New York – June 15th, 2020— Media.net, a leading contextual advertising company, today announced that it has joined IAB Tech Lab’s Board of Directors, with Karan Dalal, SVP Business Operations at Media.net, appointed to the board. As a board member, Media.net will play a key role in guiding Tech Lab’s work in support of contextual advertising and cookie-less identity standards, transparency and brand safety, among other initiatives.

“From COVID-19 to the phasing out of third-party cookies, the industry is entering a time of transition where collaboration, education and innovation are of the utmost importance,” said Vaibhav Arya, CEO, Media.net. “With our joining of IAB Tech Lab’s board, we look forward to being a key partner, working collaboratively to build a more privacy-friendly and effective advertising and media ecosystem for publishers, platforms and advertisers alike.”

IAB Tech Lab is a non-profit consortium that works with the industry at large to develop guidelines, write specs, develop foundational technology, and provide services in an effort to bring alignment and standardization to help the industry grow. It’s governed by an independent Board of Directors, which oversees its agenda.

“It’s an honor to join IAB Tech Lab’s Board of Directors,” said Dalal. “I’ve spent a decade at Media.net, collaborating with publishers, platforms and advertisers to navigate an ever-changing ecosystem. Media.net and our partners see contextual targeting as a powerful constant in these changing times. As the industry develops new, privacy-first identity solutions that deliver on marketing goals, but don't rely on the cookie, it’s vital to collaborate closely with technology leaders across advertising. I’m excited to join the Tech Lab board at such an important time, helping shape the agenda, guidance and technology that will enable this next evolution.”

Media.net has been a longtime supporter of IAB. At IAB’s 2019 Annual Leadership Meeting (ALM), Media.net introduced The Media.net Programmatic Platform, which embraces IAB Content Taxonomy 2.0 and OpenRTB 3.0. In 2019, Media.net sponsored Tech Lab’s first independent conference and donated code for the OpenRTB versioning converter and ads.cert verification tool, extending IAB’s efforts in these areas.

Media.net has also sponsored the IAB’s flagship Annual Leadership Meeting for four consecutive years. At IAB ALM 2020, Media.net hosted a Town Hall, “Making Content King Again: Contextual Data in a World Without Cookies,” examining the value of contextual data and advertising in a cookie-less world.

Consumers are increasingly concerned about their privacy online, heightening scrutiny of traditional cookie-based advertising. As a result, a growing number of regulations have emerged to blunt cookie-tracking. Additionally, browser companies, like Google, Apple and Mozilla, have revised their privacy policies and updated their technology to phase out support of third-party cookies. These changes are having a major impact on advertisers and publishers, who’ve long relied on cookies for ad targeting, segmentation and personalization.

With identity resolution evolving, privacy-friendly targeting methods that deliver on marketing goals without cookies are more valuable than ever. Contextual targeting, for example, has been a core component in every medium, from print to television to digital. In the online environment, contextual ads do not rely on cookies, appearing alongside relevant content. They are driven by the context of a page, not just the data profile of an audience. For example, if a user reads an article on health and wellness, they might receive a fitness brand ad.

“Contextual makes it possible for advertisers to engage audiences at the exact right moment, while they’re in a certain state of mind,” added Arya. “Meanwhile, publishers benefit because their content is monetized with the most relevant advertisers, boosting overall campaign performance and improving the end-user experience. Combining the power of contextual advertising with the industry’s efforts towards privacy-friendly identity and addressability will give advertisers a truly comprehensive toolkit to engage consumers online.”

“The industry relies on Tech Lab and its members to develop globally useful standards and solutions that support trustworthy and efficient marketing across platforms and devices,” said Dennis Buchheim, President, IAB Tech Lab. “With data privacy and transparency top-of-mind, our guidance and technology in these areas have become even more important. Media.net’s technology-first approach to problem solving and their strong ties to India and the broader global marketplace make them a great contributor to Tech Lab, and we’re excited to add Media.net and Karan Dalal to our board.”