September 27, 2018
OpenX Joins IAB UK Board as Business Continues To Experience Rapidly Accelerating Regional Growth
Company also awarded IAB UK Gold Standard certification as part of continued industry leadership in quality
LONDON – September 27 2018 – OpenX, the world’s leading independent advertising technology provider, today announced the company is taking a Board seat with IAB UK, the UK trade association for digital advertising. The move comes on the heels of significant UK and EMEA growth for the company, as OpenX has added 133 new publisher partners YTD across EMEA and achieved strong year-over-year growth, with mobile revenue in particular growing 57 percent year-over-year.
OpenX’s vice president of European partner services, Gavin Stirrat, will be representing the company on the IAB UK Board, joining over 20 other industry leaders including representatives from Google, Facebook, Microsoft and more. The Board consists of some of the biggest, most defining digital advertising companies in the UK and plays an essential role in guiding and supporting IAB UK’s mission.
“The IAB UK mission is to build a sustainable future for digital advertising. That is only possible when all parts of the value chain work together, to create a better experience for consumers, advertisers, publishers and all points in-between. OpenX has been an important part of the digital ecosystem for more than a decade and in that time has demonstrated a commitment to quality and transparency, most recently realised through their successful completion of the IAB Gold Standard certification process” said Jon Mew, CEO, IAB UK. He continued “We are delighted to have OpenX and Gavin join our UK Board, to help guide and support the organisation in the delivery of our mission.”
In addition to a seat on the Board, OpenX also recently earned IAB Gold Standard certification, a program created by IAB UK to reduce ad fraud, improve the digital advertising experience and increase brand safety across the industry. To achieve certification, the standard requires support of the ads.txt initiative, adherence to the LEAN standards set by the Coalition for Better Advertising and JICWEBs DTSG certification for brand safety.
The certification is the latest example of OpenX’s deep and ongoing commitment to quality, and earlier this year OpenX announced that it was dedicating more than £19M pounds ($25M US dollars) to quality efforts and initiatives in 2018 alone. OpenX is also one of just two companies globally who are independently certified across all four of Trustworthy Accountability Group’s (TAG) anti-fraud programs, and specifically in the UK, OpenX recently renewed its DTSG (Digital Trading Standards Group) certification.
“Quality is in our DNA at OpenX. IAB UK’s own quality initiatives align closely with our top priorities at OpenX, and I strongly believe this collaboration will prove immensely valuable in building a sustainable and fraud-free digital advertising ecosystem in the days, months and years to come,” said Gavin Stirrat. “I am looking forward to working with the team at IAB UK, as well as the other Board members, to help introduce new standards to reinstate trust among partners and fast track the industry’s progression toward greater quality and transparency.”