Strategic Collaboration Aims to Increase Multicultural Ad Dollars for Diverse-Owned Publishers

Mediavine, the largest exclusive full-service ad management firm in the U.S., today announced a strategic partnership with diversity certification network, Sertify, to certify diverse publishers within the company’s Uplift marketplace. Sertify is revolutionizing the industry by simplifying and standardizing the identification process for diverse-owned publishers and influencers (women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, veteran, disability). This partnership will reinforce the critical work Mediavine has done to amplify diverse publishers by proving identity and ownership and further increasing their programmatic connection to advertisers.

Currently, Mediavine’s network of ~11,000 publishers can self-identify as diverse-owned businesses through Uplift, Mediavine’s diverse publisher offering. Powered by this partnership, Sertify’s solution will then certify those self-identified publishers in Uplift and create more business opportunities for both the buy and sell sides. This partnership removes the barrier for advertisers committed to supporting diverse-owned publishers programmatically.

ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) declared an industry benchmark for committing 6.5% of total ad investment to diverse-owned media by 2025. For many advertisers to reach that benchmark, agencies would need to sizably increase budget allocations for diverse-owned media to achieve the mark.

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“Mediavine’s commitment to supporting small and diverse-owned publishers has always been the company’s guiding principle. Certification can be a timely and expensive endeavor for publishers and Mediavine is excited to partner with Sertify to offer this solution to our diverse-owned content creators,” said Amanda Martin, SVP, Monetization & Business Strategy at Mediavine. “Mediavine made the commitment to move from self-declaration to certification by the end of 2024 and found Sertify’s solution to be the best equipped to give buyers the confidence to spend DE&I budgets.”

As part of this partnership, Mediavine publisher partners who have self-identified as diverse-owned businesses will be vetted and confirmed by Sertify’s solution. Publishers will be granted a site badge denoting ownership by diverse individuals, which they can proudly showcase to signify their commitment to inclusivity, foster partnerships, and fortify relationships with brand marketers looking to spend ad dollars earmarked for multicultural media plans.

“We are thrilled to lead the industry by joining forces with Mediavine who already is the exclusive programmatic advertising provider for 77% of diverse-owned sites per Jounce Media,” said Dennis Tze, Co-Founder of Sertify. “We’re unlocking certified, non-self-identified, publisher inventory so we can ensure a greater allocation of media funds towards more publishers who have been historically underrepresented.”

Mediavine is dedicated to counseling brand marketers when optimizing their reach and prioritizing brand safety and alignment with their values. Our commitment extends to supporting diverse publications and content on the Open Web.

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