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Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG)
“TAG is doing such great work leading our industry’s efforts overall in this area [to make the digital ecosystem a safe place where marketers like Bank of America can connect with customers]. ”
Lou PaskalisSenior VP Customer Engagement & Media Investment
“[W]e are committed to high standards in addressing fraud, malware, privacy, and brand safety concerns. We are excited to work with TAG… on the next generation of standards that build trust and value across the digital advertising industry. ”
Christian MartineSenior Program Manager
“Platinum Status from TAG is a great way for advertisers and publishers to separate the companies that are truly committed from those that may just be doing the minimum required. ”
John GentryPresident
“Our TAG Platinum Certification is another sign of our commitment to transform digital media through transparency and accountability”
Cara PrattVP, Commercial and Product Strategy for Kroger Precision Marketing
TAG LAUNCHES ANTI-FRAUD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
TAG LAUNCHES ANTI-FRAUD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
TAG “Certified Against Fraud” Seal Available to Ad Buyers, Sellers and Intermediaries Who Meet Rigorous Anti-Fraud Requirements
WASHINGTON, DC – May 23, 2016 – The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), an advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, today announced the launch of its cornerstone anti-fraud certification program, which will award TAG “Certified Against Fraud” seals to buyers, sellers, and intermediaries in the digital advertising supply chain who meet rigorous anti-fraud requirements.
More than thirty leading digital advertising companies and ad agencies have already agreed to participate in the program and undergo TAG anti-fraud certification, including Amobee, AppNexus, Collective, comScore, DoubleVerify, Dstillery, engage:BDR, Exponential, Forensiq, Google, GroupM, Horizon Media, Index Exchange, Integral Ad Science, Interpublic Group, MediaMath, Moat, ndp, News Corp, Omnicom Group, OpenX, Publicis Worldwide, RhythmOne, Rocket Fuel, Rubicon Project, Sociomantic Labs, sovrn, SpotX, TubeMogul, White Ops, WPP, Yahoo, and Zemanta.
“Going forward, TAG will name and proclaim the companies leading the fight against digital ad fraud through a ‘Certified Against Fraud’ seal that recognizes their efforts to protect partners and customers, ” said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. “Participants in the digital ad supply chain can now ask a simple question to tell if their partners have taken the necessary steps to fight ad fraud: ‘Are you TAG Certified Against Fraud? ’ As more TAG anti-fraud seals are awarded, the cracks in our industry exploited by bad actors will also be sealed against their criminal endeavors. ”
To obtain a TAG “Certified Against Fraud” seal, companies must comply with a set of guidelines related to their specific roles in the digital advertising supply chain.
Direct buyers such as advertisers and authorized advertiser agents (AAAs) must complete the TAG Registration process, have a designated TAG compliance officer, and comply with the Media Rating Council’s Invalid Traffic (IVT) Detection and Filtration Guidelines.
Direct sellers such as publishers and authorized publisher agents (APAs) must comply with all of the steps required of buyers, as well as domain list filtering, data center IP list filtering, and publisher sourcing disclosure requirements.
Intermediaries such as ad networks and other indirect buyers and sellers must comply with all of the steps required of buyers, as well as domain list filtering, data center IP list filtering, and TAG’s Payment ID protocol.
More information about the specific requirements and application process for the TAG “Certified Against Fraud Seal” can be found on the TAG website.
“Every dollar spent on a fraudulent ad is a dollar that is stolen from marketers, ” said Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). “We’re angry and we want an end to those who are robbing us, reducing our ability to reach our intended targets, diminishing the effectiveness of our campaigns and ultimately hurting ROI. We strongly encourage all of our members to become TAG ‘Certified Against Fraud’ and request their ad partners to do so as well. By working together, we can ensure that our marketing resources support our business goals, not criminals and fraudsters. ”
“Major advertising agencies have been leaders in supporting anti-fraud efforts to protect their clients’ investments, and agencies have provided strong support for many of TAG’s initiatives, ” said Nancy Hill, President and Chief Executive Officer of the 4A’s. “The ‘Certified Against Fraud’ program will consolidate and elevate ongoing agency efforts to fight fraud by allowing agencies to get certified themselves and include the common-sense requirement in vendor agreements that their digital advertising partner also have the TAG anti-fraud seal. ”
“The TAG ‘Certified Against Fraud’ program codifies the best practices for each participant in the digital ad supply chain into a single set of guidelines, so every buyer, seller, and intermediary knows exactly what steps they must take to effectively fight fraud, ” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). “Every IAB member who plays a relevant role in digital advertising should apply for TAG’s anti-fraud seal, so we can take aggressive action against the criminals who are undermining our industry. ”
The TAG “Certified Against Fraud” program is part of TAG’s interlocking efforts to eliminate fraudulent traffic, combat malware, fight Internet piracy, and promote transparency across the digital advertising supply chain. Each participating TAG company is eligible for a custom package for the certification processes related to its business, so it can apply for, receive, and use the relevant TAG seals in promoting its efforts to protect the digital advertising supply chain.
About the Trustworthy Accountability Group
The Trustworthy Accountability Group was created to foster transformational improvement at scale across the digital advertising ecosystem, focusing on four core areas: eliminating fraudulent traffic, combating malware, fighting ad-supported Internet piracy to promote brand integrity, and promoting brand safety through greater transparency. For more information on TAG, please visit
Contact: Andrew Weinstein 202-667-4967 andrewwstn[at] Topics:
Press Releases
What is an Ad Tag? Explanation + Examples – Epom Ad Server
A world without ad tags would be too sterile and boring — no flashing banners, no Youtube pre-rolls,
and (! ) no extra revenue for you. Since we’re not living in a stir-crazy ads-prohibiting dystopia, we
are all able to use small yet mighty ad tags. Invisible from the outside, these chunks of code are extremely
crucial in ad tech.
Just like neurons are basic working units of our brains, ad tags are core elements of digital ad serving.
All the main parts of the brain contain neurons and are literally “run” by them. Similarly,
publishers, advertisers, and ad networks use ad tags to exchange data with each other.
If you are just starting your advertising journey, the meaning of an ad tag may be unfamiliar to you.
We’ve all been there, but right now, we’ll help you move forward in your journey by teaching you
what an ad tag is and how exactly to use it.
Let’s start with the ad tag definition.
Contents:
What is an Ad Tag?
The Role of an Ad Tag in Digital Ad Serving
Types of Ad Tags and Their Examples
Javascript Ad Tag vs. iFrame
What About VAST Ad Tags?
Ad Tag in RTB Ad Serving
Regular Ad Tag vs. Header Wrapper
How to Generate an Ad Tag?
Ad Tag Summarized: All You Need to Know
An ad tag (aka creative tag or placement tag) is a chunk of code inserted within the webpage that
sends a request to the ad server to show an ad in a given place. It may be either an HTML or Javascript
code snippet combined with a URL from which the browser will request an ad.
Each ad tag defines exactly how the ad should be served on this particular website — it contains data
about the creative ad format, size, category, and other requirements. The snippet can also be put into the
header or iFrame wrapper to isolate it from the primary website script.
The purpose of an ad tag in digital marketing is to trigger ad requests, prompt the browser to send them
forward, and sometimes, collect data about users that see the particular ad. In short, an ad tag makes
digital advertising possible as we know it today.
So, here is a typical lifecycle of a placement tag:
A publisher generates an ad tag via an ad server and places it on the web page.
The ad tag triggers the browser to send an ad request to the publisher’s ad server.
The publisher’s ad server forwards the digital tag to the data management platform to enrich it with
user data for behavioral targeting. This step is optional, since not everyone uses a DMP.
The placement tag is sent further — to the advertiser’s ad server. It receives the ad tag and ships a relevant ad
creative to the publisher’s ad server.
The latter finally puts the ad in the right inventory slot.
As you may have noticed, all digital advertising players use creative tags while pursuing specific goals.
Publishers need them to sell inventory to multiple advertisers and ensure that only relevant ads are
shown on their websites. Ad tags allow them to serve different ads on one placement, according to the
advertiser’s targeting preferences.
Tags prevent errors by specifying strict creative requirements, as any occasional bug in the code may lead
to a mess on the page. Remember those crappy sites with abundant ads from the 2000s? Inaccurate ad serving
without ad tag usage could make content entirely unreadable.
Advertisers receive tags from publishers and use them to direct the browser to the ads that comply
with the publisher’s requirements. The tag also contains basic user info such as their location,
browser, carrier, etc. If it was previously sent to the DMP, behavioral targeting is also possible.
Ad networks manage the whole ad serving process, so they encounter ad tags along their way from start
to finish, connecting publishers and advertisers based on those creative tags. Ad networks usually use an
all-in-one advertising platform to run their business. If we imagine an ad network that has direct
publishers and 3rd-party advertisers, ad serving should like this:
Some publishers and advertisers prefer using ad networks — this spares them from managing their advertising campaigns on their own, although it takes away control and transparency.
Ad networks generate ad tags and ask publishers to paste them. Then, they do all the matching within their
ad servers and place the ads on the web page.
Modern digital ad tags are made up of a URL from which the browser will request content and info about the
placement encoded in Javascript.
Two major types of Javascript ad tags are synchronous and asynchronous tags.
Sync JS Ad Tag Example:
Async JS Ad Tag Example:
if(! (ppConfig &&)) ppConfig = {ads:[]};
({
supp_key:"001b3058ceb2d3effb32e1e548bee49c",
supp_channel: "",
supp_code_format:"",
supp_click:"",
supp_custom_params:{},
supp_target_id:"supp-001b3058ceb2d3effb32e1e548bee49c-300x250"});
(function () {
var sc = eateElement("script");
= "text/javascript";
= true;
= (otocol == ":"? ":": ":") + "//\/js\/";
var s = tElementsByTagName("script")[0];
sertBefore(sc, s);})();
Synchronous tags load simultaneously with the rest of the web page content. They'll significantly
affect page load speed if something goes wrong, and the tag is rejected. The browser will keep sending
requests to the server, and the page may not load at all, completely spoiling the user experience.
That is the main reason why most ad serving platforms prefer publishers who use asynchronous ad tags.
The creative invoked by the ad tag will then load separately from the main content. In case of an error, the
page will load as usual, but the ad will not.
The most widespread type of ad tag is universal Javascript code, also known as an Ins tag, as defined
by Google. The example of typical Ins banner ad tag used in Epom
ad server looks like this: