4A’s Cross Industry Initiatives: What Are They And How To Get Involved

4A’s Advertiser Protection Bureau (APB)

What Is It?

The Advertiser Protection Bureau (APB) launched in 2018 addressing an opportunity for media agency leaders to lead the industry and support marketers with brand safety and suitability concerns in media environments and the impact on consumers. The APB consists of brand safety leaders that  meet weekly with the goal of creating a transparent, brand-safe, and sustainable environment for advertisers, consumers and publishers. Since its inception, the APB has played a leading role in the conversation around brand safety and suitability, including the creation of the Brand Safety Floor and Suitability Framework, the Cross-Industry Call to Action, the Misinformation/Disinformation whitepaper, and the Business as Unusual webinar Brand Safety & News in the Age of COVID-19.  To learn more please see this link.

Who Is Involved? 

APB founding members include leaders from dentsu, GroupM, Havas Media, Horizon Media, IPG Mediabrands, MDC Partners, Omnicom Media Group and Publicis Media. 

Why Does It Matter? 

In an era of heightened concerns about misinformation and disinformation online, the issue of brand safety and brand suitability has never been more important. The APB works with industry partners and platforms to establish best practices for ensuring a brand safe and brand suitable platform for advertisers. 

How Does My Agency Learn More and Get Involved? 

Contact Bill Bock at the 4A’s at [email protected]

 

Media Transformation & Reform

What Is It?

A joint initiative from the 4A’s, ANA and IAB to address opportunities in the marketplace and advance the industry by addressing the following areas: 

    1. Upfront: Establish a construct for moving to a calendar year.
    2. Equality: Drive equality by pursuing the accurate portrayal of women and cultures in all advertising and content. Advance diversity across the ecosystem. Measure and develop accountability.
    3. Transparency: Improve information symmetry to achieve a more transparent buying process.
    4. KPIs: Develop common KPIs and, perhaps, some degree of self-regulation / standards that would generate common language and common understanding of all objectives. Key areas of focus are reach and costs.
    5. Commercial Load: Develop self-regulatory process that assesses / defines a common expectation for commercial load to optimize the consumer experience.

Who Is Involved? 

Leaders from agencies, marketers and publishers are part of five working groups.

Why Does It Matter?

Launched in 2020, industry constituents recognized the need to align regarding ongoing media challenges in the marketplace by working together to drive change. 

How Does My Agency Learn More and Get Involved? 

Contact Marla Kaplowitz, President & CEO, 4A’s at [email protected].

 

Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA)

What Is It?

The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) establishes and enforces responsible privacy practices across the industry for relevant digital advertising, providing consumers with enhanced transparency and control through multifaceted principles that apply to multi-site data and cross-app data gathered in either desktop, mobile web, or mobile app environments. 

Widely recognized by its ubiquitous blue triangle icon, the DAA is an independent non-profit organization led by leading advertising and marketing trade associations. The 4A’s is a founding member of the DAA, and currently serves on the DAA’s Board of Directors. 

Who Is Involved? 

Current participants in the DAA’s self-regulatory program can be found here

Why Does It Matter?

First established in 2008, the DAA has been an industry leader in increasing transparency and trust in the targeted digital advertising marketplace. As concerns around targeted digital advertising have grown since 2008, the DAA has worked to address new and emerging concerns (i.e. mobile, cross-site data, etc.) with robust industry self-regulatory programs that have become the baseline for best practices. 

How Does My Agency Learn More and Get Involved? 

Contact Lou Mastria, Executive Director, DAA at [email protected]

 

Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG)

What Is It?

The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is the leading global initiative fighting criminal activity and increasing trust in the digital advertising industry. TAG advances its mission of eliminating fraudulent traffic, facilitating the sharing of threat intelligence, and promoting brand safety by connecting industry leaders, analyzing threats, and sharing best practices worldwide. The 4A’s is a founding member of TAG, and is on TAG’s Executive Committee. 

Who Is Involved? 

TAG has over 600+ members including brands, agencies, publishers and ad tech providers. To find TAG-verified companies, see here

Why Does It Matter?

Fraudulent online ad traffic is a problem that has plagued the industry since the early days of online advertising, and as the industry has grown, so has the problem. TAG works to eliminate fraudulent traffic via a combination of private industry initiatives, as well as public-private partnerships. TAG is the only Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) for the digital advertising industry. This U.S. Department of Homeland Security designation means TAG is the primary forum for sharing threat intelligence in our industry. 

How Does My Agency Learn More and Get Involved? 

For more information on TAG, contact [email protected]

 

The Global Alliance For Responsible Media (GARM)

What Is It?

The GARM brings together advertisers, agencies, media companies, platforms and industry organizations to improve digital safety. Members of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media recognize the role that advertisers can play in collectively pushing to improve the safety of online environments. Together, they are collaborating with publishers and platforms to do more to address harmful and misleading media environments; and to develop and deliver against a concrete set of actions, processes and protocols for protecting brands.

Who Is Involved? 

The Global Alliance for Responsible Media was founded by WFA members and is made up of advertisers, agencies, media companies, platforms and industry organizations including the 4A’s that has a role on the Steering Team. Leaders of the 4A’s APB (Advertiser Protection Bureau) play an active role in the GARM through working groups and identifying additional areas to address in the ecosystem. 

Why Does It Matter?

The goal is to drive uncommon collaboration to improve the safety, trustworthiness, and sustainability of media by focusing on creating:

How Does My Agency Learn More and Get Involved? 

Contact Marla Kaplowitz, President & CEO, 4A’s at [email protected].

 

National Advertising Review Board (NARB)

What Is It?

The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) of the BBB National Programs is the advertising self-regulation industry’s appellate body. Five-member NARB panels hear cases appealing an National Advertising Division (NAD) or Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) decision and provide independent industry peer review, ensuring truthfulness and accuracy in national advertising and helping promote voluntary compliance of its decisions— a key pillar of industry self-regulation. 

Who Is Involved?

NARB’s 85-person panel consists of members from different 

professional backgrounds: National Advertisers, Advertising AgencyProfessionals, and Public Sector professionals (academics and other members of the public sector). 

Nominations are submitted via the 4A’s, ANA and AEF to BBB National Programs for election at NARB’s annual meeting. The term for membership is two years, and each member is eligible to be re-appointed for two additional two-year terms. The 4A’s nominates agency leaders to represent the agency community on NARB. 

Why Does It Matter?

Industry self-regulatory programs like NAD and CARU play a strong role in demonstrating to regulators like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state Attorneys General that the advertising industry has a strong commitment to ensuring advertising adheres to high standards beyond just the letter of the law. The NARB solves a vital role in ensuring advertisers that lose a case before NAD or CARU have the right to have their appeal heard before any final actions are taken against an advertiser. 

How Does My Agency Learn More and Get Involved? 

Contact Mollie Rosen, EVP, Member Engagement & Development, 4A’s at [email protected]

 

Coalition For Better Ads (CBA)

What Is It?

The Coalition for Better Ads (CBA) works to improve consumers’ experience with online advertising. The Coalition for Better Ads leverages consumer insights and cross-industry expertise to develop and implement new global standards for online advertising that address consumer expectations. The 4A’s is a founding member of the CBA, and is on CBA’s Board of Directors. 

Who Is Involved? 

The Coalition for Better Ads includes publishers, agencies, advertisers, ad tech companies, and platforms. A full list of members can be found here.

Why Does It Matter?

The rise of ad blockers has risen in tandem with user annoyance about ad experiences (i.e. pop-ups, etc.) that disrupt the user experience. One of the primary goals of the Coalition for Better Ads is to engage in user-focused research to better understand what kind of ad formats and experiences users prefer, and to work to incorporate that information into the design and re-design of existing ad formats. 

How Does My Agency Learn More and Get Involved? 

Contact Neil Thurman, Director, Coalition for Better Ads at [email protected]

 

Privacy For America

What Is It?

Privacy For America is a broad cross-industry coalition with the singular goal of passing comprehensive federal privacy legislation. Since the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), several states around the country have begun to introduce legislation to create their own privacy laws. Given the boundaryless nature of the modern internet, creating a state-by-state patchwork of inconsistent laws will not only lead to compliance problems for agencies, but will also result in increased unequal access to data across the entire supply chain. 

Who Is Involved? 

Privacy For America is a cross-industry collaboration of agencies, advertisers, publishers, platforms, telecommunications companies, ad tech companies and many others. 

Why Does It Matter?

With the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and now the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), states around the country are now in the process of trying to pass their own unique versions of comprehensive privacy law. For agencies trying to scale campaigns across state lines, the prospect of having to comply with contradicting overlapping privacy regimes will present a complex compliance challenge. 

The 4A’s believes that comprehensive privacy law should be handled at the federal level so that companies will understand what is required and be able to scale their privacy programs across states to ensure consistency of operations and consistency of protections for consumers. 

How Does My Agency Learn More and Get Involved? 

Contact Alison Pepper, EVP, Government Relations, 4A’s at [email protected]