We reported on P&G’s comments about the digital ad industry, and how it is failing to provide the level of service, transparency, and other things that brands want. Since P&G is the world’s largest ad buyer, it is no surprise that their comments have gotten a lot of attention. Whether P&G will actually end or even cut back digital advertising if ad networks don’t step up their game will is unknown, but it seems many of the major ad providers are working toward meeting the demands of the pharmaceutical giant.
Specifically, P&G has said that they would like digital media partners to go through an accreditation process with a third party accounting firm that is approved by the Media Rating Council. This is nothing new, desire for this type of accreditation has been something brands have wanted for quite some time. With P&G making the push, however, it is getting a lot of new attention.
Major ad providers such as Snapchat, Pinterest, Facebook, Google, and Twitter are all looking into the MRC accreditation, but so far Google has begun the audit process to get approved and Facebook is moving forward with taking the first step toward the process. This audit process can take months in some cases, and if there are any issues found, the company will have to fix them and begin the audits over again.
George Ivie, the CEO of MRC, commented on the audit process saying, “It’s hard for me to say when anyone will or will not receive accreditation. What’s easier to say is we would be able to complete an audit. I can say right now with a pretty high degree of confidence that we’ll be able to complete a Google audit [in time for P&G’s deadline] because Google is proceeding on all fronts.”
If Google and Facebook can’t get approved in time (by year end) and P&G actually pulls their millions in digital advertising, it could cause a lot of trouble for many people. Google’s AdSense network, for example, generates money for millions of people, who could have some negative impact if P&G drops their ads from this system.
