News

OAAA joins broader industry in addressing new, emerging ad technologies, practices

August 3, 2016

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America, a trade association for the out of home advertising industry, announced it has joined the broader industry in addressing new, emerging ad technologies and practices through the Digital Advertising Alliance, a self-regulatory organization that implements and enforces cross-industry principles around the collection and use of data for interest-based advertising.

This step is intended to help inform future OAAA work and guide its members' privacy efforts in the quickly evolving use of ad technology for OOH advertising, according to a press release from the OAAA.

By joining the DAA, OAAA says it is demonstrating its support for the responsible collection and use of data for advertising, including the principles of transparency and consumer control. OAAA members do not generally engage in the collection of such data themselves, but some OOH advertising companies are using aggregated data from mobile technology providers to help advertisers better match their messages to the appropriate audiences, the release said.

"OOH advertisers support the responsible collection and use of data by our partners for advertising purposes, and joining the DAA allows us to show our strong support for the DAA's principles of transparency and control for consumers," said Nancy Fletcher, president and CEO of OAAA. "Building on OAAA's 125-year experience in setting responsible advertising practices, our membership in the DAA will help the OOH advertising industry work with our data partners to address new and emerging technologies, while advancing responsible data practices that respect consumer privacy."

Among other privacy friendly elements, the DAA Principles require that consumers grant permission through mobile devices in response to notice about the collection of precise location data for advertising, the release said. Consumers also may withdraw their consent.

OAAA also announced two other actions:

• The creation of an industry task force focused on privacy issues that brings together a notable cross-section of industry leaders to address those issues, including, Mark Costa of JC Decaux, Allison Hoffman of Intersection, Tracy Lecher of OUTFRONT Media, Bryan Parker of Clear Channel Outdoor and Bill Ripp of Lamar Advertising Company.
• An updated Code of Industry Principles to state: "We encourage member companies to work with suppliers that provide appropriate notice and control for the collection of precise location data from mobile phone devices used for advertising purposes."

The DAA has released guidance for the application of its self-regulatory principles in the mobile environment. OAAA strongly encourages all of its data partners to follow that guidance, which is independently enforced by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and Direct Marketing Association for DAA participants and non-participants alike, according to the release.