Vote: Industry reveals 10 solutions to transparency crisis - now have your say

Update: The votes are in, check out the final results here.

The industry will thrash out 10 solutions to the transparency crisis in a public debate at tomorrow’s half-day AdNews Live! Tackling Transparency event. Be part of the debate and vote on the most feasible and workable solutions.

AdNews asked the speakers at tomorrow's AdNews Live! Tackling Transparency forum to each submit a workable solution that helps address the transparency crisis.

We're now able to reveal the 10 solutions that will be debated at the event tomorrow and voted on.

The debate is designed to move the conversation forward and lay the groundwork for a more transparent industry - both in the digital advertising realm, and in the relationships between agencies and their clients.

Participants and attendees at tomorrow’s event will vote yes/no to the 10 solutions up for debate. See the programme here.

There are a handful of tickets left  so you can still come along. 

NAB CMO Andrew Knott, who recently outlined a major push for transparency, is the keynote speaker.

For those unable to attend, AdNews is extending the opportunity to vote by opening a survey online here. Take the survey and vote here or below.

Here is the list of the 10 solutions, with a brief explainer. We urge you to get involved, and have your say.

1. Media owners to align with agencies on digital media currency definitions, and agree to third-party billable events based on them.

   (The technology exists that can both enable and independently verify digital media processes. The industry needs to agree upon simple marketing metrics that make sense to everyone and allow for an independent auditing process against which any buyers of any digital advertising can easily purchase with genuine confidence.)

   2. A scorecard for media owners, based on ad clutter, viewability, ad fraud, content and time spent.

   (Publishers/media owners to be rated according to their digital offering based on the benchmarks listed above.)

   3. Trade on one definition of viewability, and one industry-wide viewability currency.

   (The trading of advertising and payment against an agreed minimum viewability standards as defined by one endorsed independent vendor.)

   4. Blockchain technology for digital advertising.

   (The use of blockchain technology to underpin the entire digital ecosystem, and when that ecosystem is used, by client, agency or consumer, an automatic record is kept on an open, public ledger. Sounds far-fetched, however, it is getting traction in the States already.

   5. Push-back on global media commission rates.

   (Sometimes global media commissions are not sustainable in domestic markets and can drive non-transparent behaviour, particularly if staff costs are high. Should local clients push back on global media deals that aren’t sustainable at a local level?)

   6. Outlaw agency incentives.

   (Should incentives like commissions, one-off payments, volume-based payments or any rebates/spend incentives from media vendors to media agencies or advertisers be made illegal?)

   7. Set industry transparency benchmarks.

   (Should there be a legal requirement for media agency incentives to be fully transparent and disclosed? This includes things like programmatic – if a media buyer is also a seller of media inventory do they have to declare their margins? Discounts – should discounts or free media inventories be passed on to clients?)

   8. An industry standard on cost.

   (Should industry standards on cost (staff billable hours, rate card guidelines, etc) become a baseline for pitching process negotiations to ensure clients are aware of sustainable levels of media agency remuneration?)

   9. A best-practice agency-client remuneration model.

   (How agencies are being remunerated can lead to non-transparent practices. Is there a remuneration model or mix that encourages more transparent in media buying practices? Is it possible to come up with a best practice model or is this not viable in reality?)

   10. Enforce an industry-wide master media contract as a baseline. Update it annually to future proof it.

   (Should there be an annual client/agency AANA master contract update that is adopted industry-wide?)

   Vote here. AdNews will report back in coming days with the findings.

   Alternatively, make space in your diary tomorrow morning, and attend.

Email Nicola at nicolariches@yaffa.com.au.