Digital advertising trade body IAB UK has expanded the scope of the IAB Gold Standard — an initiative aimed at tackling challenges in the digital ad industry — to include connected TV (CTV) and retail media for the first time.
Under the “rebooted” Gold Standard, CTV companies and retail media networks will be able to become IAB Gold Standard-certified if they align their practices alongside IAB measurement standards.
For CTV companies, certification requires implementing IAB Tech Lab frameworks and tools, with the aim of standardising the mechanisms of video delivery in CTV and tracking video ad creatives across platforms.
Retail media networks, meanwhile, will need to implement shared IAB definitions for what constitutes an ad impression, a click-through, viewability, video completion rates and sophisticated invalid traffic.
IAB UK definitions are aligned with IAB Europe’s Retail Media Measurement Standards, released in April 2024, and the certification process will be audited independently by the ABC.
An eye towards sustainability
Aside from CTV and retail media, the IAB is also introducing a sustainability pillar into the Gold Standard, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions in the digital ad ecosystem.
Certified companies will be required to use tools that prevent inconsistent and inefficient ad refresh rates. Supply-side platforms will also be required to implement bid floors that limit the computational load of processing low-value bids.
At the same time, existing pillars of the Gold Standard are being adapted. Namely, certified direct sellers will now be required to aid advertisers in identifying made-for-advertising sites created by publishers by listing all subdomains.
Further, to combat scam ads, certified companies will be required to create a formal written process for handling scam ad alerts from the Financial Conduct Authority.
Maturation of growing channels
IAB UK chief marketing officer James Chandler noted that the trade body has not just built on its criteria for the Gold Standard, but has also reviewed the certification process to “ensure that it’s efficient and easier for companies to navigate”.
He commented: “The digital ad industry doesn’t stand still and the Gold Standard can’t either. The changes we have announced today add up to a substantially strengthened initiative that will help the industry to robustly tackle shared challenges and shows how CTV and retail media are maturing to embrace a new level of standardisation.
“We’re calling on IAB members to double down on support for the Gold Standard not just because it is the right thing to do for the industry, but because it makes business sense to take action against ad fraud, cut waste and improve transparency.”
Companies that are already certified IAB Gold Standard will have to adhere to the changes by 30 April, or if their annual recertification occurs sooner.
