16 IASH members recertified through 'Random Audits'

All 16 members taking IASH ‘Random Audits’ have passed. This was the first audit to see ABCe randomly select a month during January and June 2008.

The tougher new audit process, announced in January 2008, reinforces IASH’s commitment to transparency and tightening of the Code of Conduct. The 16 members that passed the audit are: ad pepper media UK Ltd, Ad2ONE UK, Adconion UK Ltd, Addvantage Media, Advertising.com, Consilium Media Ltd, dgmDisplay, DrivePM UK, eType, GMW Media Ltd, Glam Media UK Ltd, Specific Media UK, Tacoda UK, Unanimis Consulting Ltd, ValueClick Media UK and Yahoo! Network.

In addition, in the past six months, six companies have passed the standard entry audit for the first time and have been accredited as Full Members. The new members are: 4 Digital Solutions, Accelerator Media, Adrevenue, Oridian, Clickbrokers and TradeDoubler. Each will be included in the next Random Audit for the period July to December 2008.

The total number of Full Members is 22 and there are ten more companies in the process of seeking IASH certification.

In order to promote greater transparency IASH has abolished its Applicant Member status, which meant that any company could apply and claim IASH membership without having passed an audit. The new process means that a company can only claim Full Member status once an audit is passed and this must be taken within six months of the initial application.

A new version of the Code of Conduct will be unveiled in January 2009 – version 9.1 – which sees the addition of tighter protection for advertisers thanks to new regulations on Blind Buying - the practice of buying outside of accredited IASH networks.

Other ongoing initiatives to promote IASH and tighten its Code include regular meetings with the IPA, official IASH steering groups and a sub-committee dedicated to improving communication with advertisers, agencies, members and the wider industry.

James Aitken, chairman of IASH, said: “We are making good progress tightening up on transparency and the importance of adhering to the Code of Conduct. There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes and a lot of effort to make the audits happen. This successful round of audits demonstrates the commitment of IASH members to take the protection of advertisers’ interests more seriously.”

Richard Foan, managing director of ABCe, said: “It is clear that the robust self-regulation by consensus and third party audit continues to raise standards for this media sector.”

A full list of members is available at www.iash.org.uk

Ends

For more information contact:

Mark Terry-Lush 07740 432, mark@renegademedia.net
or
Amy Kean, senior PR and marketing manager, IAB, 07739 372042 amy@iabuk.net

About IASH
IASH exists to encourage best practice among online advertising sales houses through the adoption of an effective code of conduct. IASH also exists to promote the real benefits of the online advertising network business model.

IASH members wish to ensure that display ads placed via their networks do not appear on websites which could jeopardize advertisers' brands. This Code provides a formal framework for best practice for IASH Members to follow when dealing with advertisers, agencies, networks and site owners. The purpose of the Code is to give those buying, selling or broking internet advertising space a clear understanding of the types of inventory which can and cannot be used when fulfilling an ad insertion order.

The ABC Electronic audit checks a representative sample of publisher terms and conditions, site vetting and inventory delivery according to the permissions set by advertiser insertion orders.

About ABCe
ABCe is the industry owned, tri-partite, not-for-profit organisation, which works on behalf of advertisers, media buyers and media owners, providing independent verification and certification for data related to electronic media.

ABCe’s standards are overseen by JICWEBS (the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards). ABCe will visit every IASH member to check that the site vetting is being completed in accordance with the Code and that the I/O process is also in accordance with the Code. ABCe will also perform random site visits to confirm adherence to the agreed processes. IASH membership can be withdrawn or suspended if a member fails to comply with the IASH code.

Six new companies achieve full membership
Further updates to the Code to continue improving standards and transparency

www.abce.org.uk