA (Identificator For Advertisers). All this will also affect digital marketing.
How to handle the GDPR?
But let us go back to GDPR. Don’t be confused with this seemingly intricate acronym. The regulation is very straightforward at its core and not to be disregarded.
Collect data properly, i.e., warn users that you are doing that. They have to give you a clear confirmation (by checking a box, clicking “OK” in the notification, or otherwise) that they have read and agreed to your policy of data collection and processing.
Do not “pre-check” the consent box: the user must do it on their own.
Here’s what it may look like:
Source: Formstack
We at Admitad Affiliate recommend using double opt-in, just in case. Double opt-in is a two-stage confirmation of a user’s intention to interact with you. For instance, after a user subscribes to your email newsletter in a special form (like in the image above), you send them another message with a request to give their consent once again. By doing this, you guard yourself against any claims or proceedings.
Register and keep the user’s consent in any form
Now, let’s talk about storing data. In a perfect case, you need to have a procedure governing how you store user data, defining how you prevent unauthorised access to personal data. In your Privacy Policy, stipulate who can access the data in question and what you do to keep them secure. Those are technically sophisticated solutions, so you may want to seek help from competent people and trusted software. For example, select a paid cloud storage or google some “turnkey data storage solutions.”
You need to introduce a user to the data collection, protection, and storage mechanisms that you employ. The Privacy Policy must be accessible for all visitors to your website. Abidance by these rules will make your subscriber base more specific and bring more trust to your relations. Down the road, you will have no regulation-related worries.
However, you won’t be able to make do with these measures only once the EPR comes into full effect.
How to handle the ePrivacy Regulation
Everyone engaged in selling and promoting products and services online is going to face some problems associated with the implementation of the ePrivacy Regulation. To extinguish your early panic, we want to assure you that there are some solutions that will still be able to manage user data and use them for marketing purposes.
One of the most straightforward solutions is first-party data or first-party cookies. That is data that a marketer, advertiser, or publisher has collected during a user’s direct interaction with, say, a website. Such data may be collected when a user leaves reviews or makes purchases. Those are data from CRM systems, subscription forms, and social media profiles—in one word, information a user voluntarily provides.
You as a marketer can collect first-party data on your own, without relying on third parties, in compliance with the GDPR.
Users’ identification
First-party cookies are collected by deploying a pixel on the publisher’s website; such a pixel collects and records information about audience behavior. Such data can be collected every time a user visits the website or clicks on its link, views products, or fills out a form.
Another option is fingerprinting, a technology that helps create a probability identifier. It blends together a series of signals that help define a unique user and assign them a hashed identifier. Such signals can be devices, operating systems, browsers, IP addresses, time zones, and language settings.
Contextual marketing
Contextual advertising does not exploit any kinds of cookies. Instead, it uses keywords and phrases on a web page—avoiding any dependence on user data. According to a GumGum report, relevant ads ensure 43% higher engagement. Data suggest that clients do remember contextual ads 2.2 times better than other types of ads.
Chrome can track a user’s behavioural patterns when viewing web pages and then “put” the user in an audience, or “cohort” as they put it, based on such habits. As a result, advertisers will target cohorts rather than particular personalities.
Another solution that may help cope with the EPR restrictions is Soft Opt-in. For instance, you have a base of users who gave their consent to receiving commercial and marketing offerings from you. They are already your clients, and they interact with you.
Once the ePrivacy Regulation comes into effect, you will not have to request their consent to interaction one more time. You will just have to send such users a notification informing them that they continue to cooperate with you and, thus, receive from you marketing messages relevant to the data you have already collected.
Lawyers define such a method of dealing with the EPR as “probable.” But we can finally see whether it works when all the EPR provisions are fully firmed up and approved, given that they do not forbid Soft Opt-In in the first place.
No need to hit the panic button. And remember that some users will still accept cookies and allow marketing interaction. You can increase the share of such loyal users: for that, prepare a proper privacy policy and tell your users why you need their cookies, why it is important to your company, and why it is important to them.
Here’s a great popup on Evian’s website that transparently explains to a visitor that cookies are collected for the purposes of analytics, personalisation of offerings, and showing relevant ads and information:
Building trust-based relations with users is the evergreen marketing strategy. When people realise that you treat their data with care, they are ready to provide you with all the necessary details. But don’t abuse user loyalty—and only collect data you really need.
Moreover, software vendors will develop new solutions that will help identify and segment users without cookies. We at Admitad are already working on this. Stay tuned!
IAB Europe has, not one, but two exciting new roles available to join our team! So, if you or someone you know has a keen interest in the world of digital advertising, are looking for a new challenge, and want to get involved with and contribute to the leading European-level association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem, then why not check out the job descriptions below and apply today.
Marketing & Industry Programmes Coordinator
Do you have 1-2 years of B2B marketing experience and a love for the digital advertising and marketing industry? Then this new role could be for you! Reporting to the Marketing & Industry Programmes Director this role will be responsible for assisting IAB Europe’s marketing department in coordinating all of its marketing efforts to members and the wider digital advertising and marketing community.
Check out the full job description and discover how to apply here.
Digital Advertising Analyst
This newly created role is a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research and analysis on the digital advertising market and its intersection with technology, economy, and policy. Reporting to our Chief Economist, the Analyst will support a wide-ranging research agenda through data collection, modelling, analysis, expert liaison and deliver insights through contribution to written reports and presentations.
Find out more and apply here.
In our latest network guest blog post, Jules Kendrick, MD, UK & Europe for the Trust Accountability Group (TAG) discusses TAG's new study on invalid traffic in Europe and how you can keep ad fraud low.
For much of the past two decades, digital ad fraud has been a mysterious and malicious force, costing billions, whilst remaining largely unmeasured, unmanageable, and with little understanding of the challenge to be faced.
Several years ago, the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) began to pull back the curtain on ad fraud through a series of studies in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region to evaluate the effectiveness of its TAG Certified Against Fraud Program in reducing the rate of invalid traffic (IVT) and fraud.
Last month, TAG released its third annual benchmark study of ad fraud in Europe, which highlighted several learnings from its work across the continent, as well as a next-step strategy for companies to keep fraud rates transparent, manageable, and low.
The State of Ad Fraud in Europe
The TAG study showed very low rates of fraud across Europe, only when companies used channels in which multiple supply chain participants all adopted the same high anti-fraud standards.
Specifically, the study quantified an IVT rate of just 0.69% across TAG Certified Channels in Europe, a non-material change from the minimal 0.53% IVT rate measured in both 2019 and 2020. (TAG Certified Channels are channels in which multiple entities involved in each ad transaction – such as the media agency, buy-side platform, sell-side platform, and publisher – have all earned the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal.)
By contrast, the rate of IVT was more than three times higher when companies used a channel in which only a single entity had obtained TAG certification. Put simply, when you triple filter inventory across the digital supply chain, fraud rates are three times lower than just employing your own anti-fraud vendor.
The ability of companies to maintain such a low IVT rate over time is particularly notable given the significant increase in ad fraud attacks during the pandemic, as criminals attempted to profit from the confusion and dislocation of those events.
That increase in criminal activity was blocked by the interlocking protections built into the supply chain when multiple companies required their partners to set the same high standards they had adopted against fraud.
Why Measurement Matters
The study was conducted by The 614 Group study and evaluated IVT rates in TAG Certified Channels by measuring more than 117 billion ad impressions. The data was captured from January-December 2020 from three of the largest advertising agency holding companies across the 5 largest European markets; the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands.
Commenting on the study, Rob Rasko, CEO of The 614 Group, highlighted the importance of continuous analysis around complicated challenges like fraud. “Accurate and consistent measurement is critical during times of turbulence, when sudden supply chain dislocations are common and dramatic shifts can occur,” said Rasko. “This benchmark measurement has now proven itself over the past three years as the single most important metric for the effectiveness of anti-fraud programs in Europe."
In addition to the quantitative results, the study also conducted a qualitative analysis through interviews with senior executives from the participating ad tech holding companies. Those experts ascribed the significant increase in attacks through mobile channels to changing consumer behaviour and the impact of the pandemic. They affirmed that benchmarks to measure fraud over time are critical to industry analysis of the problem. The experts also noted that many agencies are now requiring their publisher partners to obtain TAG certifications.
Lessons for Other Regions
While the European study didn’t explicitly focus on other regions, TAG has now conducted similar research across four continents, all of which points to the same conclusion: Successfully fighting fraud requires cross-industry collaboration to set consistently high standards across all participants in the supply chain. In regions with less developed digital advertising markets, the baseline rate of IVT and fraud may be higher, but the solution path is the same. In those emerging markets, however, the tools and resources provided to industry participants are critical to helping them understand the importance of this common standard-setting process.
Learn More About the Study and TAG Certification
The full 2021 study can be found here. Additional information about TAG’s Certified Against Fraud Program and how companies from across the advertising ecosystem can receive the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal can be found here.
In September, IAB Europe will be hosting a series of physical and virtual events to discuss and debate trust and transparency in the digital advertising industry. A lack of transparency and accountability will cause notable friction in any value chain, especially digital advertising. Our series of events will discuss what’s currently being done and what else needs to be done.
September Events
We will also look at best practices, current initiatives and will deep dive into the latest policy and legal regulations to drive trust and transparency in our industry. The series will start with educational overviews to show how targeted advertising works and the benefits it brings to the European market and will conclude with a flagship event to discuss and debate all things trust and transparency in digital advertising. Check out the some event highlights below with details on how to sign up. All events will be free to attend. The events will also be live to maximise audience engagement for real time Q&As! Stay tuned for more events to be added to the schedule.
14th September - Trust And Transparency Event Series: Data Transparency – How Targeted Advertising Works And Who Really Benefits - To kick off IAB Europe’s series of events on Trust and Transparency, this webinar will provide an overview on how personal data should be obtained and stored in relation to European data and protection regulation. It’s a must attend session to truly understand how personalised advertising works and the benefits it brings to people and publishers. Register here!
16th September - Trust And Transparency Event Series: The Wider Socio-Economic & Cultural Value Of Targeted Advertising In Europe - IAB Europe’s Chief Economist Daniel Knapp will give a keynote presentation based on his research into the wider socio-economic and cultural value of targeted advertising in Europe. Register Here!
28th September - Headline Event: The Great Debate – Trust And Transparency In Digital Advertising - In our headline event, the great debate, we will address best practices, current initiatives and will do a deep dive into the latest policy and legal regulations to drive trust and transparency in our industry. Through a series of panel discussions, industry experts will share their views on what’s being done and what else needs to be done. Check out the agenda here. The full line up of speakers will be announced soon! Register Here!
Location: Remote (EU-27)/Brussels/London
IAB Europe is looking for a full-time Digital Advertising Analyst. This newly created role is a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting edge research and analysis on the digital advertising market and its intersection with technology, economy and policy.
Location is flexible. The role can be based in Brussels, London or remote in any EU 27 country.
IAB Europe is the European-level association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem. Through its membership of National IABs and corporate members (media, technology and marketing companies), its aim is to represent the industry’s interests and proactively drive change to ensure that advertising can continue to support a pluralistic media and the continued availability of a rich universe of online information and other services on terms that make them accessible to everyone.
Scope of role
Reporting to our Chief Economist, the Analyst will support a wide-ranging research agenda through data collection, modelling, analysis, expert liaison and deliver insights through contribution to written reports and presentations. This role will suit a data-savvy individual with a keen interest in digital advertising and technology who has 1-3 years experience.
Key tasks will include:
The successful candidate will have:
Personal Attributes:
Location:
We live in a new culture of work, and this role is suited to remote work. The successful applicant can either be based in our Brussels office, in London where our Chief Economist is located, or remote in any EU-27 country. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure a suitable remote office environment with fast and stable broadband if applying for a remote position.
Conditions:
Competitive salary and associated benefits.
Applications:
To apply, please send your CV & a covering letter by email to jobs@iabeurope.eu with a subject line: ‘Digital Advertising Analyst – Application’. While we may not be able to reach out to every applicant, we will contact candidates whose skills and experience are a strong match for the position.
Brand Suitability describes the practices and tools that are put in place in addition to brand safety controls to ensure that a digital advertising campaign appears against content that is deemed relevant and appropriate for the brand. It equally refers to the ability of a brand to choose the risk profile suitable to their brand - low, medium, or high risk. The scale was, as well, developed by the 4As and endorsed by GARM.
Eighty-two percent of marketers say appearing next to unsuitable content impacts a brand’s reputation, and one in four brands and agencies have experienced negative press due to brand suitability incidents, according to eMarketer. Brand suitability is, therefore, the answer to many of today’s toughest brand stewardship questions. Where traditional brand safety tools relied on cookie-cutter approaches to avoid unsafe or inappropriate content, brand suitability is more nuanced and attuned to individual brand risk sensitivities. It helps to identify the advertising environments that will help digital campaigns drive outcomes for the business and uses individual brand profiles, market research insights, and strategic positioning to find and target specific environments for advertising, using a customised approach.
Nevertheless, we should not forget that while suitability is the new game in town, brand safety is an absolute basis which we should all be upholding day in, day out. Brand safety should be applied to every digital advertising campaign. Brand suitability is an important, additional layer.
So how does brand suitability work for programmatic campaigns? We asked members of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee to share their experiences.
Q&A with Nick Welch, Programmatic Director Northern Europe, Integral Ad Science (IAS), and Tanisha Sakhawat, Senior Business Director, EMEA, DoubleVerify from the Programmatic Trading Committee.
Q1. What is the first step in applying brand suitability to a programmatic campaign?
“First and foremost, it’s important to understand the brand's appetite to risk in relation to the context in which their ads are seen. Having established this, it’s then important to take a multilayered approach defining the brand’s tolerances at a topical, vertical and then at a brand/product or a services level.” Nick Welch, IAS
“Align your brand safety and brand suitability pre-bid settings with your post bid settings. This will help the buyer avoid unnecessary media wastage and enable the campaign to scale across authenticated quality media. Many may think, “Why do I need both pre-bid and post-bid brand safety and suitability on my activity?” And it is a good question.
We liken it to a ‘seat-belt and airbag' relationship with the pre-bid brand safety controls being the seatbelt — something that is always on and keeping the campaign safe — and the post-bid controls, which use blocking or filtering technology, are there just in case the pre-bid setting does not identify an unwanted impression.” Tanisha Sakhawat, DoubleVerify
Q2. What are the benefits of adding brand suitability to brand safety parameters?
“Brands invest a significant amount of time creating an image, cultivating consumer perception, and fostering long-term associations. Therefore, it’s important to ensure digital messages appear in safe and suitable environments. Not solely to avoid risk, but also to effectively reach the right consumers. All brands are unique and their definition of safety and suitability is driven by their own values and goals.
Brand suitability is able to offer a more nuanced control of the context the brand may choose to appear against or avoid. With brand suitability, advertisers are able to address any topical or vertical-specific concerns. Additionally, the benefits of adding on brand suitability means that brands can avoid content specifically negative about their brand.
Brands are consistently having to navigate social issues or global events such as the Euros or Olympics. In such instances, if a brand wants to avoid running ads beside certain contexts that may reflect negatively on the brand, a keyword-only or brand safety approach would not achieve this. It is only by applying robust technology that can execute brand suitability well that such content can be targeted or avoided.
Not having the right parameters in place can have a huge impact on both the bottom line and the brand reputation in the eyes of the consumers.” Nick Welch, IAS
“Brand safety has a more universal floor that is widely adopted by brands and advertisers. Content like graphic photos or terrorism, for example, is seen as unsafe for almost any brand. But brand suitability is different; each brand will have its own specific brand suitability preferences and brand values to uphold. In other words, what may be suitable for one brand may not be suitable for another.
Consider an article about finding cheap alcohol delivery. This most likely would not be suitable for a brand that maintains a family-friendly image. But a company such as Samsung may serve ads alongside such content because:
Brand suitability requires a more nuanced approach that enables brands to build suitability that fits their specific brand preferences.
Understanding the article is about alcohol gives us context, but the type of article it is gives us more. For example:
Q3. How does pre-filtering work? And what are the best practices?
“For programmatic buys, using pre-bid filters ensures that brands only pay for quality impressions that are suitable. Buyers then do not bid on impressions that will be wasted due to brand safety concerns. When pre-bid filters are applied, analysis occurs in the DSP ahead of the bid and prevents brands from buying on unsuitable impressions. Finally, pre-bid filters allow savings on media costs and data fees associated with those unsuitable impressions.
In terms of best practices, ensure that programmatic buys are protected with pre-bid brand suitability segments applied, to avoid appearing adjacent to risky content. Check that the content verification providers’ pre-bid targeting segments are integrated within all major Demand Side Platforms (DSP), allowing brands to target only safe impressions before ever placing a bid.
When setting up brand suitability at the pre-bid level, ensure you have a good understanding of your risk tolerance across all levels; standard brand safety, topical, vertical, and brand-specific avoidance. Migrate away from using keyword-only approaches and use semantic solutions capable of accurately understanding the context as close to human beings as possible, and are able to determine the sentiment and emotion of the content.” Nick Welch, IAS
“Pre-bid avoidance tools (aka pre-filtering) sit within the DSP and tend to be powered by data provided through third-party partnerships between verification vendors and the DSP. It’s important to note that this is not referring to any kind of cookie or audience data. The data here is about content. These tools in the DSP allow third-party verification providers to determine whether or not to bid on a programmatic impression based on impression-level data it receives from the auction that meets the advertiser’s own brand safety and suitability settings, and in many cases is fraud-free. By knowing if an impression is fraudulent or will be shown outside of an advertiser’s brand safety requirements before it’s purchased, a brand can avoid purchasing it altogether — reducing wasted media spend and improving post-bid block rates.
Again, aligning brand safety and brand suitability pre-bid settings with post bid settings will help the buyer avoid unnecessary media wastage and enable the campaign to scale across authenticated quality media.” Tanisha Sakhawat, DoubleVerify
Q4. What are the main considerations for applying brand suitability to programmatic campaigns?
"Determine brand value and campaign goals
Determine the risk tolerance and set brand suitability settings, balancing this with campaign goals.
Choose the right partners
Work with global digital verification partners that are integrated with all the major DSPs. Also partners with solutions that comprehend context fully using natural language processing and can deliver accurate sentiment and emotion analysis.
Reduce the reliance on keyword-only strategies
Migrate away from keyword-only strategies, both with the content verification provider and with the DSP. Rely on contextual segments in their place. Apply this approach at a post and pre-bid level in order to ensure brand suitability whilst minimising wasted budget on low-quality impressions.
Consider buying models and apply the same pre-bid filter against both OMP and PMP buys
Private marketplaces (PMP) are a great opportunity once key partners have been established. However, it is crucial that advertisers don’t lose sight of their brand suitability goals and ensure the quality of the media being passed via these curated marketplaces or PMPs meets their requirements for brand safety and suitability.” Nick Welch, IAS
“By knowing if an impression is fraudulent or will be outside of an advertiser’s brand suitability requirements before it’s purchased, a brand can avoid purchasing it altogether — reducing wasted media spend and improving post-bid block rates.” Tanisha Sakhawat, DoubleVerify
Q5. What are the technical challenges?
“One of the challenges is bid stream transparency, as not all supply is fully transparent. On occasions, the SSP (Supply Side Platform)/ DSP or Publisher masks the URL, which means that content verification partners are prevented from seeing the actual URL at the pre-bid level. Typically, at the point of delivery, i.e. after the bid is won, the destination URL may be exposed, so a verification partner can still perform its role and determine if the context is suitable or not and take the correct action.
Secondly, with a greater emphasis on transparency in the media buying process, it’s important to mirror pre-bid brand suitability settings at a post-bid level too. If post-bid tags are enabled, brands can access programmatic reporting to get access to verification metrics at the DSP, line item, exchange level, and deal ID levels in order to effectively optimise supply paths.
Finally, it’s important that brands apply post-bid brand suitability filters where supply has passed via curated marketplaces or PMPs to ensure the quality of the media meets the advertiser’s brand suitability requirements.” Nick Welch, IAS
“In many native app environments, such as mobile app and CTV apps, brand safety and suitability can only be delivered at the app level, taking into account app store category, store rating, and age rating. More granular controls are being developed by some vendors to offer content level transparency to customers.” Tanisha Sakhawat, DoubleVerify
Q6. What type of KPIs do you see with brand suitability being applied to programmatic campaigns?
“There are a number of campaign measurement parameters that brands should have in place when assessing programmatic campaigns. Some of these are a prerequisite despite the media buying method:
“KPIs will usually be reach and scale while targeting the right audience in the best environments. A significant reduction in post-bid blocks or incidents will be seen when applying brand suitability to programmatic campaigns, meaning brand equity is being protected.” Tanisha Sakhawat, DoubleVerify
Q7. What are the must-ask questions when conducting a programmatic campaign with brand suitability?
“There are many questions a brand should consider when conducting a programmatic campaign:
“A key question to ask is ‘who is the target audience’? For example, you may want to target females for a new alcohol brand launch, but avoid pregnancy content that females will be reading. Pregnancy content wouldn’t traditionally be seen as ‘unsafe’, but it is not suitable for an alcohol brand to be aligned with. Another question to raise is ‘what is the brand’s stance on diversity, equity and inclusion'? Often, keywords are added to lists that exclude important audiences, for the wrong reasons. Revisiting the technology used behind blocking certain themes is paramount when it comes to brand suitability, so asking what methodology is being used is important (a deterministic methodology is key!).” Tanisha Sakhawat, DoubleVerify
Q8. Any examples of how brand suitability has advanced the targeting and outcomes of a programmatic campaign?
“Brand suitability has most certainly advanced and become much more nuanced. For example, when the global pandemic hit in 2020, Vodafone Italia found that their campaigns were not scaling as well as they had previously. This was primarily because their brand safety settings were being triggered too aggressively as content related to the pandemic — both positive and negative — dominated the news. DV worked closely with them to help develop an enhanced brand safety and suitability strategy for their campaigns — enabling them to strike a better balance between protection and reach.
By quickly reacting to higher block rates, Vodafone Italia saw a significant increase in campaign scale. Daily blocked impressions immediately declined by 49% and quickly returned to Vodafone’s Block Rate benchmark. Also, campaign performance increased materially in the week after implementing solutions — seeing increased sales and a 26% reduction in CPA.” Tanisha Sakhawat, DoubleVerify
Q9. Finally, what’s the future of brand suitability?
“As audiences continue to flock to CTV, advertiser demand for transparency in CTV is accelerating. When it comes to brand suitability, advertisers should ensure they can safeguard their investments from unsuitable environments through measurement and protection controls at content category level — such as Crime, Violence, Copyright Infringement, Inflammatory News and Politics, and many more.
Advertisers will also want to partner with verification companies that allow them to monitor and optimise away from unsuitable CTV apps based on user age ratings, star ratings and app store categories like ‘Kids and Family’ or ‘Adult.’
With continued innovations in CTV measurement and controls, advertisers can exercise more refined and nuanced avoidance strategies catered to the brand while preserving campaign scale.” Tanisha Sakhawat, DoubleVerify
Thanks to the committee for their views on how brand suitability works in the programmatic environment. As well as IAB Europe, there are already a number of business groups actively contributing to the Brand Safety & Brand Suitability conversation:
In this week's member-guest post, we spoke with Nick Morely, EMEA Managing Director at IAS on Integral Ad Science’s (IAS) latest report, Pandemic Effects: What’s Next in Shifting Consumer Priorities, which highlights how UK consumer habits have changed over the past 18 months. He explores consumer priorities post lockdown and shares how advertisers should take note.
Nick Morley leads the strategic development of the EMEA business at IAS, a global leader in digital media quality. He has a proven track record in launching and scaling high-growth businesses across Europe, with a decade’s worth of digital advertising industry experience.
No one can deny that it’s been a transformative 18 months, both for consumers and the digital advertising industry. Consumers have shifted their focus toward digital and the advertising industry has adapted towards an ever-changing landscape. But what consumer habits are likely to stay and how can advertisers continue to build meaningful connections with consumers in a post-pandemic future? These are some of the questions answered in IAS’s latest report, Pandemic Effects: What’s Next in Shifting Consumer Priorities.
New UK habits as restrictions ease
Knowing the preferred activities of consumers and their plans for spending in the coming months gives brands and agencies the ability to optimise their digital campaigns. What’s more, the importance of digital advertising in the shopping experience cannot be ignored.
The majority (92%) of UK consumers plan to continue at least one habit formed during lockdown periods after restrictions have been lifted, the study found. In fact, almost half (49%) of consumers will continue online shopping, and more than four in ten (45%) will continue using contactless payment methods.
Despite the majority (68%) of Brits looking forward to resuming social activities as restrictions ease, two in five (40%) remain concerned over confusing or conflicting guidelines for social gatherings and more than one in ten (15%) will not engage in social activities as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
UK consumers have saved and are keen on spending
As the vast majority of restrictions are lifted in the UK, it’s clear that habits established during recent national lockdowns will have a lasting impact on consumers’ social and shopping activities post-pandemic.
Consumers are keen on spending as establishments open up, with over a quarter (27%) reporting more savings since lockdown, and over a third (38%) anticipating that their spending will increase in the next year.
Retail purchases post-pandemic will be split equally between physical stores and online channels for half (51%) of consumers. Additionally, six in ten (60%) of shoppers confirmed that they will make a conscious effort to support small and local businesses.
As local restrictions are easing, people everywhere are debating what the ‘new normal’ will look like. With the majority of UK consumers looking for a hybrid shopping experience as further restrictions are lifted, brands are presented with an opportunity to align their online and offline strategies to ensure that they’re reaching reinvigorated shoppers.
Safe and reputable sites remain key
More than half (54%) of consumers believe that online advertising will play an important role in helping them find information on the products and services available to them post-pandemic. To source this information, almost half (45%) will use search engines, while more than a third (37%) will use social media sites and apps.
Looking ahead, one in two (51%) Brits believe that online advertisements that appear on safe and reputable sites are important. In addition, almost half (49%) of consumers want ads to be relevant to the content that they are consuming, and a similar amount of consumers (47%) want this content to heavily feature a promotional or discount message.
Furthermore, almost half (44%) of consumers believe that online advertisements should highlight a brand’s commitment to certain social issues and advocacy, while two in five (40%) want ads to recommend products and promotions based on what they have previously purchased.
For brands, it’s clear that this is an opportunity to prioritise digital channels, while ensuring safe, suitable, and contextually relevant ads that build brand preference and long-term customer relationships.
Media outlook
As we look ahead, it’s important to understand how media quality is impacted by global events and technological shifts around the world. Alongside consumer priorities, we also know that UK brand risk increased across all media environments in H2 2020, driven by political and societal movements during an unprecedented year.
Our studies show that safe, suitable, and contextually relevant advertising will be important to engage and build preference among these consumers. Ad environments must be considered from both a contextual and sentiment perspective to drive a much-needed boost in post-pandemic retail revenues and capture consumer interest.
As we consider what the world could look like after the pandemic, one thing is certain: many of the newly formed consumer habits will continue to change and evolve. To find out more about how the industry can utilise these insights to drive better media outcomes, visit here.
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.
The Marketing & Industry Programmes Coordinator will be responsible for assisting IAB Europe’s marketing department in coordinating all of its marketing efforts to members and the wider digital advertising and marketing community. This will involve assisting the team with their daily activities, whether that is checking copy, managing the website and social engagement, creating a new campaign or event, email marketing, researching trends, or preparing reports. This is a full time role and will be for a 9 month contract.
The Marketing & Industry Programmes coordinator will also be responsible for coordinating IAB Europe’s industry facing committees focused on programmatic trading, brand advertising and research including all related outputs, events and marketing activities. This will include collaborating with industry stakeholders - from platforms, publishers, agencies and advertising technology companies - on industry initiatives to support the growth and development of digital marketing and advertising in Europe.
Reporting to the Marketing & industry Programmes Director, key responsibilities include:
Marketing and Communications:
Industry Programmes:
Membership marketing:
Additional experience / skills:
The ideal candidate will have previous work experience in a similar role for a minimum of 1 year. Attention to detail, excellent command of the English language, and strong organisational skills will be beneficial in this position. A good knowledge of digital marketing tools such as mailchimp, wordpress, zoom etc is desirable with preferably 1-2 years' of B2B marketing experience.
The job will be based in the UK, with remote working. There will be occasional travel to Brussels and other European cities.
Application steps
Interested applicants should send a copy of their CV and a cover letter to Helen Mussard, CMO, IAB Europe - mussard@iabeurope.eu
The position will start in October. The contract length is 9 months.
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! What are the trends and developments you are seeing? Is CTV the future? Is talent recruitment an issue? What barriers are stopping investment?
IAB Europe is inviting all stakeholders, from advertisers and agencies to ad tech and publishers, to answer the 2021 Programmatic Survey and have your say! 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.
