When BPA Worldwide entered the Middle East marketplace in 2008, it was the only organisation in the Middle East to provide publishers with the assurance of independent, third-party audits of media. The BPA audit, which assures advertisers that a specific audience or market will be delivered, remains the global standard for buying any form of marketing media.
Ten years later, BPA has expanded its third-party assurance services into digital media, offline sales, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and advertising technology certification as it partners with its members to provide ongoing support.
We caught up with BPA President and CEO, Glenn Hansen, to learn about some of the new and updated products and services available to Middle East publishers and advertisers.
What is BPA doing to support its members within the ever-changing digital media marketplace?
We understand that it’s not easy for publishers to stay ahead of the curve in the digital landscape, and we are offering our media members access to tools and information to help them do just that.
BPA launched the B2B Business Exchange, a member-based platform to activate digital media programs last year, and we continue to make significant improvements to meet the continually evolving requirements in digital media. It was originally launched with a focus on B2B brands, but we quickly realised that, regardless of where they work, people are ultimately consumers and therefore the Media Exchange is really agnostic since users can be advertised to regardless of the type of site they are visiting. B2B is really B2H, Business to Human.
While programmatic-direct sales are still at an early stage for some categories, advertiser adoption is accelerating and expected to dominate display within the next few years. Audience buying already far exceeds traditional site placements and that’s good news for publishers with important, high-value professionals.
Our mission is to provide marketers and publishers a verified brand-safe and transparent environment for digital commerce. We are doing just that with the Media Exchange.
While the Media Exchange focuses on digital ad sales, what is BPA doing to enhance publishers’ offline ad efforts?
We have aligned with Adwanted.com to provide our media members automated access to offline media buying, including print, e-newsletters, events, directory placements.
The Adwanted.com platform allows publishers and media buyers to efficiently transact in a completely transparent marketplace. Data sources on the platform include pricing/rate cards, marketing insights and circulation information in the form of audit statements. The platform handles the entire process from media selection and agreeing to terms and conditions, to issuing insertion orders.
How does Adwanted.com work?
BPA will offer a “Buy Now” link to our publisher members and will be featured on the BPA website in the User Tools section in three different places (Reports Library, Brand Compare Tool, and the Audited Site Tool). This “Buy Now” link will send buyers directly to a publisher’s private marketplace on Adwanted.com, where the buyer can register for free and begin transacting.
Speaking of the print medium, can Middle East publishers report anything else on their BPA reports beside magazine circulation?
BPA’s media members have developed unique and innovative methods to present audience engagement to agencies and marketers. We encourage our publisher members to be as creative as they can when showcasing all of their audience data on the BPA Brand Report.
For example, PORTER, a UK-based consumer magazine, became the first when it showcased its “High Net Worth” subscribers – those people who spent £7,500 in a single year on its shopping site – or spent more than £1,000 on their first purchase.
In another first, PORTER reported the “Shoppability” of its brand by showcasing the number of digital pages viewed by the subscriber, as well as their interactions/clicks with the products shown.
The sky is really the limit when it comes to what can be reported. Today, in addition to print and digital, our publisher members are reporting audience data for apps, events and conferences, e-newsletters, webinars, podcasts and social media. In short, if it can be proven through the audit, it can be reported.
Is BPA providing assurance services only to the media industry?
No! We recognised the need for independent verification in the ad technology industry that has seen a number of standards pop up. While a number of these guidelines allow “self-reporting,” we promote the fact that these organisations should not be “grading their own homework” and should adopt independent verification of their compliance – and we have seen the needle really start to move in that regard.
A few of our Technology Assurance clients include: Adobe, AppNexus, Google, Microsoft, OpenX, Publishers Clearing House, Sovrn and more.
Does BPA offer independent verification to any other industry?
Our iCompli Sustainability division provides external assurance of government and industry standards and independent verification of companies’ sustainability claims. We provide a research-driven systems approach to help organisations make defensible decisions about their sustainability initiatives, which can help them more competitive in the marketplace. We offer diagnostic and assessment services, data verification and report assurance, and third-party certification to industry sustainability standards.
iCompli Sustainability certifies the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers based on the Singapore Tourism Board’s Sustainability Guidelines for the Singapore MICE Industry to benefit the sales, operations and marketing of sustainable meetings and events.
We are currently working in the region to develop similar guidelines for the hospitality and events industries. Stay tuned for more news on this exciting development.
In conclusion, I’d say it’s clear that BPA Worldwide is growing our services in parallel with the needs of our members. As the marketplace is changing, so has our organisation. We no longer see ourselves in the audit business, but rather in the trust, transparency and trust business. In any industry, trust can be undermined by factors such as unsupportable claims, failure to protect confidential customer data, keeping company with lesser brands or letting the brand be seen in offensive, off-brand or dishonest content. As a leading provider of compliance and assurance services, BPA protects brands from those dangers. Reducing brand risk is a competitive advantage. It’s a brand solution and a business solution.
