Digital Ad Trust – quality label for websites newly launched in Belgium

G+J i|MS publishing partner Roularta is one of the first publishers obtaining the brand safety label

The Belgian federations WE MEDIA (publishers) and UBA (advertisers) have worked together intensively on the launch of Digital Ad Trust Belgium, a quality label for Belgian digital media. Their aim is to improve the quality standards for digital campaigns and thus increase trust between consumers and the various stakeholders in the Belgian advertising sector.

Following their recent introduction of a quality charter, the two organisations are now raising the bar even further. Based on strict quality criteria, an independent external auditor will screen websites and allocate them a label.

Advertisers are increasingly demanding quality from their investments and objective standards they can use to determine their ROI. Belgian publishers have been working for many years to offer high standards in this area and guarantee improved quality and transparency. The publishers and advertisers now want to take things further and really make a difference. Belgian publishers intend to provide demonstrable quality with regard to the setting in which advertising appears, campaign visibility, the fight against fraud, consumer comfort and data protection.

The independent audit firm fma will examine websites based on these five criteria. In the initial phase, it will audit the display ads on websites affiliated to WE MEDIA DIGITAL. The extension to video ads and the rest of the market is planned for 2020 onwards.

The following websites were audited as part of the pilot project and have already received the label: LeSoir.be, HLN.be, DeMorgen.be, 7sur7.be, Knack.be, Sudinfo.be.

UBA is extremely satisfied with the project: “As advertisers, we are determined to find a reliable point of reference in the jungle of digital communications. This has strengthened our trust in the Belgian media”, maintains Luc Suykens, the vice president of UBA and director of the Harley Procter brand at Procter and Gamble.

Publishers also welcome the initiative and the opportunity to work with advertisers: We have been guaranteeing quality for many years, but now that can be evaluated objectively and independently”, affirms Thierry Hugot, the president of WE MEDIA DIGITAL and the commercial director of the Rossel group for France and Belgium. “We are relying on advertisers here, like those in France, to switch back to our quality media.”

The same project in France has proven to be extremely successful. 136 sites have obtained their quality label in 18 months (here below others also sites from G+J i|MS partners PRISMA MEDIA or LE POINT), attracting business from advertisers and media agencies. A similar initiative is also in the pipeline in other European countries.

For more information, visit www.digitaladtrust.be and www.digitaladtrust.fr