On 21-22 May we hosted our annual flagship conference Interact 2024 in Milan where we brought over 240 industry leaders, innovators, and experts together to answer the big questions needed to shape the future of the digital advertising and marketing industry.
Thanks to the support of our sponsors, media partners, the team at IAB Italy, and our event host Joanna Burton, we enjoyed two days of content, which focused on our theme ‘The Big Questions. The Smart Answers’.
Watch the event highlights reel here.
Going beyond standard keynote presentations and panel discussions, we brought the ‘interactive’ back to Interact this year, with each session framed around a key question that our elite, expert speakers endeavored to answer. No beating around the bush. It was all about delivering smart answers to the industry's most important questions. Plus we addressed additional questions live on stage through our engaging polls and audience Q&As.
We unpacked a huge variety of topics as we looked to address some of the industry’s biggest challenges and innovations head-on. From the latest ad spend figures, the demise of third-party cookies, and Retail Media to sustainability, policy, measurement, publisher advertising models and more, our esteemed speakers provided smart, sharp answers to our industry's biggest questions of today.
The big questions included:
If you didn’t have the opportunity to join us or you did and want to relieve all of the great content again, in this post you will find links to all of the highlights, including session overviews for you to read in your own time.
Event Highlights
If you’d like to know more about IAB Europe and the membership opportunities available to dive into these key topics and more, reach out to the team at communication@iabeurope.eu.
On 21-22 May we hosted our annual flagship conference Interact 2024 in Milan where we brought industry leaders, innovators, and experts together to answer the big questions needed to shape the future of the digital advertising and marketing industry.
Thanks to the support of our sponsors, media partners, the team at IAB Italy, and our event host Joanna Burton, we enjoyed two days of content, which focused on our theme ‘The Big Questions. The Smart Answers’.
Going beyond standard keynote presentations and panel discussions, we brought the ‘interactive’ back to Interact this year, with each session framed around a key question that our elite, expert speakers endeavoured to answer. No beating around the bush. It was all about the smart answers that our audience was after. Plus we addressed additional questions live on stage through our engaging polls and audience Q&As.
On day two, we focused on how we can support Ukraine, dived into how strategies can make the supply chain more sustainable, and assessed how publishers can reinvent their digital advertising businesses. We also turned our attention to policy and legal matters to look at the future of digital advertising policy, what’s next for the TCF, and how we can ensure transparency with the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Below you can find overviews and key takeaways from each session.
The second day of Interact began with a poignant keynote from IAB Ukraine’s CEO, Anastasiya Baydachenko. Having travelled at length to be with us again this year, she kindly shared an update on the situation in Ukraine and her latest experiences. She also shared practical examples of how we as an industry can collaborate and continue to support Ukraine, to help drive digital advertising forward in the region.
Sustainable advertising is a big industry topic and creating a no-waste, clean ad ecosystem we can all agree will benefit marketers, media owners, and tech companies alike. To kick things off in this area Scope3 and Sanofi Consumer Healthcare took to the stage to share insights into how more efficient, effective, and sustainable advertising is within our reach, and why it's needed as we head into the next era of digital advertising.
Speakers:
Key takeaways:
To continue to answer key questions on sustainability, the first panel of the day assessed the state of readiness of our industry and shared insights on what is being done to achieve sustainability in digital advertising.
Exploring the current tools and frameworks available to help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by digital advertising, important regulations, and priorities for businesses, the panel considered if our industry is doing enough to reduce its carbon footprint and what other tangible actions can be taken to deliver across the value chain.
Speakers:
Key takeaways:
Moving from sustainability strategies to publisher development, our next session welcomed Lauren Dick, Executive Director at Mail Metro Media to the stage to share macro industry trends from a publisher’s perspective. From harnessing first-party data strategies, and creating original content to delivering ecommerce outcomes, she covered all key valuable attributes in today’s media mix.
Continuing on the innovative insights that Mail Metro Media shared, the next session allowed the audience to discover how publishers are moving, shaking, innovating, and reinventing their digital advertising businesses to ensure success in the new world of digital.
Speakers:
Key takeaways:
After a well-earned coffee break, it was time to answer the big questions on policy. Welcoming our first policy-focused session to the stage, speakers dived into the future of digital advertising policy in the European Union and answered questions on what to expect next.
They examined the influential factors that will steer EU perspectives on digital advertising policy, particularly in light of upcoming elections and their impact on setting the agenda. They also focused on the post-election landscape, identifying the potential hurdles and issues that EU policymakers must confront and navigate in shaping effective advertising regulations.
Speakers:
Key takeaways:
Moving to the topic of the IAB Europe Transparency & Consemtn Framework (TCF), our next panel of experts explored the TCF in light of the CJEU ruling in connection with IAB Europe’s appeal of the February 2022 decision by the Belgian Data Protection Authority. They discussed the latest adaptations to the framework and how it is evolving to work with new developments and innovations in the ecosystem.
Speakers:
Key takeaways:
In the final session and to conclude Interact for 2024, our last group of industry leaders discussed the release of the technical specifications for the DSA Ads Transparency Solution by IAB Tech Lab, in collaboration with IAB Europe, as well as the interplay between the specifications and EDAA's Advanced Advertising Transparency Programme (AATP). They also explored how compliance with Article 26 of the DSA can be facilitated and streamlined through common technical approaches, and the outstanding uncertainties underlying the enforcement of this new piece of legislation at both the EU and national level.
Speakers:
Key takeaways:
Well, that’s a wrap for Interact 2024, and what an amazing two days it was.
If you are interested in finding out more about IAB Europe and how you can get involved in our work across all of these key areas and more, or are interested in joining us for Interact 2025 and would like to know more about the event and how you can participate, please contact the IAB Europe team at communication@iabeurope.eu.
Dimitris Beis, Data Analyst & Sustainability Manager at IAB Europe shares his thoughts on the interplay between product-level programmatic emissions and the total GHG footprint of ad tech platforms across the ecosystem, as covered in Cedara's new research report.
In recent months, the conversation on sustainability in digital advertising has been largely centred on the development of much-anticipated product-level standards. The anticipation is justified; brands have long expressed that the streamlining of environmental performance estimation is a key prerequisite to substantial reductions of their ad spend’s carbon footprint. A common basis for emissions models would also enable solutions providers to focus on optimisation and deal with the uncertainty created by the current variance between estimates.
Programmatic is an area of focus, commonly regarded as a hotspot in terms of a digital ad campaign’s value chain. Trust and transparency, supply path optimisation, measurement, and ad fraud prevention are all topics that share a significant intersection with environmental efficiency.
While viewing the issue of programmatic emissions through a product-level lens is certainly valuable in terms of integrating greenhouse gas (GHG) impact into the decision-making processes (especially to IAB Europe members, brought together by the digital advertising business model and value chain), an enterprise-level perspective can provide valuable insights. Cedara’s newest research report, titled Scope 1-3 Emissions Measurement for Digital Media Businesses, addresses a topic that sometimes takes the role of the elephant in the room: the interplay between product-level programmatic emissions and the total GHG footprint of ad tech platforms across the ecosystem. Cedara’s strategy is characterised by a focus on enterprise-level emissions; the figures shared in the research report represent averages of activity and intensity data collected directly from digital media businesses.
Before addressing the report’s implications, it must be noted that it is also a great educational resource for digital ad professionals seeking to build an understanding of emissions scopes within their field. The report includes a clear explanation of the emissions sources considered based on GHG Protocol’s categories. Besides product-level emissions, considerations include corporate overhead such as purchased electricity and business travel across all three emissions scopes.
What important insights are shared in the report?
What are the implications?
Cedara’s report is a valuable addition to the growing collection of work connecting advancements in product-level GHG estimation with enterprise-level accounting. With a significant portion of programmatic ad platforms' total emissions falling under scope 3, particularly from ad delivery and network utilisation, the path forward involves concerted efforts in streamlining estimation methods and targeting the most impactful areas for reduction. Embracing upcoming standards will not only clarify the carbon footprint across the value chain but also enable ad tech platforms to effectively address their largest sources of emissions, thereby supporting voluntary reduction targets such as those set by the Science-Based Targets initiative. As the industry moves towards more precise GHG intensity assessments and harmonised modelling frameworks, collaboration and transparency will be key in minimising the environmental impact of digital advertising and achieving long-term sustainability goals.
Emissions estimation, carbon footprint across the value chain, and voluntary reduction targets are just a few of the core areas IAB Europe’s Sustainability Standards Committee focuses on. If you are interested in finding out more about any of these topics, the work of the committee, or how you can get involved, please contact Colombe at michaud@iabeurope.eu or me at beis@iabeurope.eu.
Committee participation is open to all members of IAB Europe and key resources produced by the committee can be explored in our Sustainability Hub here.
Retail Media is transforming the digital advertising ecosystem. With this transformation comes a shift in how brands align their media investment to their marketing objectives. In this blog, experts from our Retail Media Committee explore how budgets in retail media are shifting on the buy-side, what is driving brands to consider retail media as part of their holistic marketing efforts and the challenges that need to be overcome.
A big thank you to the following contributors for sharing their thoughts:
Esme Robinson, Director Platform Solutions, EU Enterprise Products at Epsilon
Jason Westcott, Chair of IAB Europe’s Retail Media Committee and Global Head of Commerce Solutions at GroupM
James Allison, Director of Market Development (Europe) at Advertima
Q. Retail Media has been an integral part of trade marketing budgets for some time. What is compelling brands to invest further, i.e. beyond trade marketing, in retail media?
Jason - "First, it is important to understand the following dynamics. A brand’s trade marketing focuses on influencing trade intermediaries (retailers, wholesalers) to promote and sell their products more effectively. Brand spend or Advertising & Promotion (A&P) targets the end consumer to generate demand. Digital retail media evolved from e-commerce site tenancy rooted in trade marketing, to addressable advertising more akin to A&P. So, the evolution to the behavioural targeting of individual consumers has naturally attracted A&P spend. The ability to attribute sales to this media is an upside to marketers and budget controllers seeking proof of ROI for their budgets. This is endemic to more modern retail media and has helped fuel industry growth."
James -"Jason's point about growth extending beyond trade marketing is key. The ability to measure media's impact on sales across the entire marketing funnel, thanks to the rich data now available, is driving this expansion. Retail media isn't just about influencing purchase decisions anymore. Brands can leverage connected online, offline, and in-store media channels to measure and optimise for upper funnel awareness as well. Standardising measurement and integrating retail media with broader digital advertising across all channels are crucial for continued growth."
Esme - "Brands are in a position they've never been in before: from the efficacy of targeting - being able to not just reach buyers of their brand, but accurately suppress those to reach net new prospects, to the way in which those campaigns can be attributed to real people, across a host of new and existing channels. Brands can meet shoppers where they are at more stages of their shopper journey than ever before. And the work that IAB Europe and others are doing to create standards gives brands confidence in the rigour and efficacy of retail media networks and their vendors."
Q. What should retailers be doing to attract brand budgets to their media offering?
Jason - "Brand marketers want addressability at scale, to be able to deliver the exact creative message they want within the brand-safe environments they have approved, plus delivery/impact measurement that aligns with their broader digital investment framework. A simple concept but challenging to deliver. With a one or two exceptions, on-site is less appealing to Brand, being mostly lower funnel. Off-site propositions that offer cross-channel flexibility for the buy side will be more attractive to brand marketers and agencies. Shiny new formats will always attract brand marketers’ attention, but if they do not align to the tenets above, they will lack longevity."
James - "Traditionally, retailers focus on proving sales results (ROI/ROAS) to brands, pitching their ad space primarily as a conversion tool (with the exception of certain activations). This caters to shopper and trade marketers seeking direct sales impact from media buys. However, retail environments are also prime spots for building brand awareness. Consider frequency, crucial for brand recognition: European grocery shoppers spend an average of 41 minutes per visit, providing a lot of exposure to in-store media and therefore driving brand recognition.
As mentioned earlier, consistent measurement and long-lasting, plannable formats (both digital and in-store) are vital. By showcasing the power of brand building alongside clear measurement standards, retailers can attract brand budgets."
Esme – "It is important that retailers understand how e brand budgets work, especially within agencies. Brands or Brand agencies expect consistent, transparent person-based performance reporting – in fact 75% of Brands rated ‘transparency on up-to-date campaign performance reports’ as the most important capability of a retail media network (Epsilon RMN Survey Report: The state of retail media in 2023) as well as wanting customer insights to complement measurement. To attract brand budgets, retailers need to demonstrate how these results and insights can inform media planning compared to just being the provider of an audience to buy."
Q. Can you give an example of some evolving use cases for retail media and brand budgets?
Jason - "Brand marketers can leverage digital retail media's audience targeting to achieve specific brand objectives. For instance, they can boost customer lifetime value by using retailers' customer profile data to offer brand-exclusive subscriptions via their owned domains. To regenerate demand from lapsed buyers, targeted video content is effective to help consumers reengage with the brand - optimising for video completions rather than immediate sales here is the best approach. Video can also be used to drive awareness among relevant audiences, leveraging shopper profiles based on real shopping behaviours, such as tech enthusiasts or pet lovers, especially during new product launches, offering reasonable scale with less wastage."
James - "Building on the concept of audience-based marketing, a powerful new use case is emerging: real-time, seller-defined in-store audience targeting. This reduces ad waste by allowing brands to deliver targeted messages directly to relevant shoppers at scale.
Imagine a drink brand with four flavours, each popular with distinct demographics. With audience AI, they could promote the entire range using mid-funnel tactics like mobile ads and digital out-of-home displays near stores to attract "all adults." Then, in-store, the technology personalises content for each SKU based on real-time shopper data. This hyper-relevance drives lower-funnel conversions by reaching the right person with the right message at the point of purchase. This strategic combination of mid-funnel awareness and targeted in-store promotion creates a powerful tool for brands."
Esme - "Beyond the channel and data points mentioned above, an evolution we’re seeing is that brand budgets aren’t just being spent with retailers they have an endemic relationship with. There’s a definite rise of non-endemic retail media, which is born from the expansion of the types of retailers and brands that are entering the retail media space. Non-endemic retail media gives brands from all verticals the opportunity to target hyper-relevant potential shoppers and opens up a new revenue stream for retailers, which they can then funnel back into their overall marketing budgets."
Q. Can you share two top best practices for brands?
Jason - "Retail media client strategies I have designed consistently emphasise the advertiser's business objectives throughout. Successful approaches weight performance across a retailer's media offerings, aiming for genuine business impact rather than chasing superficial sales metrics. Key practices include valuing targets appropriately, such as being prepared to flip competitor’s customers even at a negative campaign ROAS, and maintaining clear campaign segmentation with a single KPI per objective to avoid conflating multiple goals across line items. This ensures campaigns remain focused and effective in driving growth and achieving genuine business outcomes."
Esme – "Brands should embrace a strategic channel mix to maximise opportunities to connect with shoppers – but always maintain overarching strategy and goal to prevent disparate conversations or unnecessary duplication. Brands will need to know exactly what they want to achieve (trusting their convictions) and will ideally be able to tie back messaging from any channel to a real outcome from a real person. This relies on good identity resolution and people-based targeting and attribution – with this assessment of capabilities being a necessary best practice for brands when considering where to spend budgets."
Q. How do agencies and advertisers view retail media now versus 5 years ago?
Jason - "Five years ago, digital retail media operated independently from core digital channels, often in isolation with limited alignment and accountability. Today, there is a shift towards integrating retail media into core media frameworks and processes across marketing organisations. More retailers have become media owners or expanded their offerings, often through technology provider integrations and new media partnerships (i.e. CTV via established broadcasters). It is overstated, but the growth acceleration of e-commerce through the pandemic was a boon for retail media. As Europe and Central Asia’s fastest growing channel (+15%) with 6.9% channel share (according to GroupM), it is firmly in the industry spotlight and will be exposed to growing pressure for greater digital channel conformity as it continues to scale."
Esme – "the most significant change has been the knowledge and experience within Retail Media Networks, Brands, Vendors and Agencies. The expectations from brands have (rightly so) grown significantly with more demands for meaningful performance, transparent reporting, more channels and greater expertise and support from Retail Media Networks. The industry is rapidly increasing its ability to meet those demands but with such a vast array of approaches, technologies, and partners to choose from, there are still key challenges that need to be addressed to ensure those brand demands are met and not obscured with the latest shiny development."
This week marks the launch of a brand new series - ‘Programmatic Perspectives’.
Brought to you by the members of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee, we will share regular blog posts and podcasts that delve into all things programmatic in the digital advertising ecosystem.
From exploring agency models and audio trends to the post third-party cookie era, AI, and more each of our guests will offer their unique and personal perspectives on the industry’s hottest programmatic topics.
Explore Our Latest Blog Posts
Check Out Our Podcast
Our new Programmatic Perspectives Podcast lets you get the insights you need on the go.
Each episode is hosted by Wayne Tassie, Group Director, Integrated Solutions, DoubleVerify, who is the Chair of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee. Wayne speaks to committee members on an array of programmatic subjects so you can get a first-hand perspective into the topics shaping the people and products of programmatic advertising.
The first episode is out now!
In our flagship episode, Wayne is joined by Rob Georgeson, Head of Programmatic, Performics at Zenith, UK to explore the role of an agency in 2024. Wayne and Rob discuss agency talent, the integrated client model, and what brands want over the next 12 months. They also debate what solutions will win in the post third-party cookie era, with advice to brands on what they need to do to prepare. It’s a must-listen and a great way to kick off this new series.
Listen to our first episode here.
So whether you are a programmatic pro or just curious to learn more about the wonderful world of programmatic, Programmatic Perspectives is for you.
Keep your eyes peeled for more content coming soon!
Please note: Programmatic Perspectives is just that - views from our members, not IAB Europe. We are championing different perspectives from across Europe.
2nd May 2024, Brussels, Belgium - IAB Europe is thrilled to announce that today Europe’s biggest digital advertising awards are back. The MIXX Awards Europe calls upon the finest talent and dedicated teams to submit their outstanding campaigns for consideration in the 2024 awards.
With a range of categories available, including audio, CTV, social media, retail media, and sustainability, there are plenty of opportunities to showcase the breadth of your work from across the last year to our esteemed panel of industry judges. With hundreds of entries anticipated from all corners of Europe, participating in the awards will also offer more than just recognition, it provides a platform for your work to be seen and celebrated by the industry throughout 2024 and beyond.
The early bird deadline for the awards is open until Monday 20th May with the final deadline set for Friday 7th June. The 2024 winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday 18th July. Hosted by IAB Europe, the ceremony will be live-streamed to ensure that anyone from across Europe can participate. Winners will also be invited to participate in a series of IAB Europe webinars and podcasts on 2024 creativity in digital advertising. Promoted across IAB Europe’s network of National IABs and corporate members, it will be a great opportunity to promote and celebrate the very best of our industry by doing a deep dive analysis into the strategy, creativity, and results of the 2024 winners.
Why Enter the MIXX Awards Europe 2024?
Winners of the awards are renowned in the industry for having delivered some of the most impactful and innovative work that Europe has ever seen. Here’s why you should enter:
Enter Now For Early Bird Discounts
Enter before the early bird deadline on Monday 20th May, to make the most of the discounted entry fee! You can find the entry notes here and FAQs here to help you make sure your entry is on track. We also recommend entering your work into multiple categories to get maximum visibility for your project or campaign.
Submit your entries here for MIXX Awards Europe.
The final deadline for all entries is Friday 7th June.
Study shows strong adoption with 91% of respondents already using or experimenting with Gen AI
Brussels, Belgium, 30th April 2024 - Today, IAB Europe, in collaboration with Microsoft Advertising, released their first research study on Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) in digital advertising. This research provides valuable insights into the rapid adoption, diverse applications, and pressing educational needs surrounding Gen AI.
This survey leveraged IAB Europe’s network of national IABs and corporate members across Europe and received 146 respondents, with nearly 50% of respondents having over 10 years of experience working in the digital advertising industry across a variety of departments and markets in Europe.
Generative AI (Gen AI) is set to revolutionise digital advertising by automating tasks, personalising content, and driving data-driven decisions. The study shows strong adoption with 91% of respondents already using or experimenting with Gen AI. 41% of respondents said that they have a specific budget assigned to experiments with and using Gen AI, whilst half are fostering AI talent within the team (e.g. upskilling current teams and hiring new talent). Additionally, almost one-third said that their company is providing dedicated days and time for team members to learn about AI.
Beyond operational streamlining, professionals are increasingly leveraging Generative AI for content creation and creative endeavours. More than two-thirds said they were using Gen AI within their business to develop content followed by half of respondents using it to develop creatives.
The study also highlights a clear demand for enhanced education within the industry, with 89% of respondents calling for more training initiatives. Additionally, it emphasises the importance of transparency and trust, as stakeholders navigate the integration of AI technologies into their workflows.
Commenting on the study, Marie-Clare Puffett, Insights & Industry Development Director of IAB Europe said “As the digital advertising landscape evolves, embracing Gen AI is essential for staying ahead of the curve. By addressing the educational gaps and fostering transparency, stakeholders can harness the full potential of this innovative technology. This month, IAB Europe launched a new Gen AI Working Group which aims to foster a collaborative and informed community, and empower stakeholders across the digital advertising ecosystem with the knowledge, resources, and support necessary to navigate the evolving landscape.”
Mascha Driessen, Microsoft Advertising's Europe Regional Vice President, added "This research demonstrates that adoption is rising, and it's exciting to see the impact that generative AI is already having on creativity, productivity, and performance. At Microsoft Advertising, we believe that these innovations will help everyone, everywhere, across the advertising ecosystem to achieve more than we ever imagined. However, it will take a focus on learning, experimentation, and partnership to tap into the transformative power of generative AI."
For more information and to access the full report, visit the IAB Europe website here.
Brussels, Belgium, 25th April 2024 - Today, IAB Europe has published the final version of the Retail Media Measurement Standards for Europe to provide media buyers with a framework for consistent metrics to compare their retail media investment. The Standards have been finalised following a public comment period between February and March 2024, where a wide range of industry stakeholders from across Europe provided feedback and insights to shape the final version.
Jessica Wegner, Vice President New Business & Retail Media at DOUGLAS Marketing Solutions commented on the importance of these standards: “In the advancing landscape of digital advertising, Retail Media emerges as a crucial media solution, yet its potential was hindered by challenges such as the lack of standardisation. According to IAB Europe research, only half of buyers currently recognise the efficiencies of Retail Media and seek consistent measurement and standards. To unleash the full power of Retail Media, addressing this critical gap through standardised measurement methods is paramount. Moving beyond traditional KPIs like ROAS or CPC, the focus on standardisation, particularly in media and attribution measurement, holds the key to unlocking its true efficiency.”
The Retail Media Measurement Standards were developed following consultations with retailers, media buyers (brands and agencies) and cover the following areas:
The full standards can be viewed here alongside the FAQ document here.
Commenting on the need to equip retail media stakeholders with standards to help drive investment and market sophistication, Jason Wescott, Chair of IAB Europe’s Retail Media Committee, and Global Head of Commerce Solutions at GroupM said: “IAB Europe’s Q3 2023 Retail Media Standards Survey revealed a significant hurdle to investment: over two-thirds of respondents cited the absence of standards. In response, we convened fifteen top regional retail media firms in January 2024 to pioneer IAB Europe’s inaugural Digital Retail Media Standards. This initiative addresses the intricate landscape of onsite, offsite, and digital in-store media, alongside e-commerce and omnichannel commerce metrics. With diverse offerings from numerous retail media owners, achieving unity is paramount. The Retail Media Standards project is a cornerstone of our 2024 agenda, and this launching version marks a substantial stride toward harmonising and streamlining the region's industry for advertisers.”
Commenting on IAB Europe’s drive to support retail media across Europe, Townsend Feehan, CEO of IAB Europe said “With the publication of the first set of European Retail Media Measurement Standards, we affirm our dedication and commitment to providing industry stakeholders with a robust framework that ensures consistency across the ecosystem and enables Retail Media to thrive. These standards not only establish much-needed uniform metrics but also foster transparency, making room for greater innovation and investment in this space. I am excited to see how this pivotal step allows us to collectively drive Retail Media forward over the next 12 months and beyond.”
To access more information, industry education, and intelligence about Retail Media in Europe, please visit IAB Europe’s dedicated retail media hub on its website here.
IAB Europe’s flagship event Interact 2024 is heading to Milan on 21st - 22nd May. In partnership with IAB Italy, the conference promises to deliver an engaging experience with industry leaders gathering to tackle the industry’s most critical challenges and innovative opportunities head-on.
With a central theme of ‘The Big Questions. The Sharp Answers.’ we're putting the interactive back into Interact, with every session revolving around a key question that industry leaders from across Europe will answer live on stage. We will tackle everything from Privacy, Policy, and Digital Ad investment to CTV, Retail Media, Sustainability, and more.
Find out more here. Get your tickets here.
As we get ever closer to the event, we are excited to introduce you to more of our great speakers, who share what they are most looking forward to and give a little insight into what they will be diving into on the day.
We are pleased to introduce:
Paul-Antoine Strullu, Head of EMEA at Scope 3
Q. We’re excited to have you join us on the Interact 2024 stage. Is this your first time at Interact and what are you looking forward to most?
“It is my first time! Although, it's an event I’ve been following for a long time – particularly in regards to the important work IAB Europe has done, and continues to do, around privacy and regulation. But, with sustainability now a core focus across advertising, it was clear Scope3 needed to play a physical role at Interact this year. With announcements regarding sustainability standards and frameworks planned in June, the stage is set for sustainability to be widely discussed at Interact. I’m looking forward to discussing what the industry can expect and how advertisers can best prepare.”
Q. Can you tell us more about your role at Scope3 and what you are prioritising this year?
“I lead the European team at Scope3. My recent priority has been recruiting talent to help us on our journey to decarbonise the advertising industry, looking for people who have experience in the space, but also are determined to make a change in the world. Similarly, I've been recruiting customers who also want to make an impact. It’s been positive to see that more and more companies are looking for solutions and opportunities to decarbonise – or at least gain a better understanding of – their emissions.”
Q. You are taking to the stage with Anna Kechekmadze, Global Digital Media Strategy Lead at Sanofi tackling the question 'Advertising’s first sustainability standards are coming — are you ready?' Can you give us a sneak peek into some of the things you’ll be looking to discuss?
“Anna is an extremely talented marketer who came to us with her initial analysis of the carbon footprint of her ad campaigns. However, she couldn’t reconcile it when examining the actual numbers. We started our journey together by delivering a study for Sanofi’s Consumer Healthcare business across the UK and Spain and have since expanded carbon measurement across all of their markets.
We’re now exploring how we can improve not just the climate impact of ad campaigns, but also how to find the right cost benefit between market outcomes and sustainability outcomes. We'll discuss this at length during the event and I hope it's going to be entertaining for everyone.”
Q. Your session comes right before the panel discussion that asks ‘Are Sustainability Strategies Delivering Across the Value Chain?’ What are your initial thoughts on this?
“The good thing about sustainability is that it doesn’t fall into the issues and complexities we often find in digital advertising, so there are strategies that can be implemented immediately, to great effect.
Issues tend to arise when people consider it the job of others to clean up digital advertising’s value chain. At Scope3, we believe a collective change is required, and that it’s the responsibility not just of marketers, but of all constituents across the supply chain. We have the privilege of working with several of these constituents – be it media agencies, ad tech companies, or publishers – and can see great progress being made.
Everyone must play a role in the sustainability equation; nobody is off the hook when it comes to reducing carbon emissions and making our planet a better place to live.”
Hear from industry-leading speakers including Paul-Antoine and more at Interact 2024 to get the sharp answers you’re looking for.
Get your tickets here.
On April 17, 2024, the EDPB published its Opinion on the “Consent or Pay” model in the context of large online platforms under Art. 64(2) of the GDPR.
Although a consistent EDPB position was desirable to ensure harmonisation across the European Union, IAB Europe has grave reservations the Opinion published last week is at odds with the prevailing jurisprudence of the CJEU and highly mischaracterizes both the ‘consent or pay’ model and personalised advertising.
As a result, the Opinion is likely to create the opposite effect, namely increasing legal uncertainty for many businesses beyond large online platforms and may ultimately undermine the ability for users to access diverse sets of services and content online for free.
First, the EDPB dedicates large parts of the Opinion to make overly abstract assumptions about the underlying functioning of personalised advertising, suggesting that this form of advertising would be inherently irreconcilable with the GDPR principles of data minimisation and fairness.
Those allegations are not demonstrated or substantiated in any way, yet they are used to misrepresent the ‘consent or pay’ model as transforming data protection rights into “a feature that data subjects have to pay to enjoy, or a premium feature reserved for the wealthy or the well-off.” This cannot be followed, as the GDPR precludes unlawful data processing irrespective of the legal basis of processing, including consent, and provides Supervisory Authorities with extensive investigative and corrective powers to supervise the correct application of the GDPR.
Second, the EDPB introduces the provision of a third option, namely a “free alternative without behavioural advertising” as a quasi-mandatory condition for obtaining valid consent without adducing any empirical research or other evidence to justify why companies should develop another version of their service free of charge and funded by a different form of advertising such as contextual.
It must be stressed that contextual advertising is not always a viable monetisation alternative. Yet, no company can be required to provide their product and services at a loss. Moreover such a requirement is not supported by the GDPR which is not intended to interfere with the business models chosen by companies. This approach blankly ignores the required balance between the right to data protection and the freedom to conduct business, neither of which is absolute, as clearly provided by Recital 4 of the GDPR.
It is concerning to see the EDPB prescribing, by means of a soft-law instrument, an unprecedented interpretation that is neither enshrined by the law nor supported by the established position of the CJEU, based on fundamentally flawed assumptions of the digital advertising industry and simply overlooking stakeholders’ commercial realities.
As the EDPB intends to subsequently develop Guidelines pertaining to the ‘Consent or Pay’ model with a broader scope, IAB Europe reiterates its earlier statement and emphasises the importance to initiate a public consultation to ensure the development of sound policy guidance that takes account of all pertinent stakeholders’ concerns and interests.
On 7 March 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU or Court) rendered its judgement in case C-604/22, which concerned two sets of questions on the interpretation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that had been raised by the Belgian Market Court in a case between IAB Europe and the Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD).
This article aims to provide the context in which the CJEU rendered its judgement, practical explanations of the answers the CJEU provided, and clarifications regarding the next steps for the rest of the appeal proceedings.
2 February 2022: APD hands down its decision
Following a coordinated set of complaints with different data protection authorities, the APD, as lead authority over the Belgium-established IAB Europe, conducted an investigation into IAB Europe’s transparency and consent framework (TCF). In its decision, adopted under the GDPR coordination procedure, the APD arrived at three main “findings”:
As a result of those “findings”, the APD considered that IAB Europe had committed various GDPR violations, in particular that:
(i) IAB Europe did not have a legal basis for the processing of TC String; and
(ii) IAB Europe did not have a valid legal basis for the subsequent processing of personal data carried out on the basis of preferences recorded in a TC string, such as personalised advertising.
The decision can be found here.
4 March 2022: IAB Europe appeals APD decision
IAB Europe filed an appeal against the APD decision before the Market Court (Court of Appeal of Brussels).
IAB Europe challenged the APD’s legal analysis and assessment of the facts supporting their findings that IAB Europe acts as a joint controller for both the processing of TC Strings and the subsequent processing of personal data carried out by TCF participants on the basis of those preferences, such as personalised advertising.
7 September 2022: Belgian Market Court confirms procedural irregularities by the APD and refers questions to the CJEU
The Market Court rendered an interim ruling on IAB Europe’s appeal, in which it confirmed - in line with IAB Europe’s procedural arguments - that the APD decision was insufficiently substantiated and failed to meet the relevant standards for proper investigation and fact-finding.
The Market Court also decided to refer two preliminary questions to the CJEU prior to resuming its examination of the merits of the case, namely (i) whether the TC String constitutes personal data under the GDPR and (ii) whether IAB Europe should be considered to be a joint controller for the processing of TC Strings and for further processing of data for subsequent purposes such as digital advertising.
The precise questions that were referred to the CJEU can be found here. The interim ruling of the Market Court setting out the procedural irregularities with the APD’s investigation can be found here (only available in Dutch).
7 March 2024: CJEU renders its judgement
In its response to the questions referred by the Market Court, the CJEU highlights general principles and the various facts and circumstances that the Market Court needs to take into account and verify in order to apply the GDPR appropriately to the case at hand.
The appeal proceedings will now resume before the Belgium Market Court, which will have to carry out the various factual verifications required by the CJEU and pursue its examination of IAB Europe’s substantive arguments.
The judgement of the CJEU can be found here.
Is the TC String personal data for IAB Europe? Yes, if certain circumstances are met.
The CJEU establishes that a TC String “relates to a natural person” because it contains “the individual preferences of a specific user regarding his or her consent to the processing of personal data concerning him or her”, and provides two cumulative criteria which must be met for a TC String to be considered personal data from the perspective of IAB Europe.
First, the TC String has to be associated with other data points “such as, inter alia, the IP address of the device of such a user”, since that information “may make it possible to [...] identify the person specifically concerned by” the TC String. Although the CJEU suggests that the combination of a TC String with additional data may make it “identifiable”, the Court does not appear to consider that the TC String in isolation should be considered personal data.
Second, IAB Europe has to have “reasonable means allowing it to identify a particular natural person from a TC String”. The fact that IAB Europe cannot on its own and without enlisting other actors combine the TC String with other data points is not relevant, as long as IAB Europe can theoretically access such data “on the basis of the information which its members and other organisations participating in the TCF are required to provide to it”. The CJEU drew upon the APD decision’s erroneous assumption that IAB Europe may require access to such data, which will now be subject to verification by the Market Court.
| What does it mean for TCF participants? The reasoning from the CJEU over the TC String is a useful reminder of the Breyer judgement of 19 October 2016 [case C-582/14] and of the practical application of Recital 26 of the GDPR. The CJEU’s ruling further reinforces the notion that the concept of “personal data” is relative to a particular organisation or person’s ability to link that information to a natural person (directly or through additional information held by a third party and that can be demanded by the organisation or person). Put differently, data can be personal data from one company’s perspective but not from another company’s perspective. The same reasoning can therefore be applied by TCF participants when assessing the nature of the information they collect and process, in particular to assess whether the TC String as well as other data points could be considered personal data from their perspective when associated with identifiable information. Anticipating the answer provided by the CJEU, the TCF working groups developed a comprehensive data category taxonomy as part of TCF v2.2 that enables TCF participants to provide end-users with enhanced transparency over the processing of TC Strings. The TCF working groups will continue improving the Framework to accommodate further the clarity provided by the CJEU in their ruling. |
Is IAB Europe a joint data controller for the processing of TC String? Yes, if certain circumstances are met.
The CJEU considers that IAB Europe can be viewed as a joint controller for the creation and use of TC Strings by publishers and vendors because it jointly determines the purpose and means of the processing.
First, IAB Europe should be regarded, according to the CJEU and subject to verification by the Market Court, as ”exerting influence over the personal data processing operations at issue in the main proceedings, for its own purposes”, namely the processing of TC Strings. The CJEU found that IAB Europe had an interest in facilitating the selling and buying of ad placements over the Internet in compliance with the EU data protection framework. As a result, the Court establishes that IAB Europe jointly determines the purpose of processing the TC String.
Second, the Court considered that IAB Europe provides binding rules and specifications for its processing, and that this is to be viewed as jointly determining the means of processing the TC String. The Court notably drew upon the assumption that “the TCF constitutes a framework of rules which the members of IAB Europe are supposed to accept in order to join that association” to come to this conclusion. However, it is incorrect that IAB Europe’s membership is conditional to participation in the TCF, and several members of IAB Europe do not implement the TCF in any capacity. The Court’s assumption will therefore need to be subject to further verification by the Market Court.
The Court also confirms that the fact that IAB Europe may not have access to the personal data processed (the TC String) does not prevent it from qualifying as a joint controller, in line with previous case law.
| What does it mean for TCF participants? IAB Europe’s qualification as a joint controller for the processing of TC Strings is subject to a number of factual verifications to be carried out by the Market Court as part of the ongoing appeal. IAB Europe also challenged the fact that the APD failed to clearly delineate its responsibilities over the processing. As a consequence, TCF participants should not expect related changes to the TCF in the short-term. However, this broad interpretation of the concept of controllership is likely to have a negative impact on the ability for organisations to develop standards, norms and best practices for the European market in the future. Indeed in practice, all standard-setting bodies – just like IAB Europe – have an interest in developing solutions that provide utility to the market(s) they intend to serve. |
Is IAB Europe a joint data controller for subsequent processing performed on the basis of the preferences recorded in TC Strings? No, it is not.
When examining the issue of IAB Europe’s possible role as “joint controller”, the CJEU made a very clear distinction between two scenarios:
(i) the creation and use of TC Strings by TCF participants,
(ii) the subsequent processing of personal data carried out by TCF participants on the basis of the preferences recorded by TC Strings, such as personalised advertising.
In relation to that second scenario, the CJEU stressed that “a natural or legal person cannot be regarded as a controller […] in respect of [processing] operations that precede or are subsequent in the overall chain of processing for which that person does not determine either the purposes or the means”.
This clarifies that even if there is joint controllership for one processing operation, such joint controllership does not necessarily extend to preceding or subsequent processing operations. Instead, the assessment of joint controllership must be carried out separately for each processing operation. The CJEU makes an analogy here with its Fashion ID ruling of 29 July 2019 (case C‑40/17), where a website operator and a social media service provider were deemed to be joint controllers for only a limited part of the broader chain of processing operations.
In IAB Europe’s case, the CJEU stated that “it can be ruled out that any joint controllership of that sectoral organisation extends automatically to the subsequent processing of personal data carried out by third parties”, indicating in particular that the “subsequent processing of personal data carried out by [website/app] operators and by third parties on the basis of” the preferences recorded in a TC String “does not appear to involve the participation of IAB Europe”.
Although this part is also “subject to the verifications which are for the referring court to carry out”, the CJEU emphasised clearly that the facts do not suggest that there is any “influence” by IAB Europe over the determination of the purposes and means of such subsequent processing.
| What does it mean for TCF participants? The CJEU conclusion on this last point is particularly important, as the APD’s erroneous qualification of IAB Europe as a controller over subsequent processing served as a basis for the authority’s assessments of the validity of legal bases established through the TCF and corresponding sanctions imposed on IAB Europe. Notwithstanding the misguided qualification of IAB Europe as a joint data controller for such processing, the TCF working group already made several iterations to the TCF that were released as part TCF v2.2 in order to increase the compliance utility of the TCF for its participants. These evolutions were intended to address the concerns that a number of Data Protection Authorities have expressed in relation to such subsequent processing, some of them based on the action plan that IAB Europe submitted to and validated by the APD in the context of their February 2022 decision (for example in respect to the reliance on legitimate interest as a GDPR legal basis for advertising & content personalisation). |
On the 21st and 22nd of May, IAB Europe will host our flagship event Interact 2024 in Milan. In partnership with IAB Italy, Interact 2024 promises to deliver an engaging experience with industry leaders gathering to tackle the industry’s most critical challenges and innovative opportunities head-on.
With a central theme of ‘The Big Questions. The Sharp Answers.’ we're putting the interactive back into Interact, with every session revolving around a key question that our expert speakers will answer live on stage. We will tackle everything from Privacy, Policy, and Digital Ad investment to CTV, Retail Media, Sustainability, and more.
Find out more here. Get your tickets here.
In the lead-up to the event, we introduce you to some of our great speakers who will take to the stage to answer our industry’s biggest questions of today.
We are pleased to introduce:
Tiernan O’Morain, Digital Transformation Director at Diageo.
Q. We’re excited to have you join us for Interact 2024. Apart from your session, what are you most looking forward to at Interact this year?
“The conference comes at a pivotal time in the industry, as we are seeing retail media grow at an exponential rate, sustainability strategies come to the fore and advertisers asking for more rigour and transparency across their programmatic supply chain than ever. I'm really looking forward to hearing from other industry leaders about how they're tackling these, and other, challenges. Interact 2024 promises to be a great opportunity to learn from others and share best practices. And all of this in one of the best cities in the world, Milan!”
Q. Can you tell us more about your role and main focus areas for this year?
“As Digital Transformation Director at Diageo, my primary focus is on driving innovation across our digital marketing, analytics, and e-commerce initiatives. I believe innovation and creativity are core to my role! This year, we're particularly focused on leveraging data-driven insights and signals within our media to improve consumer engagement, which in turn drives sales growth across our brands.”
Q. You will join the session that asks ‘What do buyers really want from digital advertising?’ What do you think will be the biggest priorities for brands this year?
“Buyers are demanding more from digital and its supply chain, as are consumers. A great consumer experience online is great for consumers, great for business, and great for the ongoing growth of our industry. With that in mind, I see that the biggest priorities for brands in digital advertising this year will be around getting even more relevant (and less wasteful), often improving personalisation of ads to create better consumer experiences, supporting commercial measurement, while also ensuring ads are delivered with transparency and respect for consumer privacy preferences. I also see a shift with more brands supporting media and publishers who are more inclusive and reflective of the diverse societies in which we all live.”
Q. Can you tell us about anything exciting Diageo is working on in the digital advertising space at the moment?
“I am really proud that Diageo has committed to a multi-million-pound global investment to media platforms and publishers who are working to make mainstream media more diverse and inclusive. We know that we can help shift the media landscape to be more representative of all of society if we are intentional in where we invest. There’s still so much more progress to make and we need to work together with other brands, media owners, and agencies to drive industry-wide change.”
Hear from industry-leading speakers, including Tiernan O’Morain and more at Interact 2024, and get the sharp answers you’re looking for.
Get your tickets here.
