Meredith Corporation And Hearst Magazines Among First Publishers To Commit To Adopting IAB Tech Lab Data Transparency Label

NEW YORK, May 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading global media companies Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com), and Hearst Magazines today announced their commitment to adopt the IAB Tech Lab's new proposed data labelling standard and compliance program, scheduled for release later this year. The new standard is being developed by the IAB Tech Lab's Data Transparency Standards Working Group, a collection of over 100 organizations that collectively constitute the data supply chain, with earlier involvement by DMA and CIMM/ARF.

Akin to a nutrition label for food, the proposed standard establishes minimum disclosure requirements for anyone making data available to buyers—addressing key determinants of segment quality like age, provenance, and segmentation criteria—and aims to help advertisers make more informed decisions about the data they choose to use. An associated compliance program will be launched to give buyers confidence that the information supplied within the label is complete and accurate.

Meredith and the Hearst Data Studio will incorporate this level of descriptive detail to help educate advertising partners seeking to access and engage their audiences. Hearst Magazines and Meredith believe this standard will help differentiate high-quality, first-party data partners in a market where data origins and definitions are often murky. The publishers hope the new standard label will make it easier for advertisers to make apples-to-apples comparisons and measure performance across partners, and that it will encourage other publishers in the industry to similarly adopt the standard.

"We applaud and appreciate Meredith and Hearst Magazines for taking a leadership position in advancing the responsible use of data by pledging to adopt this important new standard," said Dennis Buchheim, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IAB Tech Lab. "Combined with the compliance program, data transparency will not only enable data efficiencies but will also support better consumer ad experiences."

"We are committed to transparency across the supply chain, especially when it comes to our high-quality, first-party audience data. By helping develop this standard, shepherding it to the market with IAB Tech Lab and adopting it ourselves, we hope to encourage advertising partners to demand this level of transparency from all their data and publisher partners," said Alysia Borsa, Chief Marketing and Data Officer at Meredith and Co-Chair of the IAB Tech Lab Data Transparency Standards Working Group that developed the standard.

"We're proud to be an early adopter of the new IAB Tech Lab data transparency standard and data compliance program. As the data space continues to see more complexity, it is more important than ever to be transparent about data's origins and collection practices," said Mike Smith, Chief Data Officer at Hearst Magazines. "Brands and advertisers can trust in Hearst's data offering as the gold standard for quality and brand safety across the industry."

The label stems from the broader Data Transparency Framework 1.0, an initiative announced by IAB Tech Lab in July 2018 and released for public comment through the fall. The Data Transparency Label marks the first tangible manifestation of this new framework and was introduced during a presentation at Advertising Week 2018 with support from ANA/DMA, IAB's Data Center of Excellence and CIMM/ARF.

The IAB Tech Lab is a nonprofit consortium that engages its global member community to develop foundational technology and standards that enable growth and trust in the digital media ecosystem. Comprising digital publishers, ad technology firms, agencies and marketers, IAB Tech Lab focuses on programmatic efficiency and transparency, brand safety and fraud, data and consumer privacy and ad experiences and measurement. Additional information about the data label initiative can be found at www.datalabel.org.

ABOUT MEREDITH CORPORATION

Meredith Corporation has been committed to service journalism for more than 115 years. Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms—including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video—to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners. Meredith's National Media Group reaches more than 175 million unduplicated American consumers every month, including over 80 percent of U.S. millennial women. Meredith is the No. 1 magazine operator in the U.S. and owner of the largest premium content digital network for American consumers. Meredith's Local Media Group includes 17 television stations, reaching 11 percent of U.S. households.

ABOUT HEARST MAGAZINES

Hearst Magazines is a unit of Hearst, a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Hearst Magazines is one of the world's largest publishers of magazine media across all platforms, with print and digital assets reaching a combined audience of 146 million readers and site visitors each month, including over 73 percent of all women and more than three-quarters of millennial women in the country. The company publishes more than 300 editions and 240 websites around the world, with more than 25 titles in the U.S. The division also operates iCrossing, a global, full-service digital marketing agency, and CDS Global, a business process provider. Hearst Magazines holds a majority stake in KUBRA, a customer experience management solutions company, and is a partner in the publishing services company PubWorX.

SOURCE Meredith Corporation

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http://www.meredith.com