TAG Inaugurates New Era of Transparency in Digital Advertising with First Hundred Companies Approved for TAG Registry

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), an advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, today opened a new era of transparency in digital advertising as it announced the first hundred companies to be approved for participation in the TAG Registry. TAG Registered companies have been verified as legitimate participants in the digital advertising industry through a proprietary background check and review process powered by Dun & Bradstreet and approved by TAG. Once registered, companies are awarded a TAG-ID, a unique global identifier that they can share with partners and append to their ads or the ad inventory they sell.

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The initial group of companies approved for the TAG Registry includes: 33Across, Adform, adMarketplace, Admiral, Admitad, Adtegrity, Advark, American Express, Amobee, AOL, AppNexus, AudienceScience, Bloomberg, BrightRoll, Canoe Ventures, Collective, comScore, Conversant, Dashbid, DataXu, Dealer.com, Disney, DoubleClick, DoubleVerify, Dstillery, engage:BDR, Essence, Exponential Interactive, Extreme Reach, Eyeview, Facebook, Forbes Media, Forensiq, Gamut Smart Media From Cox, Goodway Group, Google, GroupM, GumGum, Horizon Media, Incopro Ltd., Index Exchange, Integral Ad Science, IPG, Kromtech, Kryptowire, LKQD, McDonald's, MediaMath, Merkle Inc., Moat, NBCUniversal, ndp, Netmining, Omnicom Media Group, OpenX, ownerIQ, ProData Media, Publicis Groupe, PubMatic, Quantcast, RadiumOne, Retale, RhythmOne, RiskIQ, Rocket Fuel, RTK.io, RUN, Serious Eats, Simpli.fi, Sociomantic Labs, sovrn, SpotX, Swoop, Rubicon Project, The Trade Desk, The Weather Company, Thirdpresence, Time Warner Cable Media, Tremor Video, Trust Metrics, TubeMogul, Turn, Undertone, Unruly Group Limited, Viacom International, Viant Inc., Vibrant Media, Videology, Visible Measures, Warner Bros., White Ops, whiteBULLET, WPP, Yahoo, Zemanta, and Ziff Davis.

"The TAG Registry is the foundation for the full range of TAG's programs to fight fraud, reduce ad-supported piracy, block malware, and increase transparency in the digital advertising ecosystem," said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. "Through the TAG Registry and use of TAG-IDs, companies can tell which of their industry partners have taken the necessary steps to verify their business as a legitimate digital ad industry participant. When the TAG Registry is combined with the Payment ID system, a floodlight of transparency will illuminate the digital advertising ecosystem, and criminals will have no place left to hide."

The TAG Registry is one of two parts of the interlocking "Verified by TAG" Program designed to fight digital ad-related crime and increase transparency across the digital ad ecosystem. The other core element of the program, TAG's Payment ID Protocol, helps ensure that payments made in the digital ad ecosystem are made only to legitimate companies. The Payment ID Protocol enables intermediaries to add a unique identifier for each participant in the supply chain, allowing companies to monitor their ad campaigns and "follow the money" to see who is receiving money for each advertising impression.

"Criminals have stolen billions of dollars from marketers by claiming to be legitimate industry players," said Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). "The TAG Registry allows marketers to identify and transact only with verified participants in the digital advertising ecosystem, cutting off the flow of money to bad actors. We encourage all of our members to protect their brands by applying for the TAG Registry and working exclusively with TAG Registered companies."

"We are delighted that the largest advertising agency holding companies in the world have endorsed this important initiative and joined the TAG Registry," said Nancy Hill, President and Chief Executive Officer of the 4A's. "We would encourage all agencies working in the digital medium – large and small – to apply for the TAG Registry, so they can demonstrate their commitment to transparency to their clients and help confirm they are only transacting with real and vetted companies."

Participation in the TAG Registry is a prerequisite for companies that want to achieve certification under TAG's other seal programs, including the Certified Against Fraud Program, Certified Against Piracy Program, Certified Against Malware Program, and Inventory Quality Guidelines Certified Program. Interested companies can learn more about the TAG Registry and apply for TAG Registration at tagtoday.net/registration.

About the Trustworthy Accountability Group

The Trustworthy Accountability Group was created to spur 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 tagtoday.net.

Contact:
Andrew Weinstein
for the Trustworthy Accountability Group
202-667-4967
Email

SOURCE Trustworthy Accountability Group

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