WASHINGTON, D.C., September 10, 2019 – The Coalition for Better Ads announced today agreements with Microsoft and NAVER Corporation to promote compliance with the Better Ads Standards by interested companies and assist with maintaining the integrity of the Coalition’s Program Register of compliant companies. Through their Microsoft Edge and Whale browsers, Microsoft and NAVER will adhere to requirements of the Better Ads Experience Program and recognize that companies on the Program Register have been found compliant with the Better Ads Standards and subject to the Program’s procedures and independent dispute resolution mechanism.
“As a member of the Coalition for Better Ads, Microsoft strongly supports the Better Ads Standards, which reflect the views of consumers from around the world,” said Vincent Wehren, Principal Program Manager Lead of Microsoft Edge Browser Services. “Adoption of the Better Ads Standards contributes to a better online experience, benefiting consumers and the companies who address their preferences.”
“NAVER shares the commitment of the Coalition for Better Ads to improve the online ad experience for consumers,” said Hyo Kim, Director of NAVER Whale browser service. “This partnership advances our work through NAVER’s Clean Web initiative to reflect consumer preferences in our business practices.”
“Promotion of the Coalition’s Standards by Microsoft and NAVER as part of the Better Ads Experience Program will encourage their adoption and benefit consumers around the world,” said Neal Thurman, Director of the Coalition for Better Ads. “We urge everyone in the digital advertising supply chain to end the use of these ad formats that consumers have identified as most annoying and disruptive to their online experience.”
Many industry participants in North America and Europe have incorporated the Better Ads Standards for desktop and mobile web into their business practices since their publication in March 2017. The Standards have been adopted by a wide range of individual advertisers, ad tech companies, ad agencies, and publishers. Industry trade associations have incorporated the Standards into their certification programs and recommendations of best practices to their members.
The Coalition expanded the Standards for desktop and mobile web to all countries and regions worldwide, effective May 9, 2019. The Coalition and its trade association and company members and affiliates have engaged the online ad industry at conferences, through webinars, conference calls, and in-person meetings around the world to encourage the widespread adoption of the Better Ads Standards. With the global extension of the Standards, companies like Microsoft and Naver as well as industry trade associations are adding momentum to complement the Coalition’s existing membership and support.
The Coalition’s Better Ads Experience Program certifies web publishers that agree not to use the most disruptive ads identified in the Standards. The Program’s online register of certified companies helps advertising partners identify publishers who apply the Standards. Certified companies will not have ads on their sites filtered based on the Standards by browsers that participate in the Program. The Program includes an independent dispute resolution mechanism developed by the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council in consultation with the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation.
The ad experiences in the Standards are based on the Coalition’s extensive research, which has involved more than 66,000 consumers to date in countries representing 70% of global online advertising spending. The research found strong alignment of consumer preferences across countries and regions for the most- and least-preferred online ad experiences, supporting the adoption of the same Better Ads Standards for desktop and mobile web globally. The Better Ads Standards identify the ad experiences that fall beneath a threshold of consumer acceptability and are most likely to drive consumers to install ad blockers.
