Advertisers aren't alone in their quest to clean up the digital media ecosystem—this, according to an open letter penned by Digital Content Next (DCN) CEO Jason Kint.
Kint's letter was in response to P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard's IAB speech last month, where Pritchard drew a line in the sand regarding the quality and transparency P&G will demand from its digital media buying agencies. Pritchard vowed that P&G would stop accepting excuses and asked that fellow marketers do the same: "[t]here is tremendous power in the collective force of our industry."
Kint's letter makes clear that some publishers are willing to do their part, too. DCN is a trade association of premium online publishers that includes the likes of Hearst, The New York Times and Turner. According to Kint, DCN publishers "heard [P&G's] calls for human, viewable, third-party accredited inventory [and]. . .brand safety," and are committed to taking meaningful steps toward building a trustworthy digital media ecosystem.
DCN publishers, Kint said, are only minimally impacted by bots (3%), embrace the Media Rating Council's viewability and verification standards, and will work to foster transparency from start to finish in the digital media buying process. DCN's commitment to transparency is palpable, having just launched the "TrustX" marketplace, which strives to meet the highest advertising industry standards for "performance, quality, security and privacy." Kint concluded his letter by formally inviting P&G and leaders from the Association of National Advertisers to DCN's next board meeting for the groups to discuss best practices and accelerate collaboration.
Certainly, the DCN alliance with marketers will help increase the pressure and scrutiny on digital media buying agencies. But whether the 80+ premium DCN publishers' efforts will spur other publishers to take similar action in the marketplace remains to be seen.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
