{"id":300819,"date":"2017-10-19T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integralads.com\/insider\/10-minutes-trustworthy-accountability-group-tag\/"},"modified":"2024-11-13T09:37:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T09:37:24","slug":"10-minutes-trustworthy-accountability-group-tag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integralads.com\/uk\/insider\/10-minutes-trustworthy-accountability-group-tag\/","title":{"rendered":"10 minutes with the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Name: <\/b>Mike Zaneis
\n<\/span>Title: <\/b>President and CEO
\n<\/span>Joined TAG: <\/b>May 2015
\n<\/span>Degrees & certifications: <\/b>JD and MPP, Georgetown University<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who should be held responsible for digital ad fraud? It\u2019s easy to point to one area of the digital ecosystem, but in the end we are all accountable. Publishers, brands, agencies, tech platforms, data providers, and governing bodies all share in the rise and ultimate demise of ad fraud. IAS sat down with Mike Zaneis, the CEO of the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) to learn more about the industry\u2019s attempts to eradicate fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n

How was the Trustworthy Accountability Group (aka TAG) founded?
\n<\/b>TAG was founded 2.5 years ago by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A\u2019s), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Our mission is to fight criminal activity in the digital supply chain. The industry was in need of an independent non-profit body that could bring marketers, agencies, publishers, and adtech together to fight fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you feel is the most common assumption or misperception about TAG?
\n<\/b>For quite a while people thought that it was just something for sell-side (publishers and adtech firms), but brands and agencies share a hand in the prevalence of ad fraud. They also benefit the most from it being cleaned up. In fact, 60% of TAG\u2019s board of directors come from the buy-side.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other misperception is that it\u2019s a U.S.-only program. Today, more than 400 companies have registered with us in over 26 countries across six continents. We have 40 EU-based companies that have joined TAG. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why did you decide to join TAG?
\n<\/b>It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to take on a multi-billion dollar problem for the digital media\/advertising industry. To be able to say that we\u2019ve fundamentally improved this 200 billion dollar industry and save marketers billions of dollars. It was such a wonderful opportunity that I couldn\u2019t pass up.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you navigate balancing publisher and advertiser needs?
\n<\/b>TAG was formed to bring everyone to the same table. You don\u2019t have to hold one over the other; you can find synergy. That said, the buy side will always drive change, because they have the billions that they spend in this space. So they want effective solutions. If you come-up with too stringent solutions it slows adoption, and makes it impossible for publishers to achieve requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n

TAG\u2019s goal is to drive effective solutions that are implementable at scale. We work to find common ground on things like ads.txt. While this solution is implemented by publishers, it also provides buyers with valuable information that will protect them from fraud. <\/span><\/p>\n

What certification program are you personally most proud of and why?
\n<\/b>I love all of our programs. Today, I would point to our fraud program. It is growing by leaps and bounds. We have over 140 companies that have begun the onboarding process for that program alone. We are on the precipice of creating a major shift in the way that people think about and approach fraud. This is something that IAS has been working on for years, but perhaps the industry hasn\u2019t been paying as much attention as they should. This program\u2019s rapid adoption is starting to show that we, the digital industry, are starting to win this war. That\u2019s what I am most proud of today.<\/span><\/p>\n

From day one, having fraud vendor companies like IAS at the table has helped TAG write the correct standards. We always get smarter when we talk to independent fraud protection partners. We are not a replacement for fraud partners – we simply support their mission and work to develop industry-wide standards. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is TAG\u2019s stance on SIVT?
\n<\/b>The march towards MRC compliance is a vital next step for the industry. We have a full partnership with the MRC, and support that move. Criminals will continue to advance, and we need to continue to enhance our practices and support moving from <\/span>GIVT to SIVT.<\/span><\/p>\n

We fully intend to follow that trend at TAG, and next year we are going to be moving our fraud compliance from GIVT to SIVT.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your opinion on brand safety in the digital landscape today?
\n<\/b>Buyer beware right now. There are a lot of unsafe brand environments, and it\u2019s important for brands to work with trusted publishers and platforms and to stay in well lit areas where inappropriate content, ad fraud, malware are detected and removed from the inventory pool. \u00a0There are plenty of high-value brand safe areas \u2014 brands just need to stay educated and be vigilant about protecting their media buys.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the biggest challenge for TAG today, and how are you overcoming it?
\n<\/b>Scaling all of our solutions. We know that they are effective, and the demand for the programs and certifications are immense. We as an organization have needed to scale and grow accordingly. To meet demand we\u2019ve put boots on the ground in Europe, and have new hires that support South East Asia. While scaling can be a challenge, it\u2019s also an opportunity- whether you\u2019re in Brazil, China, or Japan. Fraud is generally coming from the same sources and globally there is uniformity around combatting fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is there a brand or publisher that you feel is showing real leadership in cleaning up the digital space?
\n<\/b>There are many companies that have made significant investments. The most well known is probably P&G. Mark Pritchard has put a stake in the ground and the industry is being challenged to rise to the occasion. <\/span><\/p>\n

A publisher that is taking a leading role is PCH. They\u2019ve recently <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> that they have achieved three TAG certifications. Inventory quality (all about transparency), Fraud, and Malware. This is difficult for publishers, especially one of PCH\u2019s size. I think it\u2019s important to highlight brands and publishers that are doing way more than the bare minimum. Going above and beyond is what counts as leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

How is mobile changing the industry?
\n<\/b>Mobile is a different technology platform. All programs apply to mobile browsing \u2014 some of the criminal threats present themselves differently for in-app. We needed to take a step back from each program, and better understand the app-environment. For example, in the piracy environment the app stores are very vigilant about eliminating steps to remove apps that steal content. Although the app may be taken down fairly quickly, it can still be downloaded 1,000\u2019s of times, and the apps remain active on the devices. TAG created a <\/span>mobile pirated app tool,<\/span><\/a> this is a list of apps that have been downloaded, but were removed from the storefronts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobile makes us think critically about the technological infrastructure. We need to work with mobile platforms like Twitter and Facebook to establish industry-wide requirements and provide marketers with the reassurance that they need. <\/span><\/p>\n

How can publishers become certified for anti-fraud, anti-malware, and anti-piracy?
\n<\/b>Every company that joins TAG has to have a compliance officer, training, and a TAG ID. There\u2019s uniformity in the approach.<\/span><\/p>\n