As you may have heard, the Online Interest-Based Advertising (OBA) Accountability Program today announced three decisions, which resolve whether an online, interest-based advertising campaign for a privately held biotechnology company provided the transparency and consumer control as required under the “Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising” (OBA Principles). We are pleased to note that the Accountability Program recognized MediaMath’s strong commitment to compliance.
MediaMath was the subject of one of these decisions because we provided the self-service demand-side platform (DSP) used by the company’s agency to manage and run the OBA campaign in question that was being served without the Advertising Option Icon (AdChoices Icon) of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA). As we are 100% committed to the further enhancement and effectiveness of industry self-regulatory best practices, we fully cooperated with the Accountability Program’s inquiry.
What the decisions did reveal is that coordination and communication between all parties involved is essential for guaranteeing that OBA best practices are in use. As noted by the OBA Accountability Program in their press release, MediaMath, “an early adopter of the OBA Principles, ensures all OBA campaigns are in compliance with the OBA Principles when providing its fully managed services.” In this instance, as it was our self-service platform that was utilized, we took immediate action upon notification by the Accountability Program to:
- Remind all of our self-service clients about their obligations under the DAA Self-Regulatory Principles;
- Detail how to enable the AdChoices Icon to be automatically included in all OBA served through the MediaMath platform; and
- Revise our onboarding materials to better educate our self-service clients about the notice and choice requirements of the OBA Principles and the benefits of compliance with the DAA’s industry standards.
MediaMath agrees with the decisions and believes we should all go the extra mile to support one another and maintain the outstanding overall health of the industry.
MediaMath clients with specific questions may contact their account managers. Members of the news media may contact us PR@mediamath.com.