The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is kickstarting a campaign that will try to keep other industries accountable when it comes to ad fraud.
Today, the IAB released its “Anti-Fraud Principles,” a set of rules saying ad sellers have to invest in technology and start adopting business practices that would help them identify ad bots and sketchy ad sellers – essentially protecting marketers from buying illegitimate inventory. The trade organization said it will also require ad sellers to be able to explain what their tech and business processes, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
In a press release, the IAB said it would also expect suppliers to identify sources of inventory, and to be able to assure buyers they are working with legitimate sources. For example, suppliers could provide their buyers with specific links and URLs, showing them where their ads will be placed.
The IAB also said it will be rolling out standardized definitions of some of the marketing terms used in the industry, like ‘hijacked device,’ ‘data-center traffic,’ ‘AdWare traffic,’ ‘cookie-stuffing,’ and so on, ensuring everyone has the same understanding of what the terms mean when they’re completing their sales.
“Publishers, ad networks and exchanges have an obligation to detect fraudulent traffic and to not sell it. Clearly people are selling fraudulent inventory today,” said Mike Zaneis, IAB’s executive vice-president, in an interview with the WSJ.
”This notion of simply getting the entire industry to agree that we shall not sell fraudulent inventory is going to send some shockwaves. A lot of people are just doing business as usual and life is good, but taking a stand and saying we’re not as healthy as we need to be will be a major step for the entire industry.”
The IAB has also created a new working group, which aims to identify and fight off malware attacks.