Business & finance · also called ANA, Association of National Advertisers
ANA (Association of National Advertisers)
The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) is the main US trade association for advertisers and marketers, founded in 1910, known for research on media transparency and programmatic waste.
The ANA represents brand marketers: the companies that pay for advertising. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest advertising organisations in the world, and it has grown through mergers to include business-to-business and data-driven marketing groups.
In ad tech, the ANA is best known for pushing transparency. A 2016 report it commissioned from K2 Intelligence examined non-transparent media rebates and agency practices in the US. Its 2023 Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study found widespread waste, including that made-for-advertising sites accounted for 21% of impressions and 15% of spend in its sample, and estimated that advertisers could save large sums by buying more efficiently. It has also published guidance on principal-based buying and led cross-media measurement efforts.
The ANA co-founded the TAG with the 4A's and the IAB. It often represents the buy-side view in policy debates, while the IAB represents sellers and platforms; globally, advertiser interests are represented by the WFA.
Think of it like this
The ANA is like a consumer association, but for the biggest buyers of advertising: it tests the products and publishes what it finds.
An example
After reading the ANA's programmatic study, a US retailer cuts its open-auction site list from 40,000 to 3,000 domains and adds MFA exclusions to its DSP.
Related terms
WFA (World Federation of Advertisers)
The WFA (World Federation of Advertisers) is the global association of advertisers and national advertiser associations, based in Brussels, that represents brand owners on marketing, media and policy issues.
TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group)
TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group) is an advertising industry initiative, founded in 2014 by the ANA, 4A's and IAB, that runs certification programs against ad fraud, malware, piracy and for brand safety.
IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau)
The IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) is the US-based trade association for the digital advertising and media industry, founded in 1996, which publishes research, guidelines and policy positions.
Media rebates
Media rebates are payments, credits or free inventory media owners give agencies for the volume of client spend they bring, which may or may not reach advertisers.
Made-for-advertising (MFA) sites
Made-for-advertising (MFA) sites are websites built mainly to generate ad revenue, typically with thin content, heavy ad density, fast refreshing ads and traffic bought through arbitrage.
Sources: ANA: Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study (first look, 2023)