Coalition for Better Ads to Introduce Better Ads Experience Program in 2018

In January 2018, the Coalition will begin rollout of the Better Ads Experience Program, a voluntary initiative for industry participants to improve the online ad experience for consumers and promote marketplace adoption of the Better Ad Standards. 

Tim Elkington, IAB UK Chief Digital Officer, said: "A positive user experience is key to a sustainable future for digital advertising, and that’s why IAB UK has included the Better Ads Standards as one of the three initiatives in our Gold Standard along with implementing ads.txt to reduce ad fraud and DTSG certification to improve brand safety. We look forward to continuing to work with the Coalition for Better Ads as it develops its Better Ads Experience program and will ensure that Gold Standard criteria align with the Better Ads Experience Framework, once it is agreed."

Based on a framework developed by the Coalition, the Better Ads Experience Program will certify web publishers that agree not to use the most disruptive ads identified in the Standards and will accredit browsers and advertising technology companies that will assess publishers’ compliance with the Standards and filter digital ads based on the Standards.

The Program will maintain a register of certified companies that will not have ads on their sites filtered based on the Standards by browsers and advertising technology companies that participate in the Program. If compliance issues arise, certified companies will be notified and have an opportunity to address violations or to pursue review by an independent dispute resolution mechanism available through the Program. Additional details about the program, including the registration process, fees, and other details, will be released in January for review by companies that are interested in participating.

The Better Ads Standards currently have been developed for the desktop and mobile web environments in Europe and North America. The Coalition’s extensive consumer research identified the following types of desktop ad experiences beneath the Better Ads Standard: pop-up ads, auto-play video ads with sound, prestitial ads with countdown and large sticky ads. For the mobile web environment, the following types of ad experiences fell beneath the Better Ads Standard: pop-up ads, prestitial ads, ads with density greater than 30%, flashing animated ads, auto-play video ads with sound, poststitial ads with countdown, full-screen scrollover ads, and large sticky ads.