AT&T among the Major Brands already Serving Notice with Billions of Monthly Impressions through the Better Advertising Platform
NEW YORK – The Better Advertising Project, Inc. (Better Advertising) and the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), a joint project of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Advertising Federation, the Association of National Advertisers, the Direct Marketing Association and the Interactive Advertising Bureau announced that DAA has designated Better Advertising as an Approved Provider. DAA also endorsed Better Advertising’s Assurance Platform as an Approved Technology and a standard method for providing evidence of participating companies’ compliance with the cross-industry self-regulatory program for online behavioral advertising that was announced Monday.
“This is a key example of how we’re working with our partners, advertisers and consumers to ensure strong privacy protections,” said Bob Quinn, Chief Privacy Officer for AT&T. “Protecting consumers’ privacy is a top priority for AT&T. We fully support the efforts of the DAA, and we look forward to continuing our work with Better Advertising.”
Better Advertising is the first company designated as an Approved Provider of compliance services for the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising (Principles) of the DAA. This includes the ability to deliver the Advertising Option (or Forward I) icon on behalf of companies who are participating in the self-regulatory program. The company’s Assurance Platform is operating at scale, delivering notice with billions of advertising impressions across the internet for leading brands.
“We’ve been working closely with Better Advertising since its start. We’re especially pleased about this endorsement and we fully support this launch,” said John Montgomery, COO, North America, GroupM Interaction, a WPP company. “Our clients have made it clear that providing consumers more transparency into and control over how interest-based data is collected and used is essential to their online marketing efforts. Better Advertising’s technology delivers the transparency that will keep this ecosystem safe for these brands, and provides our clients with the evidence of compliance with the Self-Regulatory Principles that they need.”
The accountability program is part of the implementation of the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising announced in July, 2009 in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s call for the marketing industry to develop self-regulatory principles and practices for online behavioral (or interest-based) advertising. Separately, The Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Direct Marketing Association have announced that they intend to use technology from Better Advertising to monitor and report on the industry’s compliance with key provisions of the Principles, including providing consumers with enhanced transparency and control options for online behavioral (or interest-based) advertising.
“We’re extremely pleased to be working with Better Advertising’s team on the implementation of their platform to deliver compliance services to the online behavioral advertising industry,” said Stuart P. Ingis, Executive Director of the DAA and a Partner at Venable, LLP in Washington, who led the crafting of the Self-Regulatory Program. “Crafting meaningful self-regulation has been a long time in development for the companies at the vanguard of the interactive media industry. So, we are especially pleased to be innovating with Better Advertising as we make this program a reality.”
“Our partnership with Better Advertising is in line with VivaKi’s broader mission to collaborate for industry change,” said Grace Liau, VP/Group Director, VivaKi Nerve Center, a division of VivaKi and a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe. “We believe that establishing meaningful self-regulation is in the best interest of every party within the industry ecosystem. Transparency delivered through a platform such as the one Better Advertising has built represents a powerful mechanism to help us achieve this goal faster.”
Launched in July 2009, Better Advertising is working closely with leading agencies, networks and publishers on behalf of their brand clients. These and other companies are already using Better Advertising’s Assurance Platform as a standard method to provide evidence of compliance with the Principles.
“Better Advertising is delighted to receive this endorsement from the DAA,” said Scott Meyer, CEO and founder of Better Advertising. “We look forward to working cooperatively with the DAA and our clients to deliver full industry implementation of these important self-regulatory Principles.”
About DAA
The Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising gives consumers enhanced control over the collection and use of data regarding their Web viewing for online behavioral advertising purposes. Launched by the nation’s largest media and marketing trade associations – the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) – with support from the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), the Program responds to the Federal Trade Commission’s call for more robust and effective self-regulation of online behavioral advertising practices that would foster transparency, knowledge and choice for consumers.
The Program promotes the use of the “Advertising Option Icon” and accompanying language, to be displayed within or near online advertisements or on Web pages where data is collected and used for behavioral advertising. The Advertising Option Icon indicates a company’s use of online behavioral advertising and adherence to the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising, guiding the Program. By clicking on it, consumers will be able to link to a clear disclosure statement regarding the company’s online behavioral advertising data collection and use practices as well as an easy-to-use opt-out option.
More information about the DAA and its member associations is available at: http://www.aboutads.info/
About Better Advertising
Selected by the Digital Advertising Alliance to power its interest-based advertising self-regulatory program, Better Advertising enables a more trusted environment for everyone in the online ecosystem. It gives businesses an easy, standard method to provide evidence of compliance with industry guidelines and provide consumers with more transparency into, and control over the interest-based advertising (IBA) they receive. By empowering consumers and earning their trust, businesses build their brands, participate in IBA with confidence and generate better advertising results. For more information, please visit: www.betteradvertising.com.
