FAQs
If you have questions about membership or what we do at the IAB, you will hopefully find the answers below. If you still have a question after looking through this page, please email us on [email protected]
General
Do you have a global membership?
No - each IAB is operated separately, as they primarily deal with the regulatory environments within their own countries.
What's the difference between IAB UK and IAB Europe?
IAB UK is focused on UK issues and IAB Europe on European issues, but as EU legislation currently applies to the UK, e.g. GDPR, IAB UK and IAB Europe work very closely together. IAB UK is also a member of IAB Europe.
What is IAB Tech Lab?
IAB Tech Lab is operated separately from any IAB and operates globally. It is responsible for developing standards and technology to enable growth and transparency across the digital media ecosystem. For more information on IAB Tech Lab, please visit their website here.
For the first time, we are offering IAB UK members access to IAB Tech Lab resources at no extra membership cost. Find out more here.
Membership & Account
Can individuals be members?
No, we only offer company memberships, but any individual from a member company can use our services.
How many logins are included in my company membership?
There is no limit to the number of team members who can log in. Anyone with your company email address can sign up.
How can I get access to a newsletter?
Create an account, log in and change your email preferences in your Dashboard.
What communities do you have?
We have 16 communities in total, including 13 channel specific ones, such as 'Audio' and 'Ad Tech' and four specialism communities, 'Publishers', 'Insight', 'Regulatory Affairs', and 'Diversity, Equity & Inclusion'. For more information, please visit our IAB UK community page here.
How much does a company membership cost?
Company memberships are costed based on your annual UK revenue. Advertisers are entitled to free memberships.
Is membership only for big companies?
No. Membership is available for all company sizes. In fact, we have been actively encouraging small and medium sized businesses to engage with digital. See our SME tool and learn how your business can make the most out of digital advertising.
Can I see which companies are already members?
We have over 1,300 members, from the biggest media owners and brands, to Direct to Consumer brands and small businesses. You can view them all here.
Who are your board members?
Our board is limited to 25 companies and collectively they set the direction IAB UK takes on a variety of issues. You can see who is on our board here.
Insight
What are the latest ad spend figures?
Our latest Adspend findings show the UK digital ad market grew 11% year-on-year with £29.6 billion spent on digital ads in H1 2023. The full report for 2023 can be found on our Adspend page here.
Which figures should I submit?
Please get in touch with our Insight team for how you can contribute to our various research outputs, including Adspend, here.
Do you have insights into agency spending or how much is being spent in different verticals?
Our full Adspend report covers both of these areas in depth, members are able to access it via the adspend page here.
Do you have any research which proves digital advertising works?
Our 'Why Digital?' page collates all of our research proving the effectiveness of digital advertising. This includes Effectiveness Research and brand Case Studies of successful digital ad campaigns.
How can I properly measure my digital advertising campaigns?
The Measurement Hub and Toolkit provide resources on the most effective methods of measuring digital advertising campaigns. Find out more here.
Gold Standard
What is the Gold Standard?
The Gold Standard is open to all IAB UK members who buy and sell digital media. It aims to improve the digital advertising experience, help compliance with the GDPR and ePrivacy law, tackle ad fraud and uphold brand safety. Find out more here.
How do I become certified for the Gold Standard?
Starting your journey to Gold Standard certification couldn’t be easier, just fill out a short online form and we'll be in touch to talk about your commitment and get you started on the process. You can access the form here.
Policy & Regulation
What work are you doing on the Government's HFSS ad ban?
On 1 October 2025, the online ad ban for ‘less healthy food & drink’ comes into force. This means that paid-for online ads for ‘less healthy’ food and drink products will not be allowed to appear on the internet. There are limited exemptions to the ban for SMEs, digital audio ads and digital out-of-home ads.
The Advertising Standards Authority has not yet published the final ‘less healthy’ guidance for advertisers, so there is more detail to come,
How has Brexit affected digital advertising and GDPR?
The EU GDPR has been incorporated into UK law and the UK GDPR now applies. For more information on how Brexit has affected digital advertising, please visit our GDPR page.
Has your work with the ICO continued?
Yes. The ICO resumed its work investigating data protection compliance in ad tech and real-time bidding at the start of 2021, having previously paused further investigation in May 2020. The IAB has worked with our members to develop a range of guidance and resources covering key areas which you can find here.
Events & Training
What events do you have coming up?
You can view all of our events here.
Do you offer training?
We offer a comprehensive suite of online training programs through the IAB UK eLearning centre. You can find out more here.
Do you record your events and webinars?
Yes. Our webinars are available for our members to view here and sessions from many of our past events are available to watch on our YouTube Channel.
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IAB UK
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