Former Direct Marketing Association chief Linda Woolley has agreed to take the role of president and CEO of TAG, a marketing and media industry program to eradicate digital advertising fraud, malware, piracy, and other criminal endeavors plaguing the Internet.
Formerly known as the Trustworthy Digital Supply Chain Initialtive, TAG is a joint undertaking of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The three groups announced their plans to join forces on a revitalized anti-fraud effort in September. TAG will monitor the digital ad ecosystem for compliance, meting out incentives to collaborators and consequences to bad actors.
“Self-regulation is only as strong as the accountability program that ensures its implementation, and all of our trade groups’ resources are required in order to guarantee this new compliance organization’s ability to eradicate criminal activity,” said 4A’s president Nancy Hill on the occasion of TAG’s inception.
Woolley has spent more than 30 years in public affairs, government relations, and policy. Her stops along the way included ITT Industries, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health & the Environment. She ran the DMA’s public policy office in Washington before rising to president and CEO.
“Linda’s experience with creating powerful self-regulatory groups, particularly the Digital Advertising Alliance, is just the right experience to build TAG and tackle the fraud problem,” said ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice,
Woolley appears anxious to get started. “Establishing a trustworthy digital supply chain is one of the most important things we can be doing right now,” she commented.
