Exponential Interactive @exponentialinc has passed the first stage in achieving certification from the Digital Trading Standards Group (DTSG) which aims to prevent ads being served next to inappropriate or illegal content online.
This stage is an ABC audit confirming that Exponential’s ad network has passed five brand safety protocols required by ISBA (the voice of British advertisers) and agency body, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising @IPA_Updates (IPA).
Along with the Association of Online Publishers @ukaop (AOP) and the Internet Advertising Bureau @IABUK (IAB) UK, ISBA and the IPA are founding members of the DTSG – the cross-industry initiative designed to tackle the issue of online ad misplacement. DTSG certification is a seal of compliance that advertisers and agencies can look for when choosing which programmatic platform to safely buy digital display advertising.
The five brand safety protocols cover suitable content verification tools, inappropriate site lists and procedures if ads are served incorrectly.
“Exponential is among, if not, the first of the 33 businesses signed up to the DTSG’s ‘Good Practice Principles’ to pass the initial stage in the certification process,” comments Craig Simmons, operations manager for ad verification and viewability at Exponential. “Misplaced advertising affects the whole online industry and we’re helping lead the charge to protect the integrity of digital advertising.”
A further step
Exponential, whose ad network is one of the largest in the world – reaching over 450 million globally – has also gone a step further by publishing, in full, exactly how it goes about guaranteeing the safe transaction of display ads; an ad format worth £1.86 billion in the UK last year according to the IAB/PwC¹.
The publication of the “Exponential Safety Guidelines” is being done in the spirit of the DTSG’s “Good Practice Principles”, published in December 2013, which specifies six ways the industry can help minimise ad misplacement, of which independent auditing is one.
“Historically, ad networks and exchanges are cryptic about where they acquired inventory. As a result, advertiser’s demands for transparency and accountability have increased drastically over a short period of time,” explains Simmons. “Since the DTSG principles don’t require us to publish our process, it shows how committed we are to proactively leading the way in upholding an advertiser’s right to hold partners accountable for ineffective practices that cause fraud or viewability issues. It’s about giving peace of mind – particularly important as experts estimate between 30-50% of all traffic is completely fraudulent.”