How the IAB Gold Standard is helping create a more trusted digital ad industry

Find out how the IAB’s Gold Standard works, who’s certified and – ultimately how it’s contributing to a trusted, more transparent ecosystem.

What is the Gold Standard?

The Gold Standard is a certification for buyers and sellers of digital media that brings together existing industry initiatives – such as IAB Tech Lab specifications and TAG’s Brand Safety Certification – to improve the digital advertising experience, help compliance with GDPR and ePrivacy law, tackle ad fraud, uphold brand safety, and strengthen supply chain transparency.

As an advertiser, working with buyers and sellers who are Gold Standard certified benefits both your consumers and your business by improving the digital ad experience. By taking action and insisting your partners are Gold Standard certified, you have a simple yet effective way of ensuring you’re working with responsible players who are using the right tools to address existing issues.

Why does it matter?

In 2023, the Gold Standard became a key part of the Government-led Online Advertising Taskforce’s action plan, which is looking at how to build on industry-led regulation to further protect children online and address scam ads. It’s therefore imperative that businesses across the digital advertising supply chain are getting Gold Standard certified and that advertisers are prioritising working with certified suppliers.

As IAB UK’s Christie Dennehy-Neil, Head of Policy & Regulatory Affairs, wrote in Campaign earlier this year, any future legislation “will be more balanced and workable if we can show that we’re proactively taking responsibility for our own systems of effective industry-led regulation.”

Who can be Gold Standard certified?

Any business buying or selling digital media can be Gold Standard certified – you can find a full list of those that are currently certified here.

Advertisers also have a crucial role to play by prioritising working with Gold Standard certified companies wherever possible. This isn’t only the right thing to do from an individual business standpoint – no one wants to be losing money to ad fraud or have their ads wind up in unsafe environments – but it’s also the right thing to do for the long-term health of the ad industry. The more advertisers that work with Gold Standard certified suppliers, the healthier the ecosystem – ultimately helping to build trust with consumers who have a better online experience.

The IAB has a cohort of advertiser supporters who are leading the way and shaping a responsible future for the digital ad industry by committing to working with Gold Standard certified suppliers wherever possible. This so far includes the likes of Unilever, Tesco, Gousto, Adidas, Vodafone and many more – see the full list.

How can you get involved?

If you’re an advertiser that would like to become part of the Gold Standard supporter group, please contact goldstandard@iabuk.com.

If you’re a supplier of digital advertising / media, you can start the certification process by registering here and the IAB will be in touch.