In a new joint paper, A Matter of Fact, the two bodies ask for all parts of the industry to demand and provide objective and independent data to underpin the accountability of all media and their respective trading markets. 

According to the paper, this means defending the importance of data and upholding ‘the highest industry standards of methodology and independence verification'.

The paper calls on the industry to specifically uphold the following five standards: 

1. Ensure the audience data used for trading is based on metrics and methods that comply with agreed, open industry standards
2. Insist those standards are upheld by independent auditing
3. Hold proprietary data sets to the same level of accountability as industry-owned trading currencies
4. Support the principles of the Joint Industry Currency (JIC) model as the best-in-class approach to providing objective and comparable audience data and metrics
5. Encourage all media owners and platforms to engage with the Joint Industry Currencies (JICs), not to the exclusion of their own data sets, but to enhance their credibility with advertisers

The bodies have also drawn up a list of questions to ask in order to understand whether a data set is fit for purpose, which are included in the report. 

“Audience data is a cornerstone of the industry; it is fundamental to decision-making and transactions," said Phil Smith, director general of the ISBA.

"As such, the long-term health and prosperity of the media industry is reliant on objectivity and confidence which can only be maintained if tracking data is understood and trusted.”