GroupM Among the First to Be Awarded IAB U.K.’s Gold Standard Certification 2.1

The latest version of the IAB U.K. Gold Standard Certification incorporates new criteria aiming to reinforce transparency within the digital advertising supply chain

London, (November 22, 2022) — GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, has today announced that GroupM U.K. has been awarded with the Gold Standard Certification 2.1 from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). GroupM and its Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Essence, mSix&Partners, Xaxis and Finecast businesses in the U.K. are all among the early adopters of the updated certification.

IAB U.K.’s Gold Standard brings several industry initiatives together to create a better and more secure digital advertising ecosystem by tackling ad fraud, enhancing brand safety and improving user experience as well as compliance with GDPR e-privacy regulations.

The latest version of the IAB U.K.’s Gold Standard incorporates additional criteria aiming to reinforce end-to-end transparency within the digital advertising supply chain.

To attain Gold Standard Certification 2.1, GroupM demonstrated commitment and public support across various IAB Tech Lab’s transparency standards. These include Buyers.Json — a protocol by which advertisers and other intermediaries between payor and publisher need to declare publicly the buyers they represent – and DemandChain Object, which enables sellers to see all parties involved in buying the creative embedded in a certain bid response.

GroupM was one of the first major media holding groups to attain both the 1.0 Gold Standard Certification in January 2018 and the 2.0 Gold Standard Certification in September 2020.

Alex Thomas, Senior Brand Safety & Quality Manager, GroupM U.K. & EMEA, commented: “By enhancing accountability within the programmatic supply chain, the new criteria of IAB’s Gold Standard will benefit the digital advertising ecosystem in its entirety. Strengthening transparency within the supply chain is unquestionably a priority for our industry. I am proud that GroupM has shown full commitment and support across the additional standards, such as Buyers.Json and DemandChain Object, and are working towards driving a more transparent ecosystem and building trust in the advertising industry”.

For more information on the IAB U.K.’s Gold Standard Certification 2.1, please visit https://www.iabuk.com/news-article/gold-standard-21-bring-increased-transparency-digital-supply-chain