Advertisers Demand Online Audits

A group of big-spending advertisers will insist on audited ratings from their online media from mid-2007 and measurement certified numbers by 2008, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced yesterday.

Companies including BMW, Colgate-Palmolive, Ford Motor Company, HP, ING, Kimberly-Clark, Pepsi and Visa say they will only pay for online ads on the basis of audited and certified numbers. According to the definitions used, audited numbers ensure that ad impressions are being counted accurately, while certified numbers indicate that the process supporting ad counting is 'consistent and reliable'.

The move follows a number of recent statistics showing a huge shift in ad spend towards online. 'As more and more dollars migrate over to Interactive, it is imperative as an industry that we continue to strive for the highest levels of transparency and validity' says Greg Stuart, CEO of the IAB. Stuart pronounces himself 'overwhelmed that marketers of this caliber have stepped forward in support of audited and certified numbers' and says he expects more to follow soon.

The IAB announced the Global Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines in November 2004, offering a detailed definition for counting an online ad impression and an industry-driven third-party auditing and certification recommendation. The complete guidelines are available at www.iab.net/measurement.

The organisation's proactive stance has so far impressed the ad industry. Bob Liodice, CEO of the ANA, comments: 'Across all media, ANA marketers are seeking transparency and accountability in measurement and we support the IAB for leading the charge in the interactive industry'.

A number of large publishers and ad serving organizations have already completed audits and certification against the 2004 Guidelines, including AOL, Atlas, CNET, DoubleClick, Univision, the Walt Disney Internet Group, Weather.com and Yahoo!

The IAB was founded in 1996 to represent leading interactive companies that are actively engaged in, and support the sale of interactive advertising. It is online at www.iab.net .


Editorial comment: while we are strongly in favour of standards and transparency in the online ad industry, the real proof of an ad's worth is the business benefits that accrue from it, and even if formally audited and certified figures can overcome the many hurdles they face (click fraud being the topical example), they show only part of the picture. If auditing and certification procedures prove expensive and hard to justify for smaller online ad media firms (of which of course we are one) we hope that these companies will allow sensible opt-outs and credit their buyers with the savvy to make their own decisions about sites. If not, the current demands may provide more in the way of red tape than reassurance.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.