Ads.txt Rollout and Adoption Information

Australian Publishers and Agencies support the ongoing rollout of ads.txt

The mission of the ads.txt project is simple: To increase transparency in the programmatic advertising ecosystem. Ads.txt stands for Authorised Digital Sellers and is a simple, flexible and secure method that publishers and authorised partners can use to publicly declare the companies they have sanctioned to sell their digital inventory.

IAB Australia supports local publishers adopting this solution as a method of helping to eliminate the ability of criminal entities profiting from counterfeit inventory in the open Australian digital advertising ecosystem. Once adopted at scale, buyers can use ads.txt files to shift media spend to authorised supply paths.

Australian Publishers and Agencies support the ongoing rollout of ads.txt

The mission of the ads.txt project is simple: To increase transparency in the programmatic advertising ecosystem. Ads.txt stands for Authorised Digital Sellers and is a simple, flexible and secure method that publishers and authorised partners can use to publicly declare the companies they have sanctioned to sell their digital inventory.

IAB Australia supports local publishers adopting this solution as a method of helping to eliminate the ability of criminal entities profiting from counterfeit inventory in the open Australian digital advertising ecosystem. Once adopted at scale, buyers can use ads.txt files to shift media spend to authorised supply paths.

Continued support for the IAB ads.txt solution in Australia

The IAB Australia continues to help try and drive mass adoption of ads.txt by local media owners.

Below are three examples of ads.txt being adopted by some of our local publisher members, along with supportive quotes. Alongside this are quotes from three major media agencies and a trading desk supporting this solution and its adoption.

www.news.com.au/ads.txt
www.theguardian.com/ads.txt
www.mamamia.com.au/ads.txt

Amnet

Amnet are in support of the IAB’s ads.txt initiative to combat ad fraud and provide more media transparency in the programmatic ecosystem. We believe this is a positive step to clean up inventory and cut out unnecessary arbitrage. We are asking all publisher partners to adopt this standard by the end of this year.

Indy Khabra

Managing Director, Amnet ANZ

The Guardian has adopted the ads.txt protocol globally, we support all moves to clean up the digital ecosystem and improve transparency of the programmatic supply chain. Ads.txt verified vendors provides buyers with a guarantee that inventory is genuine, and will help eliminate fraud practices in the industry.

Tony Bell

National Sales Director, The Guardian Australia

Transparency delivered through the ads.txt initiative will go a long way to helping addressing fraud in the industry. Given the minimal level of effort involved, this is probably the most impactful way your business can help build trust and confidence in the digital ecosystem this year.

Cameron King

Digital Commercial Director, News Corp Australia

GroupM is an advocate of any technology enhancement that improves transparency in the marketplace. Ads.txt is one of the key initiatives that help push the industry forwards towards a safer environment for all players. The good work that governing bodies, like the IAB, do is key to continuously disrupting, evolving and advancing. We are fully supportive of ads.txt.

Tim Whitfield

Director, Technical Operations, GroupM

Ads.txt is super easy to implement as all it requires is the ads.txt file to be dropped into the root directory of your website. It only takes a few minutes to create and deploy. The contents of the ads.txt file will vary from publisher to publisher, your ad-tech vendor should be able to assist with the details.

Jon Moffat

Director Digital Advertising Operations & Systems, Fairfax Media

As a buyer, decreasing fraud is a number one priority. Ads.txt automatically gives me, as a buyer, increased security in programmatic that hasn’t been possible before. It’s a win-win situation for us all. It allows buyers to ensure that we buy the correct inventory and also ensures the revenue intended for publishers actually reaches them, not fraudsters. In the next 3 months our focus will be on buying inventory from publishers that have ads.txt in place to safeguard our clients against fraud.

Sarah Melrose

Programmatic Director, Ikon Communications

Ads.txt has been very simple to format and implement for the 40+ publishers we work with. 1 simple file per site with all authorised resellers stated so that buyers can see exactly where their money is going. We understand advertisers need this transparency in the industry to allow them target campaigns effectively. We're optimistic this initiative will also benefit our publishers by attracting more advertisers to their best performing inventory and focusing digital spend on genuine, good quality impressions.

Tobin Page

Chief Operating Officer, Publift

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