The European Viewability Steering Group (EVSG), a cross-industry body originally formed towards the end of 2015 by the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (IAB Europe), the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), announced on August the launch of a comprehensive European Viewability Certification Framework.
This includes the publication of the first set of European Viewability Measurement Principles and will soon be followed by the launch of a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to identify suitable auditors across the region.
The Measurement Principles have been created to help reduce discrepancies in the data provided by different viewability measurement tools. Extensive consultation has been conducted with a broad range of industry stakeholder groups including – publishers, media agencies, advertisers, measurement companies, ad technology providers, national, international and cross-industry trade bodies. Notable contributions have been provided by the MRC in the US; JICWEBS in the UK; BVDW, AGOF and OWM in Germany; Digital Ad Trust in France; and key national trade bodies across Europe.
The Measurement Principles will be used as the basis for evaluating the performance of the technical approach undertaken by the viewability measurement companies. An evaluation report will be produced to help inform the potential issuing of a European Seal of Accreditation. The Seal will be recognised by all participating European markets and will remove the need for further market-by-market accreditation.
The ongoing management and implementation of the Certification Framework and awarding of the Seals will be undertaken by a related body called the European Authority (EA) – resourced by representatives from IAB Europe and EACA. The EA will work in conjunction with the appointed national bodies to ensure the certification framework is implemented effectively in each market.
The Certification Framework has been designed to offer a consistent solution across all European markets – irrespective of the existing status quo. In the interests of contributing towards the development of consistent, global standards, the EVSG envisages that the European approach will provide useful guidance for other regions or markets seeking to develop similar solutions.
Alison Fennah, Executive Business Advisor, IAB Europe said: “With digital ad spend surpassing €40bn it’s ever more critical to reinforce the quality of the digital advertising environment to underpin the delivery of free content. Ensuring that viewable impressions are measured correctly and consistently is a key first step. This initiative is designed to enable Europe’s varied markets to collaborate and create regional standards and deliver local growth.”
Jon Chase, Chair Media Agencies Council, EACA noted: “EACA are committed to helping shape and implement the drive towards improved viewability measurement standards across Europe and beyond. The ultimate objective being to establish a fully viewable digital ad environment. Whilst other challenges in the digital advertising ecosystem also require increased focus, reducing data discrepancies between the different viewability tools is a crucial step towards enhanced accountability and trust in digital media metrics.”
Rob Dreblow, Global Head of Marketing Services, WFA said: “Whilst advertisers investing online often work with their own definitions of a viewable impression, it is critical to have a baseline of quality in terms of how to measure a genuine opportunity to see. Building on the excellent work in the US and UK, we hope this initiative will serve to help markets around the world reduce discrepancies and improve the quality of viewability measurement as this project develops into global guidance.”
More about the whole process one can read here.
