COLOGNE-The Internet Advertising Bureau Tech Lab is participating in two new coalitions, whose mandates are to improve the digital advertising experience for consumers and establish standards for video ads in conjunction with the television industry.
Announced at the DMEXCO conference and exposition, the Coalition for Better Ads is in large part a response to the rise of ad blocking technology for digital devices, according to Alanna Gombert, General Manager of the IAB Tech Lab, which is independent of the IAB.
“We’re seeing a lot of chatter around consumers being angry about digital advertising,” Gombert says in an interview with Beet.TV while attending DMEXCO. “They are annoyed by ads that cover content, they’re annoyed by clinky, shaky, flashy ads and I think it’s time for us as an industry to figure out how do we fix that for the consumer.”
The Coalition for Better Ads is a who’s who of the advertising and media world. Members include brand marketers Procter & Gamble and Unilever, publishers like The Washington Post, the Association of National Advertisers, the 4A’s, media investment network GroupM and digital behemoths Facebook and Google.
In the fourth quarter of this year, the IAB Tech Lab will release an algorithm based on its own work and that of the Coalition for Better Ads. The algorithm will score publisher inventory based on the Tech Lab’s LEAN Ads Program (Light, Encrypted, Ad choice supported, Non-invasive ads.)
“We will publish an actual script that will score publisher inventory first,” says Gombert. Next year will see the release of scores related to creative assets. According to Gombert, the Coalition’s efforts are not intended to point fingers at individual entities.
“It’s more about scoring the experience overall. There’s no blame, but it helps both sides of the fence understand what their assets are doing,” she says.
The second coalition with which the IAB Tech Lab is working will create new global guidelines for simplifying the distribution of digital video ads throughout the ad production sector. It’s a mix of trade groups that includes the ANA, 4A’s, North American Broadcasters Association and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers.
“We’re going to build a new network that takes learnings from cable engineers and television engineers to make a larger play for digital video,” Gombert says.
This interview was taped at DMEXCO ’16. It is part of a video series of industry leaders. The series is sponsored by Videology. For more Beet.TV coverage of DMEXCO, please visit this page.
