Earlier this month, MediaMath was awarded Platinum status with the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). TAG is our industry’s leading self-regulatory body focused on programs and certifications that demonstrate a commitment to high standards to protect the entire advertising supply chain, from buyers, through platforms and supply sources, all the way to the end users. In order to achieve Platinum status, MediaMath has obtained certification in all three of the current major TAG programs, the TAG Certified Against Malware seal, the TAG Brand Safety Certification, and, for the first time, the TAG Certified Against Fraud seal. We have done this all through independent validation by an outside auditor. MediaMath joins a select group of companies that represents an elite fraction of TAG’s total membership (the full list can be seen here: https://www.tagtoday.net/certifications/platinum-status). This accomplishment would not be possible without the efforts of MediaMath team members across the organization, and it demonstrates MediaMath’s adherence to the highest industry quality standards.
Each of the TAG certifications contains within itself specific rigorous requirements that an organization must follow to be compliant. For example, the Brand Safety Certification requires that we have in place tools and policies designed to monitor, detect, and minimize ad misplacement based on Brand Safety and Piracy concerns. The Certified Against Malware seal demands that we have effective malware and malvertising filtration tools to protect our supply partners and especially the consumers whom we serve from the threat posed by malware and malvertising, as well as processes and policies to escalate and review any instances that may occur. While the importance of malware and malvertising protections may not always seem clear from the buy side, in fact these protections are critical for our industry to maintain its positive relationship with consumers, since malware and malvertising represent direct threats to end users’ devices and data. The Certified Against Fraud seal similarly requires that we implement various threat filtration tools for domains, apps, and IPs, as well as work with a TAG-accepted Invalid Traffic (IVT) filtration solution across our network. In our case, this is our MRC-accredited IVT detection and filtration partner HUMAN. Additionally, the certification requires the use of standard supply chain transparency tools and follow the money solutions such as ads.txt and supply chain object. These tools help ensure that our client’s media investments are safe from fraud.
These are only a few of the major requirements for each of the certifications. The full details are much more involved, and by employing an outside auditor for independent validation of our efforts, we have demonstrated a high degree of objective adherence to these standards. MediaMath has been a longtime member of TAG, and an active participant in all TAG working groups. We have long been committed to delivering a high-quality ad ecosystem in order to provide the best service to our clients and maximize their return on investment. Our TAG certifications represent the fruit of our ongoing efforts, and our firm stance on consistently working to ensure that the supply chain remains secure. Our clients can trust that they will continue to be able to deliver the right ad message, at the right time, to the right person in a brand safe and suitable way that avoids ad fraud and delivers ads in a way that keeps the end user safe from the effects of malware and malvertising. Our newfound TAG Platinum status is the external proof and affirmation of this commitment.