Twitter Accedes To MRC Audit; Trade Groups Unite On 'Supply Chain Trust'

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.

Bird’s-Eye View

Twitter is in the early stages of a Media Rating Council audit of its measurement metrics, following in the footsteps of Facebook and Google. A “pre-assessment” phase this quarter will allow independent CPA auditors to review Twitter’s compliance. A full-blown audit will follow, with a deep dive into Twitter’s third-party measurement API connections and its self-reporting on metrics like viewable video impressions, tweet sessions and video sessions. Twitter defines a video view as 50% of pixels being in view for at least three seconds, which is one second longer than the industry standard. More at Broadcasting & Cable. With Twitter teed up, which platform will be next? In a previous interview, George Ivie, CEO and executive director of the MRC, told AdExchanger the council is “in discussions” with Snapchat, Pinterest, Amazon, LinkedIn and Foursquare.

Moar Transparency

In other Twitter news, the company is trying to get out in front on the political ad transparency issue that’s roiling DC and Silicon Valley. Ahead of its congressional testimony next week, Twitter has signaled plans for an “Advertising Transparency Center,” which will “offer everyone visibility into who is advertising on Twitter, details behind those ads, and tools to share your feedback with us,” according to a blog post. Additionally, Twitter will give political ads a special label and will require “electioneering advertisers identify their campaigns as such.” Read on.

Tricks Of The Trades

The IAB published a note hailing its new “IAB Gold Standard,” a brand-safety and fraud standard supported by the IAB, IAB UK and the Coalition for Better Ads. Read the release. The IAB is “confident that a similar model, in combination with guidance and programs established by the U.S. Media Rating Council (MRC) and Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), will soon enable new uniform brand safety guidelines worldwide.” Though it was a mere fortnight ago that the IAB, 4As and ANA pressured the Coalition for Better Ads to revise its own framework. Read that letter. The problem seems to be that various industry stakeholders have no problem coming to the table and agreeing on shared concerns (“ad fraud is bad”), but struggle on the nitty-gritty details because cross-industry incentives aren’t actually aligned.

Persado Purse Strings

Unlike large marketing clouds that fuse artificial intelligence into a bunch of different applications, Persado claims it has “purpose-built” AI. The company just closed up to $30 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank, pitching its ability to personalize marketing campaign copy to brands via a self-serve platform. Persado, which has raised $66 million, is close to profitability and now works with 300 brands, with 80% of its business coming from North America. “Our goal is to surface AI-generated language that creates the most engagement with any audience segment or individual,” says CEO Alex Vratskides. Read the release.

But Wait, There’s More!