Bidstack receives IAB 'Gold Standard 1.1' certification

(Sharecast News) - In-game advertising platform provider Bidstack Group has received the Internet Advertising Bureau's 'Gold Standard 1.1' certificate, it announced on Tuesday.
The AIM-traded firm said the certificate, launched by the IAB in 2017 in a bid to improve UK standards in digital advertising, was centred around three key areas - reducing advertising fraud, improving the digital advertising experience and increasing brand safety.

Gold Standard 1.1 was released in April, with updated and more prescriptive criteria.

Bidstack said the certificate should give further confidence to advertising agencies when allocating client spend to the new 'native in-game' digital advertising category it offered.

According to the IAB UK and PwC Digital Adspend study for 2019, IAB Gold Standard-certified companies comprised 73% of the display advertising market in 2019.

"We continue to make good progress in pioneering the entirely new advertising category of native in-game advertising and the IAB Gold Standard 1.1 certification is a very significant milestone for the company in this process," said chief executive officer James Draper.

"The IAB has also confirmed that we are the first multi-device in-game advertising platform to be awarded the IAB Gold Standard certification.

"For many brands and agencies, being IAB Gold Standard certified is a prerequisite for inclusion in media planning."

Draper explained that, as advertisers increasingly looked to "new and emerging" channels, having the option of including "fraud free and brand safe" activations in AAA video game titles was an "enticing addition" to their repertoire.

"The certification should further enhance demand side activity as, alongside giving users a better experience, it will give further confidence for brands and advertisers to continue to spend with Bidstack."

At 1138 BST, shares in Bidstack were up 2.65% at 4.28p.