• ACA encourages its members to buy digital media exclusively from publishers using Ads.txt protocol
  • Ads.txt protocol combats invalid traffic and improves transaction transparency in the digital media supply chain

Toronto, August 13, 2018: Marketers have long understood the challenges of the digital media supply chain and have encouraged partners to develop solutions that combat invalid traffic and improve transaction transparency. The Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA); on advice from our technical advisory committee, vetted by our digital committee and approved by our board of directors, encourages members to incorporate the use of the Ads.txt protocol into their digital media buying processes.

The ACA believes that Ads.txt provides significant protection to advertisers’ digital media investments against fraud and is well-supported by the industry. As such, we are giving advance notice that on Oct 1, 2018, we will recommend to our members to only buy digital media from publishers that have posted a working and correct Ads.txt file.

Our position is limited to the desktop (video and display) environment while the similar mobile solution is developed and tested. We welcome future development that builds on the Ads.txt format such as Ads.cert within the Open RTB 3.0 protocol.

We encourage media buyers to use industry solutions to verify the media obtained from publishers comes through the publisher’s authorized sellers. Advertisers are encouraged to use contractual arrangements to deal with non-compliant buys or misrepresented inventory with their media buying contractors.

For more information on Ads.txt, please contact Chris Williams, VP Digital, ACA at / 416-964-3805 ext. 1002.