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Improving the ability for advertisers and publishers to carry out financial audits of their programmatic supply chains, the UK’s Cross-industry Programmatic Taskforce has released an update of the Programmatic Financial Audit Toolkit. First released in 2022, also known as the APL (Audit Permission Letter), Toolkit 1.2 includes refinements to enable more efficient access to the necessary financial transaction data from the supply chain participants. Additionally, improved definitions will ensure...

What has happened to date? In 2022, Parliament passed the Health and Care Act, which included new restrictions that prohibit paid-for online ads for “less healthy” food and drink products. The new restrictions were introduced as part of a wider Government push to tackle perceived drivers of childhood obesity Less healthy products are a subset of products classified as high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS), which have all been subject to dedicated restrictions in the UK Advertising Codes since 2007...

Upcoming events Techtonic Tuesday 09 September 2025 08:30 - 17:00 Curzon Soho, 9 Shaftesbury Ave, London, W1D 5DY AI in Ads: Shaping tomorrow, together Wednesday 02 July 2025 08:30 - 12:00 The Conduit, 6 Langley St, London, WC2H 9JA Past events Last Thursday Club: innovating beyond cookies Date: Thursday 29 May 2025 Time: 09:30-11:00 Location: IAB UK HQ, 67-68 Long Acre, London, WC2E 9JD Last Thursday Club: supporting early talent in a hybrid world Date: Thursday 27 March 2025 Time: 16:30 - 18...

What is it that sets good ads apart? ‘The idea’ is usually the default answer. If we learnt one thing from Don Draper it’s that an ad lives or dies by the quality of the idea and the human insight that informs it. It was true in Don’s day and it’s still true today - but it’s far from the whole story. In 2024, the human insight marketers can tap into is far beyond what Draper and his peers could ever have dreamt of. Powerhouse creative ideas still take precedence in brilliant ad campaigns, but...

Job description Background The IAB is the not-for-profit trade body for the digital advertising industry with members from some of the biggest companies in the world including Google, Disney, Amazon, News UK, Microsoft and TikTok. Our purpose is to build a better future for digital advertising, for the benefit of everyone. We do this through a range of activities including events, training, research, setting standards, helping the industry to remain self-regulated and more. You can find out more...

There’s a lot that Paris 2024 will be remembered for — Celine Dion atop the Eiffel Tower, Léon Marchand sweeping the medal board, Simone Biles making history and Andy Murray’s au revoir to the court all spring to mind. But while brilliant individuals dominated the headlines, there were plenty of astonishing displays of teamwork that shone through as well. At the velodrome, in particular, a total of 31 records were smashed, with Team GB responsible for three of them. Why am I telling you this? It...

The Advertising Association has launched a new hub designed to showcase professional training and development opportunities for people working in the UK advertising and marketing industries, in partnership with Adwanted UK. From launch, the new hub showcases over 500 professional training courses and qualifications from Advertising Association members and industry stakeholders including IAB UK , the IPA, ISBA, the Data and Marketing Association and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Training...

Created with BBH London, The Openness Medal aimed to strike a chord with Gen Z and spark a social movement celebrating those who share past failures and how they overcame challenges. The campaign utilised social channels to platform the personal stories of Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Team Samsung Galaxy, with people able to nominate anyone for an openness medal - including coaches, parents and teachers. The campaign also encouraged Gen Z to share their own stories of openness to amplify...

Following Google’s recent announcement that it plans to remove the third-party cookie deadline and instead pursue a new path for Privacy Sandbox , The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) invited views from the industry on Google’s revised approach to Privacy Sandbox by 12 August. The CMA sought feedback on Google’s proposal to implement a user-choice prompt for third-party cookies, rather than phasing them out entirely. IAB UK has made a submission setting out the potential issues and risks of...

While gaming is becoming an increasingly established part of the media mix, myths still persist that need to be addressed in order to fully unlock spend growth. Here, members of IAB UK’s Gaming Group, draw on the evidence to challenge some of the misconceptions about in-game ads. Melinda Spence, Head of Insights & Measurement, Activision Blizzard Media Myth 1: Players don’t like advertising within gaming environments Certain player segments are highly receptive to in-game ads, especially when...

The inaugural Manchester-based event follows the success of Future of Media London, which has been running since 2021, and will bring together the North’s thriving media industry for a future-facing look at trends shaping the market. The event will see industry leaders explore changing media business models and market opportunities. Speakers from Matalan, Schuh, Sky, The Guardian and Havas Media Manchester are currently confirmed, while Uzo Oleh - award-winning photographer and film director -...

The latest data from UKOM, the UK’s online measuring body, shows that 54% of the UK population now uses TikTok every month, up 1.6m from 51% in March 2024. Growth in the app’s use is now highest among 45–54-year-olds (up 15%). The findings also show that mobile apps outperformed other brands when it came to user growth thanks to EURO 2024 and the UK General Election, with ITVX being the adding the most (+2 million visitors). Key insights from June 2024’s report also include: The average time...

In just a few short decades, gaming has transformed from a niche hobby into a global multi-billion dollar industry that draws in billions of daily users, with in-game advertising enjoying high attention rates and diverse audiences. But gaming is still widely viewed as a ‘nice to have’, rather than an integral component. Here, members of IAB UK’s Gaming Group explain why marketers should hold gaming in the same regard as other marketing channels. Why should marketers think of gaming as a premium...

“Lots has been written, talked and posted” following Google’s announcement that it is removing the 2025 third-party cookie deadline on Chrome, explained IAB UK’s CMO James Chandler, opening the event. “This afternoon is about getting you some detailed perspectives from across the industry - giving you a sense of how people are reacting to the news and how they are responding - as well as hearing from Google.” He encouraged delegates to feedback their views on Google’s proposal to the CMA by 12...

The consultation seeks to gain feedback on a number of developments to the Gold Standard, including the evolution of the initiative to distinguish between different channels, with bespoke requirements for web, app, connected TV, podcast and retail media. Having first launched in 2017, IAB UK’s Gold Standard aims to reduce ad fraud, uphold brand safety, improve the user experience, and aid compliance with GDPR e-privacy law by pulling together existing industry initiatives. Key changes now being...

Dissecting the election outcome In the recent UK general election, a record 335 MPs were elected for the first time – with a further 15 becoming MPs again after a gap in service – quite a change to a Parliamentary population of 651 MPs! The sheer number of new MPs means that the average Member of Parliament knows far less about our industry than their predecessor – so we have plenty of work to do in informing them about digital advertising and its value to UK businesses, consumers and the...

Cadbury’s ‘Yours For 200 Years’ campaign, which celebrates its 200th anniversary and a long-standing home in the nation's hearts, includes a Gen-AI-powered tool that places users in nostalgic Cadbury posters. Created by VCCP London’s digital experience agency, Bernadette, the ‘ My Cadbury Era’ campaign activation is a free tool which allows people to take a selfie, upload it to their favored Cadbury poster and automatically be entered into a £200 prize draw. “As a self-avowed and proud Swiftie...

The latest figures from the Advertising Association and WARC show UK advertising spend increased 9.3% to £9.2bn during the first three months of 2024 – setting a new high for a first quarter period. The findings show that growth was fuelled by digital, with online formats accounting for 79.7% of all UK spend in Q1 2024, as well as search (including retail media) up 12.0%, online display (including social media) up 12.8% and BVOD up 19.2%. You can find out more here . Speaking about the latest...

What Google has said Google has announced that it is pursuing a new path for Privacy Sandbox and will not be deprecating third-party cookies on Chrome in 2025 as previously planned. In a blog post published on 22 July, Anthony Chavez, VP of Privacy Sandbox, said: "We are proposing an updated approach that elevates user choice. Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing...

This is the second year in a row that the survey - which has over 1,200 respondents and is supported by Kantar - has found that marketers consider digital to be more effective at brand building than offline channels. The 2024 results also show that marketers believe digital ads deliver more emotional impact, as well as being funnier. When it comes to measurement, 69.3% of marketers say it’s either “very easy” or “somewhat easy” to measure media effectiveness in digital channels, compared to...