The UK’s Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB UK) has today (March 12) launched a refreshed brand identity to reflect its intentions of becoming “more assertive in the industry”.

Alongside the new livery – which aligns the UK trade body’s brand more closely with its rest-of-world counterparts – the IAB UK has launched a new website, designed to improve access to “key information”.

That includes a restructuring of the site’s banks of content – which will now be categorised under topics such as ‘GDPR’, rather than by product – new search functionality and a bigger emphasis on video.

On the new look, the IAB UK’s chief marketing officer, James Chandler, said the branding represents the “next chapter” of the trade body which turns 21 this year; “Digital advertising has matured and so have we,” said Chandler; “Our refreshed branding visually represents the evolution of our voice as we become more assertive within the industry.”

Leading the industry

At the end of last year, the IAB UK’s CEO Jon Mew outlined the group’s objective to lead the advertising industry in the UK and focus on its long-term sustainability, with digital now the majority of ad spend – adding that the “spotlight is on us”.

In January 2017, the IAB UK introduced a Gold Standard certification in active efforts to reduce ad fraud, improve the online ad experience and increase brand safety across the industry, and has both led and participated in a number of new ad standard guidelines and certifications. 

Relaunching with “more assertive” intentions, the group has the difficult but necessary task now of establishing itself as an authority among an industry in disarray, with concerns remaining around ad fraud and brand safety, affiliate payments and attribution, as well as mounting confusion surrounding GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

PerformanceIN is a media partner of the IAB UK’s Performance Marketing Trends Seminar on March 28. Look out for live streams and coverage from the event on PerformanceIN and our Facebook page.