IAB Ireland launches the Gold Standard

Developed by IAB UK in 2017, the Gold Standard has been widely adopted by the UK digital ad industry with Gold Standard 2.0 launching last year. The Gold Standard draws together existing industry initiative to build a more sustainable future for digital advertising. It has four key pillars:

• Reduce ad fraud by implementing or supporting IAB Tech Lab's ads.txt, sellers.json and OpenRTB Supply Chain Object

• Uphold brand safety by obtaining TAG Brand Safety Certification

• Improve the experience by adhering to The Coalition for Better Ads advertising standards

• Help compliance with the GDPR and ePrivacy law by adopting IAB Europe’s Transparency Consent Framework (TCF)

The Gold Standard is now available to IAB Ireland’s members - including publishers, platforms, advertising agencies, ad tech companies, DSPs, SSPs and sales houses.

IAB Ireland members who register for the Gold Standard will be required to complete training in respect of the Gold Standard criteria and to be certified in respect of compliance with the standards within six months of registering for the Gold Standard. So far, 14 IAB Ireland members have registered to date including publishers/platforms: DMG Media Ireland, Google, Facebook Ireland, INM, News Ireland, Reach plc, Verizon and The Irish Times Group and media agencies: Core, Dentsu Ireland, Group M Ireland, Havas Media Ireland, IPG Mediabrands Ireland and OMG Ireland.

The Advertisers Association of Ireland (AAI) and the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) have both welcomed IAB Ireland’s introduction of the Gold Standard and are encouraging all companies in the digital advertising industry to support the initiative.

Commenting on the launch of the Gold Standard for IAB Ireland members, David Monaghan, Head of Commercial, News Ireland and Chairperson of IAB Ireland said: “This is a very significant step forward for the Irish digital advertising industry and we are delighted that so many of our members have immediately jumped on board and are already registered for the Gold Standard.”

Tina Lakhani, Head of Ad Tech, at IAB UK added: “It’s great news that IAB Ireland is today launching the Gold Standard to encourage the digital ad industry to drive change and uphold standards from within. Over the past few years, IAB UK members and the wider industry have thrown their support behind the Gold Standard and the criteria continues to evolve to meet emerging challenges. IAB Ireland’s roll-out of the initiative is an important step for our global industry as we collectively work to create the best environment for the future for digital advertising.”

Suzanne McElligott, CEO of IAB Ireland further commented: “The Gold Standard has successfully driven positive change from within the UK digital ad industry. It is not surprising that advertisers are now committing to prioritising working with Gold Standard suppliers and partners. We are very grateful to our colleagues in IAB UK for their support of IAB Ireland’s introduction of the Gold Standard and we are looking forward to collaborating in delivering this set of rigorous standards to deliver a healthy and sustainable Irish digital advertising industry.”