On March 22, 2017, the Coalition for Better Ads released Initial Better Ads Standards for desktop and mobile web that reflect consumer advertising preferences in North American and European markets. The Initial Better Ads Standards are based on comprehensive research in which consumers comparatively ranked different ad experiences. The Coalition's research identifies the ad experiences in both North America and Europe that ranked lowest across a range of user experience factors, and that are most highly correlated with an increased propensity for consumers to adopt ad blockers. The Coalition encourages the marketplace to use these results to improve the consumer online ad experience.
Venable's Stu Ingis, Chuck Curran, and Tara Potashnik, counsel to the Coalition for Better Ads, facilitated the Coalition's development of the initial Better Ads Standards. Members and supporters of the Coalition for Better Ads, in alphabetical order, include the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's), AppNexus, Association of National Advertisers (ANA), BVDW Germany (rep. IAB Germany), Data & Marketing Association (DMA), Digital Content Next, Facebook, Google, GroupM, IAB, IAB Europe, IAB France, IAB Tech Lab, IAB UK, Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), News Corp, News Media Alliance, Omnicom Media Group, Oriel, Procter & Gamble, Sovrn, Teads, The Washington Post, Thomson Reuters, Unilever, and World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). An additional 80 trade associations from around the world are affiliates of the Coalition for Better Ads.
"The Coalition's research and initial Better Ads Standards help the online advertising industry better understand the ad formats that consumers in North America and Europe find annoying and disruptive," said Stu Ingis, counsel to the Coalition for Betters Ads, Partner at Venable LLP. "The members of the Coalition for Better Ads are committed to engaging thousands of companies in their membership and their business partners to encourage them to incorporate the findings into their efforts to improve the online ad experience for consumers." "This announcement is an important milestone for the Coalition and its members from across the global online advertising industry," said Chuck Curran, counsel to the Coalition for Better Ads, Partner at Venable LLP. "The Coalition will build on this momentum with a wide range of education activities and the expansion of its research efforts to evaluate new digital ad formats, across different global regions."
Please visit the Coalition for Better Ads to read more about the Initial Better Ads Standards.