As the advertising industry continues to evolve, the ever-growing importance of transparency requires more industry collaboration to find the best solutions. Here are some initiatives striving to do better.

Transparency is a term that’s often thrown around in many different industries. And in the advertising sector, the introduction of GDPR and the subsequent demise of the third-party cookie mean it’s more prevalent than ever. 

As consumer data remains a hot topic at many industry events, it’s worth considering what initiatives are in place – both on the media buying and selling sides – to help create a more transparent advertising ecosystem.

Why is transparency so important within the advertising industry?

In short, data, ethics, and the fact that there is a lot of money involved, both for businesses and for the average person buying a product.

Consumers associate brands that are open about how they use data with more positive outcomes because there is a shared understanding that their information is being handled responsibly.

Edelman’s Trust Barometer states that the default setting for almost 60% of consumers is to distrust something until there is clear evidence to believe otherwise. 

Through the use of distinct opt-in messages and transparent privacy policies throughout any process, businesses are able to develop more rapport with their prospective customer(s), provide better-suited and personalized advertising, and protect themselves against any potential privacy issues down the line. 

Such discussions and projects centered around transparency have only recently become more prevalent in business-to-business transactions. Businesses, agencies, and publishers around the globe are starting to recognize the value of alignment when it comes to company ethos, from sustainability to media buying.

With the number of digital publishers continuing to grow across the world, programmatic advertising in particular is having to struggle with delivering quality ads, at speed, without risking the safety of any given brand. 

What’s being done to improve transparency within the advertising industry?

There are a number of initiatives that have been conceived to help improve transparency. Here are a few of the most prominent ones.

Buyers.json and DemandChain Object

In 2021, the IAB Tech Lab introduced two new buy-side transparency standards to help curb the issues of malvertising and scam ads. 

Having seen success with sellers.json and SupplyChain Object, Buyers.json and DemandChain Object are expected to evolve into a strategy that improves transparency in the advertising industry for publishers by authenticating those who provide ads.

What is buyers.json and DemandChain Object?

Buyers.json allows advertising systems to publicly declare the buyers they represent, while DemandChain Object provides transparency around each entity involved in a specific transaction. 

With this information, publishers and supply-side platforms (SSPs) can highlight any risks (such as malvertising, scam ads, or other malicious content), protect themselves accordingly, and create a record of their actions for future reference.

Furthermore, DemandChain Object has the potential to revolutionize the advertising supply chain since this enables advertisers to track the journey of their ad from creation to delivery, which in turn allows them to confirm that it reaches the appropriate audience in the intended manner.

The implementation of these types of frameworks has already created more transparent communication channels on each side of the coin – and it’s a promising sign to see so many leading businesses support such initiatives.

Read more about buyers.json and DemandChain Object on the IAB Tech Lab site

Measurement metrics

Industry-recognized metrics, such as viewability, completion rates, and engagement, now serve as a common language for evaluating ad performance.

Advertisers and publishers can both review campaigns against a consistent metric, allowing for honest feedback and evaluations of campaign performance.

How do measurement metrics help transparency across the advertising industry?

Metrics for measuring performance are critical for promoting advertising transparency as they provide a standardized performance benchmark for evaluating campaigns and making better decisions in the future.

The recent hype surrounding the attention economy has increased industry collaboration, as this particular form of measurement has yet to be christened with a specific form of value or number, making it difficult to track success.

Nonetheless, the work done by the likes of New Digital Age and other associations has instigated discussions around how best to measure this newfound advertising gold dust, increasing transparency between all segments of the ad tech ecosystem. 

Check out SmartFrame’s guide to the attention economy

Content Authenticity Initiative

The Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) is a relatively new community that has come about to combat the spread of misinformation by implementing a new standard for verifying digital content. 

Led by Adobe, the community comprises a range of tech companies and media organizations including:

● SmartFrame Technologies

● Canon

● Nikon

● PA Media

● The Associated Press

● The BBC

● Microsoft

● NVIDIA

How does the Content Authenticity Initiative promote transparency?

Through the use of cryptographically verifiable metadata, the CAI provides a secure, tamper-evident record of an image’s provenance and modification history. This allows online audiences to gain a better idea of the trustworthiness of online media, which, in turn, helps them to make more informed decisions about the content they consume, and to avoid misinformation and disinformation.

Restoring trust with consumers

Transparency should be a fundamental pillar of the advertising industry. Initiatives such as sellers.json, SupplyChain Object, buyers.json, and DemandChain Object can play a crucial role in enhancing transparency, combating ad fraud, and improving the overall trust of ads between businesses before they reach consumers.

The rise of ad blockers in recent years highlights the erosion of trust between consumers and advertisers. In order to restore this trust, the industry must focus on delivering ads that are high in quality and genuinely useful to consumers – and this starts from within. 

Removing outdated techniques like cookie dropping is forcing our industry to reshape the way we reach target audiences and prioritize user trust in a safe manner for the greater good.

 

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