NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today announced that all its member publishers and technology companies will be required to register with the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), the digital ad industry’s program to fight fraud and other criminal activity, to remain eligible for continued membership in the industry’s leading trade association.
The IAB is giving its 463 General Member companies until June 1, 2018 to obtain TAG Registration, a process verifying them as legitimate participants in the digital advertising industry. TAG is the initiative launched in 2015 by the IAB and its partners, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and Association for National Advertisers (ANA) to fight fraud, malware, piracy, and lack of transparency. As added incentives, IAB said it has negotiated free TAG Registration for its smaller members and discounts of 12.5 to 25 percent off TAG’s rate card for its larger members.
“The digital ad industry’s open supply chain is the source of our innovation and the source of our risks,” said IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg, in announcing the change to the trade body’s membership criteria. “Making TAG Registration a requirement for IAB members will make our supply chain safer, while still allowing innovative media and advertising solutions to flourish.”
Rothenberg called on other industry trade bodies to make TAG Registration mandatory for their members, saying it would create a “web of trust” among brands, ad agencies, publishers, and all other companies that touch digital advertising inventory, and help them identify companies that have committed to best practices in supply chain management.
“TAG administers our industry’s health code,” Rothenberg said. “No one should be exempt from our industry’s health code.”
Founded just over two years ago, TAG recently announced that more than 200 companies from 20 countries have applied for TAG Registration, including many of the world’s most prominent publishers, brands, agencies, and technology intermediaries. TAG Registration is the prerequisite for participation in TAG’s four seal programs, which allow companies to validate their compliance with industry best practices in preventing fraud, malware, and piracy, as well as improving the transparency of their inventory.
Several leading advertisers, including Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Charter Communications, have announced that they will soon start requiring the publishers with which they advertise to join TAG’s “Certified Against Fraud” program, the rigorous set of anti-fraud requirements validated by TAG. Rothenberg urged other marketers and agencies to make their own public commitments to work only with companies that effectively fight fraud, ad-supported piracy, and the distribution of malware.
“Today’s action by the IAB is a momentous event in our industry’s fight against fraud,” said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. “With hundreds of companies interlocking their efforts, we will cut off the flow of money to criminals and shine a bright light of transparency into the digital ad supply chain. Today does not mark the end of digital ad fraud, but the path to that goal is clear.
Under revisions to its Member Code of Conduct approved by the IAB Board of Directors Executive Committee, current IAB General Members will have until June 1, 2018 to register with TAG. All new IAB General Members will have to register as a condition for being accepted into IAB membership.
Companies can obtain additional information and apply for TAG Registration at https://tagtoday.net/registration.
About IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. It is comprised of more than 650 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital advertising or marketing campaigns. Together, they account for 86 percent of online advertising in the United States. Working with its member companies, the IAB develops technical standards and best practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing. The organization is committed to professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise, and diversity of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of its public policy office in Washington, D.C., the IAB advocates for its members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry to legislators and policymakers. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City and has a West Coast office in San Francisco.
About the Trustworthy Accountability Group
The Trustworthy Accountability Group was created to foster transformational improvement at scale across the digital advertising ecosystem, focusing on four core areas: eliminating fraudulent traffic, combating malware, fighting ad-supported Internet piracy to promote brand integrity, and promoting brand safety through greater transparency. For more information on TAG, please visit tagtoday.net.
