Dive Brief:
- The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is holding three “town hall” meetings on feedback and guidance for its new L.E.A.N. Ads principles.
- L.E.A.N. stands for Light, Encrypted, Ad choice supported and Non-invasive ads, and is a response to the IAB’s recent apology for fostering an atmosphere where revenue trumped user experience in digital advertising strategy.
- Users have been increasingly using ad-blocking technology to avoid intrusive ads that drain computing resources and disrupt the user experience on webpages where they are served.
Dive Insight:
The release of Apple's iOS 9 and its ad blocking capability really brought the topic to the forefront this year, but trouble has been brewing between users who want to block ads and publishers, ad tech firms and marketers who want to serve them digital ads. In a surprise move earlier this month, the IAB actually released an apology via a statement: "As technologist, tasked with delivering content and services to users, we lost track of the user experience," Scott Cunningham, senior VP-technology and ad operations at the IAB, said. As part of the apology the IAB acknowledged it contributed to an atmosphere where advertisers placed revenue over user experience with online ads.
To help change how advertisers handle digital advertising from the top down, the IAB is hosting “town hall” meetings in New York, San Francisco and London for guidance on its new L.E.A.N. Ads principles.
