The IAB Affiliate Marketing Council

Meeting26th May 2011

Agenda

Introduction

Best Practice Committee

• Six projects agreed to:

→ Affiliate Payment Protection

→ Affiliate Auditing / Approvals / Management

→ Ethical Merchant Charter (revisited)

→ Behavioural Retargeting (revision and extension)

→ Product Feeds Guidelines

→ Cashback Education Piece

Affiliate Auditing: Owen Hewitson

• Affiliate auditing document contains:

→ Focus on auditing

→ Methodology for auditing

→ Focus on comprehensive T&Cs

→ Best Practice for affiliate removals

Affiliate Auditing

• Feedback:

→ Start of the document should be more general introduction with auditing as an option but not necessarily encouraged

→ Stress why ‘category level culling’ should be discouraged

→ Emphasis on treating affiliates as individuals rather than making broad ‘culling’ decisions

→ Potential ‘code of respect’ for auditing/removals

→ Explicit procedural guide

Ethical Merchant Guide: Pete Berry

• Ethical Merchant Guide document contains:

→ Clarity on what affiliates are paid for

→ De-duplication

→ What types of affiliates merchants work with

→ Notice periods

• Other considerations

→ Anything additional to add? E.g. Payment terms

→ Conclusion

Remarketing/targeting: Hero Grigoraki

• The Retargeting / Remarketing document contains:

→ Definition

→ Mechanism

→ Reward models and how to operate on a CPA

→ Direct or via a network

→ Cookie hierarchies

→ PI / PV cookies / cookie length

→ Programme set up/management details – transparency on ad placement, commissions, reporting, ad frequency, optimisation

Remarketing/targeting

• Considerations:

→ Do we mention cookie lengths?

→ Inclusion of the IAB self-regulatory framework guidelines

→ Tone of voice

Next Steps

• Consultation period

→ Documents to be made available in early June

→ Two weeks for general feedback

→ Feedback accumulated and actioned accordingly

• Additional projects

→ Aim for first drafts by July

Other

• Affiliate competitions and prizes: what you need to know (May 24th)

• RAC & vouchercodes.co.uk case study (May 9th)

• Why mobile matters (May 9th)

• March overview (April 9th)

• To add: case studies, A4U Awards winning/highly commended entries

Research Committee Feedback

• Projects

→ Bruce Clayton and Matt Bailey survey

→ Utilisation of existing research from networks and merchants

→ PWC Adex data submissions

• Progress

→ 4 obvious omissions from PWC

→ Existing research collation – slow

o A4U Award adaption

→ Bruce and Matt building survey with IAB

Attendees

Two monthly meetings:

Affiliate Window

Aviva

Commission Junction

Existem

Hatmatic

Lastminute.com

M-Chi

Non-Stop Consulting

Quidco

RO Eye

Skimlinks

Stream 20

Top10.com

TradeDoubler

The plan

External Internal

Projects

Expert Consultation Group

Projects

Contacting External Industry groups

‘Lunch & Learn’ events

Projects

Broadcasting IAB meetings – podcast & twitter

IAB Affiliate Marketing Council groups

A4U Award winners: promotion & case studies

We Want You!

Legislation Committee Feedback

• ASA

→ Communication Channels

→ Good Practice Document(s)

• ePrivacy Directive

Background

• Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications – the

ePrivacy Directive

• This is an EU Directive that has been transposed into UK Law

• We can not change the law, we have to work with the situation we are now in

Key Parties

• The UK Government

• The Information Commissioners Office (ICO)

→ UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.

• The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB)

→ The trade association for the online advertising industry

Key Points for the Affiliate Industry

Intrusive Cookies

Consent for cookies being dropped (informed Vs. prior)

Opt-Out from cookies option for consumers

Strictly Necessary

Transparency for Consumers

Key Concerns

Fragmented approach within the Industry

Implications of opt-out cookies

Gaining consent

Implications of more transparency

The ICO Advice – May 2011

• ICO makes it clear that these rules can not be ignored

• Phased approach to implementation despite the law coming into force on 26 th May

• However, organisations are expected to be considering the changes to the ruling and have plans in place

• The ICO have indicated they will give companies up to 12 months to become compliant

• The industry cannot rely on consent being obtained by the browser and should look to gain consent in some other way

• The ICO does not intent to use prescriptive lists on how to comply with the new rules

ICO Advice

• The ICO advises websites to take the following steps:

1. Check what type of cookies or similar technologies you use and how you use them

2. Assess how intrusive your use of cookies is

3. Decide what solution to obtain consent will be best in your circumstances

The Online Behavioural Solution

• Pan-European self-regulatory Framework for online behavioural advertising aimed at enhancing transparency and consumer control

• The Framework introduces an ‘icon’ that will appear in or around the display advertisement

• With one click the icon will provide consumers with:

→ further information about behavioural advertising in the relevant European language

→ a way to manage information preferences or to stop receiving behavioural advertising

→ This is being implemented via a new pan-European website, www.youronlinechoices.eu.

http://www.youronlinechoices.eu

The Legislation Committee Suggestion

• Create a “youronlinechoices” for the affiliate industry

OR

• Be part of a wider online marketing information site

• Ensure all affiliates link to the information site and there is a clear access from the affiliate site

• Conduct an Audit of Cookies used in Affiliate Marketing

• There will not be an opt-out option in the short-term

→ Does this really answer the Directive?

Implications of Providing Opt-Out

• All networks / in-house programmes would need to be involved

• Technically how possible is it?

• Potentially damaging for affiliates ROI

Our recommendation

• Proceed with “phase 1” working independently or with the online industry

• Work closely with the IAB to understand the ICO progression

• Take learning’s from the OBA industry approach

• Create a technical working group to work on contingency plans for “opt-out”

Industry Feedback

• AMC meeting today

• Engage all stakeholders and gain feedback

• IAB support

Questions & Debate

Networking Drinks

• Thanks to our sponsors ….