Some of world top advertisers like Unilever, Mastercard, Procter & Gamble, and Diageo have teamed up with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and some other major advertiser associations in the global ad market to form a framework to develop better digital ad ecosystem.
The Global Media Charter has formulated eight ‘Principles for Partnership’ which are created to address brand safety, viewability, transparency and ad frauds. If all these eight principles are complied with by the ad tech companies and the ad agencies then they can go a long way to secure future ad revenues.
In a recent interview, Stephan Loerke, CEO of the WFA have pointed out, “The digital ecosystem has grown so rapidly, it’s no wonder that it’s far from perfect. But the time for indulgence is over.” He further added, “The largest chunk of the world’s marketing budgets is now invested in digital platforms and advertisers have a right to demand that the money they invest can be clearly tracked and understood. It’s not just about knowing that budgets have been well spent. We also need to be reassured that brand and consumer interests are protected in these new platforms.”
One of the most important Principles laid out in the charter points out zero tolerance for ad fraud. This is going to be implemented across the global media value chain. There would be compensation for any breach of contract, minimum viewability thresholds, strict brand safety protection measures to name a few. In addition to these, there would be improved data transparency and third-party verification and measurement for enabling better consumer experience.
Ben Jankowski, co-chair of WFA Media Forum as well as the SVP of media at Mastercard has pointed out “As the market continues to change quickly, global brands are being more tangible and specific about what we expect from the entire ecosystem; our tech partners, agency partners media owners and digital platforms.” He feels that “The WFA’s Global Media Charter is designed to ensure that everyone has the same common understanding of what we all need to do to thrive. Everyone should join us on this journey.”