Tokyo, November 1, 2021 --- D.A.Consortium Inc. (DAC) and Torchlight Inc. (Torchlight) are pleased to announce that JICDAQ (the Japan Joint Industry Committee for Digital Advertising Quality & Qualify) has certified them for brand safety(*1) and ad fraud(*2) countermeasures based on JICDAQ certification criteria and third-party verification by the Japan Audit Bureau of Circulations (Japan ABC).

JICDAQ is a certifying organization that promotes initiatives related to digital advertising quality for the healthy development of the digital advertising market. It was established in March 2021 by three advertising-related organizations, the Japan Advertisers Association (JAA), the Japan Advertising Agencies Association (JAAA) and Japan Interactive Advertising Association (JIAA). JICDAQ certifies digital advertising quality based on “ensuring brand safety according to the quality of advertising destinations” (removing obviously illegal or invalid advertising destinations) and “eliminating invalid traffic, including ad fraud” (eliminating ad deliveries that do not reach people) to verify the effectiveness of business processes. JICDAQ has begun disclosing the names of companies that have fulfilled certain criteria since November.

DAC has long been involved in initiatives related to brand safety and ad fraud to ensure advertising quality for the entire DAC Group(*3). DAC obtained JICDAQ certification in recognition of these efforts.

■Policies regarding digital advertising quality

- DAC : Ad Quality Assurance - https://www.dac.co.jp/english/utility/ad-quality
- Torchlight : Ad Quality Assurance -https://torchlight.co.jp/bs_ivt-policy/(Japanese)

As companies that promote digital advertising and marketing, DAC and Torchlight are committed to working together with all other DAC Group companies to enhance digital advertising quality for safer and more reliable advertising transactions.

（*1）Maintaining the safety of an advertiser’s brand by ensuring the quality of where the ad is placed.
（*2）Detecting traffic that should not be included in measuring ad effectiveness and eliminating such traffic in metrics, such as impressions, clicks and other ad post-delivery performance reporting.
（*3）News release of September 10, 2019：In a first for a Japanese operator, DAC and P1 support IAB Tech Lab technical standards to reinforce ad fraud countermeasures https://www.dac.co.jp/english/press/2019/20190910_yone-iab
News release of June 26, 2018：DSP’s “MarketOne®” begins offering IAS brand safety and viewability functions https://www.dac.co.jp/english/press/2018/20180626_m1ias2
News release of April 5, 2018：DSP “MarketOne®” and IAS team up to offer Japan’s first service to eliminate ad fraud from all advertising campaigns https://www.dac.co.jp/english/press/2018/20180405_m1ias
News release of December 5, 2017:“The DSP MarketOne®” to support ads.txt-based ad bidding with the goal of increasing transparency of programmatic advertising https://www.dac.co.jp/english/press/2017/20171205_mone_adstxt
News release of August 25,2017 : Hakuhodo DY MQM_™ introduced as a comprehensive measure for digital advertising transparency and quality enhancement https://www.dac.co.jp/press/2017/20170825_mqm (Japanese)

#####

<JICDAQ : the Japan Joint Industry Committee for Digital Advertising Quality & Qualify >　

JICDAQ is a certification organization established with the desire to ensure that digital advertising is beneficial for people, companies, and society for the healthy development of the digital advertising market. To address digital advertising quality issues, JICDAQ is currently working on ensuring brand safety according to the quality of the advertising destinations and eliminating invalid traffic, including ad fraud. https://www.jicdaq.or.jp/

＜Corporate Information＞
■ D.A.Consortium Inc.　https://www.dac.co.jp/english/
Since its establishment in 1996 during the early days of online advertising, DAC is leading the industry in market formation and growth as it steadily expands its operations with the digital transformation of information and lifestyles.
Currently, DAC operates advertising and marketing businesses centered on digital technology both in Japan and overseas. The company provides comprehensive support, from consulting and planning to ad space purchasing, selling, management and results analysis. With a firm understanding of the characteristics of different media, DAC also produces creative, develops and provides solutions that bridge its wealth of data with advanced technologies, and supports global promotional initiatives.
With the mission, “Empowering the digital future,” DAC will continue to be at the forefront in creating new forms of advertising and marketing and providing new value to society.

Representative	：Masaya Shimada, 　President, CEO & CCO（Chief Compliance Officer）
Head Office	：Yebisu Garden Place Tower, 4-20-3, Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Established	：December 1996
Business	：Online media transaction related business, Solution business,Ad Operations Business

■ Torchlight Inc.http://www.torchlight.co.jp/

Representative	：Satoshi Kumada, 　President & CEO
Head Office	：Yebisu Garden Place Tower, 4-20-3, Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Established	：October 2008
Business	：Ad solutions operations, account solutions operations and product business operations

For inquiries regarding this News Release
D.A.Consortium Inc.
Corporate Strategy Group Public Relations / E-mail：ir_inf@dac.co.jp

Torchlight Inc.　
Corporate Administration Department / E-mail：cp-adm@torchlight.co.jp