In July 2021, IAB Europe released its 'Guide to Contextual Advertising' to provide further education on alternatives to third-party cookies and to help planners and buyers of media navigate this solution.

This guide has been developed by experts from IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee. It offers a definitive round-up of what contextual advertising is, and the opportunities it provides in Europe, particularly in a post-third party cookie world. It also offers key considerations and best practices. In doing so, it ensures that buyers of media have the necessary tools and knowledge to implement effective contextual advertising campaigns.

Contextual advertising has always been a fundamental part of the marketing mix, but advancements in technology and a shift towards privacy-focused solutions, accelerated by the end of third-party cookies, have brought contextual advertising back into focus. As such, the Guide to Contextual Advertising serves as an exclusive resource and key tool to help tap into the opportunity that Contextual Advertising offers. 

It has been a collaborative effort to produce this European-level industry guide for contextual advertising, with contributors including Bloomberg, CNN, Comscore, DoubleVerify, IAS, Magnite, PubMatic, Rakuten Advertising, Triton Digital, and Xandr.

A big thank you to the following contributors:

• Simon Baker, Head of Programmatic, Bloomberg
• Jessica Trainor, Vice President, Ad Platform Partnerships, Comscore
• Angela Rodriguez, Vice President Activation, Comscore
• Benjamin Hancock, Head of Programmatic Trading, CNN International 
• Wayne Tassie, Senior Director, Programmatic EMEA, DoubleVerify 
• David Goddard, Senior Director, Business Development, DoubleVerify
• Alexandre Nderagakura, Technical Director, IAB Europe
• Nick Welch, Programmatic Director, Northern Europe, IAS
• Livia Shlesman, Senior Marketing Manager, IAS
• Garrett McGrath, Vice-President, Product Management, Magnite 
• Maria Shcheglakova, EMEA Marketing Director, PubMatic
• Fiona Ellis-Smith, Associate Director, Advertising Solutions, PubMatic
• Bart Sieswerda, Director, Business Development, Nordics & Benelux, Rakuten Advertising  
• Giovina Di Tonno, Director, Business Development, Italy & Spain, Rakuten Advertising
• Jean-Pierre Castro, Programmatic Specialist, Triton Digital 
• Gabrielle Le Toux, Senior Marketing Manager, Xandr