Adjacency Standards Framework

FORMAT		ADJACENCY STANDARD	MINIMUM ADJACENCY UNIT	NOTES
Feed	This covers content (text, video, image, audio) that is featured in a newsfeed or timeline environment irrespective of the screen being mobile or computer.	Spatial	+/- 1	Adjacency controls should apply to individual and group feed and timeline (e.g., lists and groups that are public and/or private) Comments on videos are not a focus for suitability controls – but platform must be able to uphold Floor on videos
Stories	This covers sequenced content from a single creator in a carousel environment, where ads may appear within or between such segments.	Spatial	+/- 1	Comments on stories are not a focus for suitability controls – but platform must be able to uphold Floor on videos
Video: In-stream	This is prerecorded video content that is uploaded to a website or platform that features ads before, in between or after specified video content.	Temporal	+/- 0 Directly Adjacent	Adjacency solutions and controls should apply to Pre/Mid/Post and Parallel ad units Comments on videos are not a focus for suitability controls – but platform must be able to uphold Floor on videos
Audio: In-stream	This is pre-recorded audio content that is uploaded to a website or platform that features ads before, in between or after specified video content.	Temporal	+/- n Same as ad unit length (n = ad length)	Adjacency controls should apply to Pre/Mid/Post and Parallel ad units Comments on content are not a focus for suitability controls – but platform must be able to uphold Floor on audio content

Some key terms and notes on this framework:

• FORMATS COVERED: The formats identified and included here are based on current media format availabilities and investment levels: Feed, Stories, Video In-Stream, Audio In-Stream
  • NOTE: Livestream Audio and Livestream video are currently omitted from the current version of the framework. The Working Group will require further exploration into the technical and operational complexities of this format, given high-profile incidents, before developing formalized adjacency standards in a future update. This update will address how the Safety Floor is upheld and the technical implementation of the Suitability Framework.
• STANDARD: Denotes how ad adjacency is evaluated within respective Format environments, and at current is based on “spatial” evaluation (e.g. units of space between ad and content on a screen) or temporal evaluation (e.g. units of sequence in which ads and content appear on-screen)”
• ADJACENCY UNIT: This is the actual “unit of measurement” proposed to identify what content should be evaluated and categorized based relation to an ad’s placement. This is treated an industry standard and a minimum upon which providers and platforms can provide additional spacing/separation should they need to.

CONTEXT FOR THIS SOLUTION

Before its dissolution, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) created the Adjacency Standards Framework as a way to standardize the industry definition of the concept of adjacency across a variety of content/ad unit combinations that appear on platforms and the open web. The Adjacency Standards Framework is designed to serve as a companion to the Brand Safety Floor + Suitability Framework, providing advertising industry participants with a common structure for evaluating the brand safety and suitability of an ad placement relative to an ad’s position to nearby content (i.e. "adjacency”) within specific media formats. The Adjacency Standards Framework works within the confines of the Suitability Framework,  where sensitive content may be supported by advertising.

The intention being that greater transparency and common frameworks allow for advertising buyers to support content more aligned with corporate, brand and campaign beliefs via paid media insertion.

The framework was developed by a dedicated Working Group consisting of advertisers, media agencies, media platforms, and industry associations. The standards are informed by a research process that considered studies spanning both observed and claimed consumer research provided by Edelman, BMW/Cheq, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Meta, Twitter, TikTok, and OMG. Additionally, as part of the working group process, GARM commissioned dedicated community-focused research around advertiser and media agency needs relative to adjacency controls.

GOALS FOR SOLUTION

This shared framework will provide users with:

Consistent Units of Measure: Ensuring that there’s a common approach to evaluating an ad placement’s position relative to content above the floor within the Suitability Framework categories

Standardized Expectations on Ad Placements: Creating industry-standard, format-centric specifications to inform the development of relevant ad solutions across media environments

Improved Transparency: Establishing a deeper framework by which to report accuracy of ad placements for advertiser, agency, platform and ad tech solutions providers

HOW THIS SOLUTION WILL BE USED

• Ad buyers may request that platforms employ this adjacency standards framework as a minimum for placement, and a starting point for post-campaign measurement
• Platforms and ad tech providers will adopt and operationalize these standards through practices and solutions as they become available
• Industry auditing bodies like the MRC may incorporate adjacency standards into existing accreditation processes where appropriate
• Verification vendors may integrate Adjacency Standards into existing post-campaign verification services
• These standards may be utilized in solutions by platforms (first party tools) and via independent providers who have integrations with media platforms and publishers (third party tools).