Three of the new media industry’s key advertising bodies have today launched a joint set of voluntary guidelines to regulate the buying and selling of advertising online.
The standards offer regulation for a number of online trading issues including data protection and transparency, billing payment and credit terms and the relationship between reporting and payment. IAB, IPA and ISBA worked together for the first time to create the guidelines.
Chairman of the IPA’s digital media group, Alan McCulloch, said: “The new terms and conditions simplify a critical area of the business of online advertising, thereby improving overall professionalism. They also help create trading standards that best match the specific requirements of a UK market and trading environment.”
It is hoped that support for the terms of trading will help to create consistency and transparency across the industry, which will in turn help to attract new revenues.
ISBA’s director of media and advertising Bob Wooton, added: “These guidelines demonstrate a strong sense of customer focus within the online media community and their launch is the most significant step in the right direction. We urge for the widest possible media owner adherence to these guidelines.”
The IAB, IPA and ISBA have collaborated for the first time to lay down the terms and conditions, which its hoped will improve the efficiency of trading in the digital market place.
The launch of the new terms of trading comes as a result of a conference held in June (see IPA Conference Announces Progress Towards Internet Audit), which voiced growing concern over the state of the new media industry and the need for clear joint-industry standards.
Speaking at the conference, which picked up on the demand made by Rivals.net chief Marcus Leaver, to audit or be damned (see Rivals.net Heads Campaign For Internet Industry Audit), Bob Wootton described the current state of the industry as “commercial anarchy for advertisers.”
Internet Advertising Bureau: 020 8683 9667 www.iabuk.net IPA: 020 7235 7020 www.ipa.co.uk ISBA: 020 7499 7502 www.isba.org.uk
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