ABC becomes official verifier for online brand safety as trade bodies renew assault on ad misplacement

The rise of programmatic trading, whereby brands and media buyers are not always aware of where their content will be placed, is lending further urgency to the issue.

The Drum understands the DTSG had temporarily stalled last year, while certain issues regarding who would be deemed the official verifier were thrashed out.

In the interim the IPA and ISBA launched a joint brand safety initiative which awarded companies independent verification for brand safety policies.

Today the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS) has confirmed ABC will become the first official verifier for DTSG in a move aimed at increasing confidence and trust in the online advertising sector.

ABC’s UK chief executive Jerry Wright said: “We are delighted to be approved by JICWEBS as a Verification Provider, delivering independent verification that demonstrates a company’s compliance with the DTSG Good Practice Principles. ABC UK’s verification service will give our industry confidence about compliance with JICWEBS industry-agreed standards and raise the bar in the important area of brand safety, a key milestone in the evolution of digital display advertising.”

ABC’s role will be to independently assess and report on a company’s compliance with the DTSG Principles, unveiled last year, then issue a Certificate once they have been successfully verified.

This will include reviewing information about contract terms and policies, procedures and controls relating to the transaction and placement of ads.

The DTSG, formed by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), along with the IPA and ISBA, was established to address issues of ad misplacement and protect brands from potential reputational damage should they be inadvertently subject to such activity.

The group was created in the wake of the closure of Internet Advertising Sales House (IASH) in 2011.