IAB Releases Campaign Data Standards 1.0 for Public Comment

First Release from Project Eidos Aims to Standardize Campaign Data, Reduce Fragmentation, and Improve Measurement Across Digital Advertising; Public Comment Open Through June 14, 2026

NEW YORK, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), a leading trade organization for the digital advertising ecosystem, today announced the release of its Campaign Data Standards 1.0, now open for public comment through June 14. This marks the first release out of Project Eidos, IAB's broader initiative to modernize and streamline key elements of the digital advertising ecosystem.

The proposed standards introduce a consistent, interoperable framework for structuring campaign data, addressing long-standing inefficiencies that limit the industry's ability to measure, compare, and optimize performance at scale.

"Campaign data is an important element of modern advertising, but too often it's fragmented and inconsistent across platforms, partners, and systems," said Angelina Eng, Vice President, Measurement Center, IAB. "Different naming conventions, misaligned classifications, and siloed datasets make it hard to reconcile data, slowing down reporting and pulling focus away from analysis and optimization. These standards are about creating a common language so the industry can move faster, reduce friction, and get to more meaningful insights."

The proposed standards provide:

• Standardized classifications for placements, formats, and media types
• Consistent required data fields to support measurement and reporting
• Greater alignment across platforms and partners to reduce reconciliation efforts

Importantly, the framework is not a new platform, nor does it replace proprietary systems or mandate specific measurement approaches. Instead, it is designed to be flexible and interoperable, enabling adoption across existing workflows and technologies.

Industry leaders across agencies, publishers, brands, and media organizations are already expressing support for the proposed standards and the role they can play in improving how campaign data is used across the ecosystem.

"The challenge is not collecting more data, it is making data consistent, usable, and actionable," said Prabhpreet Sidhu, SVP, Analytics, Publicis Commerce. "A shared campaign taxonomy can reduce the time teams spend on cleanup and reconciliation, allowing them to focus more on insights, optimization, and growth."

"Marketers face mounting pressure to justify results and allocate spend wisely,a challenge that becomes far more manageable when the underlying data is sound," said Wendy Emerson, SVP Marketing Science, Butler/Till.

"Every campaign ends up with its own version of the truth, and teams spend too much time trying to reconcile it," said Rachel Mervis, Director Programmatic, Quigley-Simpson. "If this gives us a cleaner starting point with access to more data, that's time we get back to actually improving performance."

"Project Eidos represents an important step forward for the industry, bringing greater transparency and trust while enabling advertisers and agencies to seamlessly connect planning, activation, and measurement in a way that truly reflects how media drives business outcomes across the marketing funnel." said Leah van Zelm, SVP Data Science Measurement & Insights, NBCU Advertising Products & Solutions. "When the ecosystem is aligned on a common structure, it becomes much easier to clearly demonstrate the value our inventory delivers and to have more straightforward, comparable conversations about media effectiveness across channels. This is exactly what's needed for the next era of media effectiveness."

"A taxonomy standard of this nature is long overdue in our industry," said Christy Loftus, SVP, Data Logistics, Canvas Worldwide. "Our teams are pulling data from so many different places just to understand what's going on. This will bring more consistency without forcing a whole new system."

The release of Campaign Data Standards 1.0 directly supports IAB's mission to drive growth, trust, and innovation across the digital advertising ecosystem by advancing transparency,  measurement, and ultimately marketing effectiveness.

Consistent and structured data is becoming increasingly important for approaches like attribution, incrementality, and media mix modeling. Without it, even the most advanced tools struggle to produce reliable, actionable insights.

IAB is inviting stakeholders across the ad tech ecosystem to review the proposed standards and provide feedback during the public comment period. Input is encouraged on real-world implementation, usability, gaps in classification, and alignment with existing systems. The public comment period will remain open through June 14, 2026, with a final version of the standards expected to be released by Q4 2026.

To review the Campaign Data Standards 1.0 and submit feedback, click here.

About IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership comprises more than 700 leading media companies, brands, agencies, and the technology firms responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital ad marketing campaigns. The trade group fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing. In affiliation with the IAB Tech Lab, IAB develops technical standards and solutions. IAB is committed to professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise, and collaboration of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of its public policy office in Washington, D.C., the trade association advocates for its members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry to legislators and policymakers. Founded in 1996, IAB is headquartered in New York City.

SOURCE Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)