Our world is changing, and from climate to AI, the pace is fast. We see evidence first-hand, such as this summer’s heatwaves and wildfires across Europe. But amid scepticism, denial and obfuscation, there’s great value in impartial information we can rely on. For example, the State of the UK Climate report, published by the Royal Meteorological Society, states that 2025 was the warmest year in the UK series from 1884, with the last four years all in the top five warmest. It’s a trusted and compelling source.
There are parallels with climate change in our own industry. The advent of the internet brought a dramatic shift, although it took time for people to fully appreciate its significance and implications. Few would deny that change is accelerating further with rapid developments in AI reshaping how content is created and found.
AI is a complex issue. It provides opportunity whilst generating uncertainty, and the required physical infrastructure brings challenges regarding energy, water and mineral extraction. It has amazing capabilities for us to explore, but has quickly impacted publisher revenues from search. Bad actors have also seized on it to increase the volume and sophistication of their scams. It feels like we’re scrambling to keep up.
A virtuous circle
Change always brings uncertainty, but dealing with it is easier when we have touchstones we can rely on. Here, two stand out for me – the value of trust and that, ultimately, quality will out. In fact, the two combined form a virtuous circle.
In media, we’re operating in a time of abundance: of data, ad inventory, delivery channels and, of course, content. This was not always the case. But the twin assets of trust and quality become more important, not less, as media becomes more complex.
This applies whether were talking about content or advertising. Indeed, the Advertising Association, having tracked trust in advertising for some time, recently launched their new Trust Action Plan, reiterating its importance.
Hard won but easily eroded, trust oils wheels in all walks of life. A few years ago, I had a crack at swimming the channel (spoiler: didn’t quite make it, but what an experience). Every swimmer relies on a pilot; you absolutely place your trust in them. But how to find one? You do so through organisations such as the Channel Swimming & Piloting Association, and the qualifications that signal they have the required training, experience and equipment. Trying to find a pilot any other way would be fraught with risk.
In media, trust helps us choose too. Which data to rely on, where to place ads and the content we give our attention to. To borrow a phrase from the IPA, it’s a signal in the noise.
This year’s ‘Signals in the Noise 2’ paper called on JICS to make their data work harder for the data analytics community. It also reminded us why joint-industry measurement was created in the first place. The consistent, transparent methodologies JICS facilitate for the industry are a great example of collaboration delivering trusted tools that make planning and trading easier.
Trust, or a lack of it, was the reason ABC was founded at the behest of ISBA, and it remains firmly at the core of what we do. Our origins were in publishing measurement, but our underlying purpose has always been broader: helping the industry trade with confidence.
As the market has evolved, so has the way that purpose is delivered. Whether it’s census data compiled in accordance with our own standards, or providing independent verification for other organisations’ codes, the ABC badge signals trust.
Quality journalism and content is also increasingly valuable in a time of abundant mis and dis-information. As content has become easier to create, attention is harder to gain. Those delivering quality need to be appropriately recognised and rewarded, for everyone’s long-term benefit.
That capacity to deliver high-quality, trusted content and advertising relies on talent. Last year, I had the good fortune of speaking to a class of journalism students at the Sciences Po university in Paris. The topic was measurement, possibly not the most exciting on their timetable that week, but to see first-hand how engaged and enthused they were by their studies was a great cause for optimism. They deserve a thriving, well-regarded industry to join.
Government has a part to play too, particularly on issues such as the vital role trusted journalism has in society and how publishers’ IP is protected to help ensure they’re appropriately rewarded for that work. These challenges are well documented and it’s encouraging to see policymakers taking them seriously. Our new prime minister has experience of serving as secretary of state for culture, media and sport, but policy can rarely move at the pace of technology.
Adapting to a changing market
The good news is that, in the interim, businesses and individuals don’t stand still. They continue to adapt, taking practical steps to make progress.
We see the value of collaboration in initiatives such as the SPUR coalition coming together to protect publisher IP and find sustainable ways to work with AI developers. Atria is another recent example, simplifying programmatic access to the high-quality magazine media environments their publishers provide, as Ozone does for many news brands. Our industry is also leaning into the climate challenge through welcome initiatives such as Ad Net Zero to help companies embed sustainability effectively.
These are examples of our industry’s tremendous capacity to adapt.
Like the businesses we work with, ABC evolves too. ABC carried out its first web-traffic audit in 1997, a year before Google was founded and long before it became a verb. This was followed by certifying digital copies, the first brand safety audit and verifying IPTV data for Barb, to name just a few developments.
More recently, we’ve streamlined all our reporting standards to reflect the current media landscape and the publishing industry’s digital transformation. Publishers can use our standards to demonstrate the full range of their multi-channel activities.
Through our assurance work, we’re helping to bring greater consistency, transparency and confidence to measurement in commerce media by carrying out certifications against the relevant IAB EU standards. Data privacy, sustainability and the ethical use of AI are also on the agenda.
For our part on the climate front, we’ve joined the SME Climate Hub, aligning us with the United Nations Race to Zero campaign. Our greenhouse gas emissions are modest in the scheme of things but our reporting was independently verified, giving us confidence in the evidence base against which we’ll measure future progress.
The point isn’t simply that ABC now does different things. It’s that the principle which led to our creation – providing trusted evidence that helps markets trade – is relevant in more places, not fewer.
The value of accreditation
Building trust takes time and care. Constructed layer by layer, through a multitude of actions. There are no simple shortcuts, but one way to help is through appropriate accreditations.
In every industry, accreditations are a strong signal of trust. From the British Standards kitemark, to food hygiene ratings in restaurants (or even finding a pilot to help you swim the channel), there are indicators that a product, service or organisation can be trusted.
Frequently, the most powerful accreditations are backed by independent verification. Being audited isn’t a one-stop shop that alone can deliver trust for you, but it accelerates the process and saves time.
But who wants to be audited? It sounds uncomfortable.
Reframe it though, from ‘someone checking up on us’ to ‘someone helping us demonstrate our credentials’ and it looks very different. It’s a way to build confidence more quickly without having to explain your credentials over and over again to everyone you deal with.
Standards are a necessity and especially valuable when organisations can demonstrate they meet them. Independent verification turns a claim into something others can place greater confidence in.
The right signals
Our industry isn’t short of challenges, but we’ve seen time and again that it can rise to them. Progress can be hard won and it’s frustrating when the same rules don’t apply to everyone, but we should avoid the lowest common denominator and hold to higher standards.
This means continuing to value trusted publisher environments. It means recognising the difference between an assertion and independently verified evidence. And it means ensuring that standards evolve as new markets and technologies emerge.
Industry collaboration matters more than ever and if trading is data driven, we should expect that data to be transparent, comparable and independently verified.
For me, these principles are straightforward.
Trust matters. Quality matters. Independent verification helps build them.
And in a world of ever more noise, we need to ensure the right signals are not only present, but easy to recognise and appropriately rewarded.
This article was first published in InPublishing magazine. If you would like to be added to the free mailing list to receive the magazine, please register here.
