By Rich Murphy
September feels like the unofficial restart to the business year. With summer behind us and packed business calendars until December, I’ve been reflecting on how much the industry has already progressed this year. AI adoption is accelerating across all facets of media and advertising, from content creation to marketing to media planning. At the same time, buyers are looking for more quality, control and outcomes. There’s an interesting trend emerging that as more “AI slop” floods the market, there is a need for more authenticity and quality, especially when backed with independent verification and certification. These are all driving forces behind AAM’s mission to foster a media ecosystem built on transparency and trust.
To further this mission, I’m excited to announce that longtime industry leader Scott Cunningham has joined AAM as Fractional Chief Product Officer. Scott brings decades of experience spanning media, advertising technology and product development. His previous work includes founding the IAB Tech Lab, overseeing the creation and program development at the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), President of MediaNews Group Interactive and 10 years with Gannett and USATODAY.com. Scott currently is leading the NewsNext and NewsPassID initiatives at the Local Media Consortium, he’s Chair of the Publisher Council at Brand Safety Institute, the Programmatic Transparency Instructor for the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) on responsible media investment and author of a number of marketplace research insights including the 2024 U.S. Fraud Savings report commissioned by TAG, the IAB, 4A’s and the ANA.
Scott’s deep knowledge of the advertising and media ecosystem will help grow our assurance solutions, evolve AAM data and shape the next generation of assurance for quality media and advertising to thrive.
Here’s a recap of AAM client achievements this year that set the stage to advance these efforts in the coming months.
Growing Assurance Solutions
AAM is committed to working with our members and the industry on assurance programs to increase transparency in emerging areas and technologies.
One of the most exciting new programs is AAM’s Ethical AI Certification. Integral Ad Science (IAS) recently became the first company to achieve this certification, which is based on AAM’s Ethical AI Framework for the media and advertising industry. Kevin Alvero, IAS’s chief compliance officer, explained why the company became certified:
“It’s one thing for us to say our business practices are sound. It’s another to have third-party industry experts confirm that. AAM’s certification gives us credibility and creates the highest level of confidence in our products.”
AAM provides independent audits for many other industry certification programs including the IAB Tech Lab’s Podcast Measurement Compliance Program, where we verify nearly all leading podcast platforms, and UFI – The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry to certify events like CES® 2025.
Championing AAM Members by Improving Data Access and Visibility
As buyers are looking to connect with more quality, authentic media, we are working on new ways to help audited publishers stand out in the marketplace. We created nearly 500 new AAM brand profiles this year, giving publishers an engaging way to showcase their total audience reach.
AAM’s Enterprise Audit will also continue to roll out this year. This is a new solution that verifies publishers at the corporate level, providing verification for all brands within a publisher’s portfolio and making it easier for publishers to include more titles and data in AAM’s Media Intelligence Center.
We’re also highlighting member and industry voices. In recent interviews, Megha Garibaldi of The Atlantic and John Mansavage of Hoard’s Dairyman shared how data, trust and transparency fuel sustainable media strategies. Jacob Cohen Donnelly, founder of A Media Operator, recently spoke to AAM about the challenges and opportunities facing today’s media landscape. One comment that especially resonated was, “The media industry’s best days are ahead of it, not behind it.”
Many of the new initiatives in development are thanks to collaboration with our members, partners and leading industry organizations. If you support this mission, I invite you to please get involved — join a working group, provide feedback or share your story through our Media Mavens interview series. Together, we can elevate our industry and ensure a stronger, more transparent future for all.
