On November 12, 2007, Mediaweek published an editorial by Aaron Conti, president of isd, inc., a media auditing and analysis firm, with regards to Ad-ID:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/departments/columns/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003670932
This editorial contained many inaccurate claims and Mediaweek agreed to give me an opportunity to respond in an editorial that ran in the December 3, 2007 edition.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/departments/columns/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003679924
I have spoken at length with Aaron Conti, and the opinions he expressed were based on outdated assumptions, and misunderstandings between Mr. Conti and Ad-ID dating back to 2003. Mr. Conti is a passionate and sincere advocate for e-business, and open standards in our industry. I expect he will continue to watch Ad-ID’s progress, comment, criticize, and keep us honest, as I expect the entire industry to, in our efforts to bring the advertising industry into the 21st century. This is the only way solutions will reflect the needs of the entire industry.
As I said in my first blog entry, “I look forward to lively conversations, toward the common goal of increasing productivity, by moving e-business in the advertising industry forward.”
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Ad-ID Replaces ISCI as Official Industry Standard
Effective immediately, ISCI--the manual advertising asset coding system in place since 1969--is withdrawn from the marketplace. Therefore, Ad-ID™, the Web-based, complete-code system is now the only advertising asset coding system authorized and supported by the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers, Inc.
Since 1992, the AAAA and the ANA have had the responsibility and the obligation to set the standard for advertising asset coding. The build of Ad-ID and the withdrawal of ISCI is the result of an exhaustive study by the AAAA and the ANA, with the guidance of outside consultants and industry advisors. The unanimous conclusion is that an unregulated code system--such as ISCI--is not an approach that the ANA and the AAAA can confidently promote in the digital era. It was further determined that the transition to a centralized industry code repository is necessary to protect the absolute uniqueness of codes.
About Ad-ID
Ad-ID (http://www.ad-id.org/) has gained great traction among leading advertisers and agencies since its introduction in 2003. It is now poised to become the foundation of a digital workflow and a cross-media standard. For the user, the system provides code creation and management, abundance of descriptive fields, reports, and a variety of download options. For the industry, Ad-ID has evolved as a platform to engage agencies and broadcasters on key coding issues such as HD recognition. The benefits of Ad-ID stem from improved productivity, and better information throughout the marketing communications landscape about advertising assets.
Ad-ID’s Web services interface with other systems, to eliminate manual re-keying of information. Currently broadcast ad metadata gets re-keyed eight to 13 times, from the time of production to airplay. Errors relating to this re-keying can cost advertisers from hundreds to millions of dollars. Ad-ID staff is dedicated to developing partnerships with suppliers who need access to ad metadata, an effort that will grow only through increased adoption and support of Ad-ID.
Here are just a few initiatives that are in progress that will yield best practices for Ad-ID and the media industry:
In print media, Adobe is proposing to “inject” Ad-ID metadata, using its XMP protocol, into advertising assets, making that data available throughout the print workflow to all necessary parties.
Managing Editor Inc. (MEI) is proposing to use Ad-ID in their automated pagination and workflow solutions to newspaper and magazine publishers.
In out-of-home media, Microsoft has proposed to the Outdoor Association of America (OAAA) and the leading operators in that space, that Ad-ID be used in conjunction with a 2D barcode to enable interactivity with outdoor posters.
In broadcast media, Nice Spots, a production facility in New York, has integrated Ad-ID metadata into its systems and will demonstrate a key benefit of maintaining the accuracy of the Ad-ID database.
We have had several conversations with companies including DG FastChannel and BEAM.TV and through engagement with Ad-ID, advertisers will benefit from these early integrations and will be able to shape the future of asset identification and digital workflow.
There are many “Ad-ID compliant” systems vendors that can accommodate a 12-character identifier for ads. However, Ad-ID compliance is not enough; systems must integrate, and facilitate the movement and integration of metadata so the industry can move forward.
Ad-ID has been involved in metadata standards conversations at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the Society of Cable Television Engineers, and the Idea Alliance for the print industry. These conversations are necessary so that the needs of the advertiser and advertising agencies are taken into consideration.
Over the past six months, I have spoken to advertisers, agencies, media, and suppliers to the media industry, and have heard varying degrees of support for Ad-ID. I don’t quite understand the hesitance to sign up. By getting involved now, and by lobbying our trading partners and vendors to integrate with Ad-ID, there is an opportunity to help shape a solution, and move the industry forward; it is a win-win situation.
What to Do If You Are Still Using ISCI
Prefixes previously assigned to advertisers by the now-defunct ISCI system will be grandfathered in the Ad-ID system until January 2009. However, in order to create complete codes in Ad-ID using activated prefixes, it is necessary to purchase code contracts. Contracts are available based on the anticipated volume of coded assets. All new prefixes will be assigned by Ad-ID, the repository of prefixes, codes and related asset metadata.
Advertisers that currently have ISCI prefixes will have until July 2008 to activate those prefixes at no charge, by purchasing an annual Ad-ID code contract, after which time there will be an activation charge in addition to the code contract. Prefixes that are not activated by January 2009 will be eligible for re-issue.
If you have not yet adopted Ad-ID or would like more information about the system, please contact Ad-ID customer service at:
Since 1992, the AAAA and the ANA have had the responsibility and the obligation to set the standard for advertising asset coding. The build of Ad-ID and the withdrawal of ISCI is the result of an exhaustive study by the AAAA and the ANA, with the guidance of outside consultants and industry advisors. The unanimous conclusion is that an unregulated code system--such as ISCI--is not an approach that the ANA and the AAAA can confidently promote in the digital era. It was further determined that the transition to a centralized industry code repository is necessary to protect the absolute uniqueness of codes.
About Ad-ID
Ad-ID (http://www.ad-id.org/) has gained great traction among leading advertisers and agencies since its introduction in 2003. It is now poised to become the foundation of a digital workflow and a cross-media standard. For the user, the system provides code creation and management, abundance of descriptive fields, reports, and a variety of download options. For the industry, Ad-ID has evolved as a platform to engage agencies and broadcasters on key coding issues such as HD recognition. The benefits of Ad-ID stem from improved productivity, and better information throughout the marketing communications landscape about advertising assets.
Ad-ID’s Web services interface with other systems, to eliminate manual re-keying of information. Currently broadcast ad metadata gets re-keyed eight to 13 times, from the time of production to airplay. Errors relating to this re-keying can cost advertisers from hundreds to millions of dollars. Ad-ID staff is dedicated to developing partnerships with suppliers who need access to ad metadata, an effort that will grow only through increased adoption and support of Ad-ID.
Here are just a few initiatives that are in progress that will yield best practices for Ad-ID and the media industry:
In print media, Adobe is proposing to “inject” Ad-ID metadata, using its XMP protocol, into advertising assets, making that data available throughout the print workflow to all necessary parties.
Managing Editor Inc. (MEI) is proposing to use Ad-ID in their automated pagination and workflow solutions to newspaper and magazine publishers.
In out-of-home media, Microsoft has proposed to the Outdoor Association of America (OAAA) and the leading operators in that space, that Ad-ID be used in conjunction with a 2D barcode to enable interactivity with outdoor posters.
In broadcast media, Nice Spots, a production facility in New York, has integrated Ad-ID metadata into its systems and will demonstrate a key benefit of maintaining the accuracy of the Ad-ID database.
We have had several conversations with companies including DG FastChannel and BEAM.TV and through engagement with Ad-ID, advertisers will benefit from these early integrations and will be able to shape the future of asset identification and digital workflow.
There are many “Ad-ID compliant” systems vendors that can accommodate a 12-character identifier for ads. However, Ad-ID compliance is not enough; systems must integrate, and facilitate the movement and integration of metadata so the industry can move forward.
Ad-ID has been involved in metadata standards conversations at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the Society of Cable Television Engineers, and the Idea Alliance for the print industry. These conversations are necessary so that the needs of the advertiser and advertising agencies are taken into consideration.
Over the past six months, I have spoken to advertisers, agencies, media, and suppliers to the media industry, and have heard varying degrees of support for Ad-ID. I don’t quite understand the hesitance to sign up. By getting involved now, and by lobbying our trading partners and vendors to integrate with Ad-ID, there is an opportunity to help shape a solution, and move the industry forward; it is a win-win situation.
What to Do If You Are Still Using ISCI
Prefixes previously assigned to advertisers by the now-defunct ISCI system will be grandfathered in the Ad-ID system until January 2009. However, in order to create complete codes in Ad-ID using activated prefixes, it is necessary to purchase code contracts. Contracts are available based on the anticipated volume of coded assets. All new prefixes will be assigned by Ad-ID, the repository of prefixes, codes and related asset metadata.
Advertisers that currently have ISCI prefixes will have until July 2008 to activate those prefixes at no charge, by purchasing an annual Ad-ID code contract, after which time there will be an activation charge in addition to the code contract. Prefixes that are not activated by January 2009 will be eligible for re-issue.
If you have not yet adopted Ad-ID or would like more information about the system, please contact Ad-ID customer service at:
(704) 501-4410 or cs@ad-id.org.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Why do we need Ad-ID?
Every advertiser, large or small, has a story about an ad that was run incorrectly, and every media outlet has been on the receiving end of a finger pointing exercise assigning fault. These errors impact everyone, if not monetarily, then in time spent determining the cause of the error and haggling over appropriate compensation. The result of these errors on the advertiser’s marketing objectives, and the damage to relationships as a result of protracted negotiations over compensation, are sometimes irreparable.
In this age of electronic commerce, everything revolves around metadata and improved effectiveness – doing more with the same, or less. Do you realize that the information about an ad gets re-keyed at least 8 times from the when the ad is created to the time it gets invoiced? How many opportunities for human error exist throughout that continuum? It would seem logical to believe that having data about an advertisement in a central location, and allowing access to it by the necessary parties, would be a forgone conclusion, and that, in an industry as large and influential as ours, we would already be on to the next challenge.
As an industry, we must look for ways to reduce error and improve communications between trading partners so that it becomes easier to adhere to the insertion instructions. Ad-ID is a capability to identify advertising assets across all media, and enables access to the information about an ad to all of the appropriate parties throughout the marketing communications landscape. As a joint effort of American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), Ad-ID has been developed as the foundation of a digital workflow, and has thus improved accountability for our members, both ad agencies and advertisers.
Here are just a few initiatives that are in progress that will yield best practices for Ad-ID and the media industry:
In print media, Adobe is proposing to “inject” Ad-ID metadata, using its XMP protocol, into advertising assets, making that data available throughout the print workflow to all necessary parties.
Managing Editor Inc. (MEI) is proposing to use Ad-ID in their automated pagination and workflow solutions to newspaper and magazine publishers.
In out-of-home media, Microsoft has proposed to the Outdoor Association of America (OAAA), the leading operators in that space, that Ad-ID be used in conjunction with a 2D barcode to enable interactivity with outdoor posters.
In broadcast media, Nice Spots, a production facility in New York, has integrated Ad-ID metadata into its systems and will demonstrate a key benefit of maintaining the accuracy of the Ad-ID database.
There are many other partnerships in conversation, and through engagement with Ad-ID, advertisers will benefit from these early integrations and will be able to shape the future of asset workflow and identification.
There are many “Ad-ID compliant” systems vendors that can accommodate a 12-character identifier for ads. However, Ad-ID compliance is not enough; systems must integrate, and facilitate the movement and integration of metadata so the industry can move forward.
Ad-ID has been involved in metadata standards conversations at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the Society of Cable Television Engineers, and the Idea Alliance for the print industry. These conversations are necessary so that the needs of the advertiser and advertising agencies are taken into consideration.
Over the past six months, I have spoken to advertisers, agencies, media, and suppliers to the media industry, and have heard varying degrees of support for Ad-ID. I don’t quite understand the hesitance to sign up. By getting involved now, and by lobbying our trading partners and vendors to integrate with Ad-ID, there is an opportunity to help shape a solution, and move the industry forward; it is a win-win situation.
For further information, please contact me hgeller@aaaa.org and feel free to leave your comments here, so we can discuss this openly.
In this age of electronic commerce, everything revolves around metadata and improved effectiveness – doing more with the same, or less. Do you realize that the information about an ad gets re-keyed at least 8 times from the when the ad is created to the time it gets invoiced? How many opportunities for human error exist throughout that continuum? It would seem logical to believe that having data about an advertisement in a central location, and allowing access to it by the necessary parties, would be a forgone conclusion, and that, in an industry as large and influential as ours, we would already be on to the next challenge.
As an industry, we must look for ways to reduce error and improve communications between trading partners so that it becomes easier to adhere to the insertion instructions. Ad-ID is a capability to identify advertising assets across all media, and enables access to the information about an ad to all of the appropriate parties throughout the marketing communications landscape. As a joint effort of American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), Ad-ID has been developed as the foundation of a digital workflow, and has thus improved accountability for our members, both ad agencies and advertisers.
Here are just a few initiatives that are in progress that will yield best practices for Ad-ID and the media industry:
In print media, Adobe is proposing to “inject” Ad-ID metadata, using its XMP protocol, into advertising assets, making that data available throughout the print workflow to all necessary parties.
Managing Editor Inc. (MEI) is proposing to use Ad-ID in their automated pagination and workflow solutions to newspaper and magazine publishers.
In out-of-home media, Microsoft has proposed to the Outdoor Association of America (OAAA), the leading operators in that space, that Ad-ID be used in conjunction with a 2D barcode to enable interactivity with outdoor posters.
In broadcast media, Nice Spots, a production facility in New York, has integrated Ad-ID metadata into its systems and will demonstrate a key benefit of maintaining the accuracy of the Ad-ID database.
There are many other partnerships in conversation, and through engagement with Ad-ID, advertisers will benefit from these early integrations and will be able to shape the future of asset workflow and identification.
There are many “Ad-ID compliant” systems vendors that can accommodate a 12-character identifier for ads. However, Ad-ID compliance is not enough; systems must integrate, and facilitate the movement and integration of metadata so the industry can move forward.
Ad-ID has been involved in metadata standards conversations at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the Society of Cable Television Engineers, and the Idea Alliance for the print industry. These conversations are necessary so that the needs of the advertiser and advertising agencies are taken into consideration.
Over the past six months, I have spoken to advertisers, agencies, media, and suppliers to the media industry, and have heard varying degrees of support for Ad-ID. I don’t quite understand the hesitance to sign up. By getting involved now, and by lobbying our trading partners and vendors to integrate with Ad-ID, there is an opportunity to help shape a solution, and move the industry forward; it is a win-win situation.
For further information, please contact me hgeller@aaaa.org and feel free to leave your comments here, so we can discuss this openly.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Why do a blog in the first place...
This is an idea that I've been considering for a long time. I plan to use this space as a soap box to make my readers aware of the fact that they are their own worst enemies, when it comes to advancing automation in the Advertising industry, and perhaps spark some debate as far as how to work in a more collaborative manner with our systems partners, trade associations, and trading partners across all media.
The Advertising industry is among the last to join the 21st century, and embrace electronic commerce. I have been a strong advocate for eBusiness since the AAAA Media Technology Committee coined the term in 2001.
In my new role at the AAAA, I plan to highlight and promote best practices, and work with people to develop best practices where none exist.
One thing I have learned in the 10 years since I crossed the border from the great White north (Canada), is that there is no shortage of great ideas as far as new and innovative ways of using Technology in our industry. In fact if there were a few less people trying to revolutionize our business, and more working to improve it, and partner with some of the existing players, I have no doubt that we could move forward at a much faster pace.
Agencies, and Systems suppliers point fingers at each other: Agencies claim that their vendors are not responding to their needs, and vendors claim that agencies are not asking for things in a clear manner. There is confusion about what should be an industry initiative, and what should be in the realm of proprietary enhancements, if Agencies clearly articulate consistent priorities, and treat their systems supplier as partners, this confusion can be put to rest, and we can begin to address the issues we all face.
Much has been said, and written recently about the need to focus on back office automation and process improvement, I applaud everyone who has come to this realization, we must now move from talking to doing!
There currently are several initiatives going on in the industry today, that go a certain distance to bridge the gap between Agency and Vendor.
In future posts, I plan to open dialogs on each one of these:
DDS's DARE (Direct Agency Rep Exchange)
Katz & Interrep's Radsnet
The National Cable industry's order, and change management capabilities
NCC and the Local Cable industry's order management system
The Newspaper and magazine industry's AdSML initiative.
I'm sure there are more, and I expect my readers to chime in and fill in some blanks.
The fact of the matter is, functionality, adoption, usage, and universality of each of these initiatives have a way to go, and in some cases, universal acceptance is blocked by a variety of reasons. We must enumerate all these variables, and determine how to move the industry forward, without consideration of individual entities stake. This is a big enough sandbox for all to play, and carve out that which makes you unique.
The AAAA and vertical trade associations have worked diligently facilitating the conversations to develop transaction schema, and now it is time to develop time lines, and plans to implement them, on an accelerated basis.
The AAAA has been the facilitator of industry conversations with Arbinet, to provide a centralized cross media registry for all trading partners, which was announced at the 2007 Media Conference. It's time for each of our industry vertical markets, and technology partners, to develop plans to integrate the registry into our technology solutions, this will be the topic of a future post.
At this year's TVB Annual Marketing conferance, Group M CEO Irwin Gotlieb introduced our industry to the concept of "Jump Change" move things forward quickly, and to take a few leaps of faith to get the results that are urgently necessary. I'll take a deeper look at Irwin's interview with Jack Myers in a future post.
The Television Bureau has taken a huge step forward in creating the first open standards, AAAA registry based platform called ePort. ePort is not competitive to any existing industry initiative, and in fact fills a void that has always existed in Spot Television. Spot TV is 50 % Local, 50 % National, of the National portion 50 % is delivered by DARE, which leaves 75 - 80 % of Spot TV business delivered to stations via fax, e-mail, and telephone. ePort fills a void, and will demonstrate a best practice for all vendors to emulate, and frankly, co-operate with. ePort will be the focus of a future post.
AAAA & ANA have partnered to create Ad-ID, the foundation of a digital work flow and a cross media standard ad identifier. To date, over 500 advertisers have adopted Ad-ID, and more are coming on board. There are huge opportunities for process improvement related to Ad-ID, which I will address in a future post.
So to close this first post, let me say that I look forward to lively conversations, towards the common goal of increasing productivity, by moving eBusiness in the Advertising industry forward.
The Advertising industry is among the last to join the 21st century, and embrace electronic commerce. I have been a strong advocate for eBusiness since the AAAA Media Technology Committee coined the term in 2001.
In my new role at the AAAA, I plan to highlight and promote best practices, and work with people to develop best practices where none exist.
One thing I have learned in the 10 years since I crossed the border from the great White north (Canada), is that there is no shortage of great ideas as far as new and innovative ways of using Technology in our industry. In fact if there were a few less people trying to revolutionize our business, and more working to improve it, and partner with some of the existing players, I have no doubt that we could move forward at a much faster pace.
Agencies, and Systems suppliers point fingers at each other: Agencies claim that their vendors are not responding to their needs, and vendors claim that agencies are not asking for things in a clear manner. There is confusion about what should be an industry initiative, and what should be in the realm of proprietary enhancements, if Agencies clearly articulate consistent priorities, and treat their systems supplier as partners, this confusion can be put to rest, and we can begin to address the issues we all face.
Much has been said, and written recently about the need to focus on back office automation and process improvement, I applaud everyone who has come to this realization, we must now move from talking to doing!
There currently are several initiatives going on in the industry today, that go a certain distance to bridge the gap between Agency and Vendor.
In future posts, I plan to open dialogs on each one of these:
DDS's DARE (Direct Agency Rep Exchange)
Katz & Interrep's Radsnet
The National Cable industry's order, and change management capabilities
NCC and the Local Cable industry's order management system
The Newspaper and magazine industry's AdSML initiative.
I'm sure there are more, and I expect my readers to chime in and fill in some blanks.
The fact of the matter is, functionality, adoption, usage, and universality of each of these initiatives have a way to go, and in some cases, universal acceptance is blocked by a variety of reasons. We must enumerate all these variables, and determine how to move the industry forward, without consideration of individual entities stake. This is a big enough sandbox for all to play, and carve out that which makes you unique.
The AAAA and vertical trade associations have worked diligently facilitating the conversations to develop transaction schema, and now it is time to develop time lines, and plans to implement them, on an accelerated basis.
The AAAA has been the facilitator of industry conversations with Arbinet, to provide a centralized cross media registry for all trading partners, which was announced at the 2007 Media Conference. It's time for each of our industry vertical markets, and technology partners, to develop plans to integrate the registry into our technology solutions, this will be the topic of a future post.
At this year's TVB Annual Marketing conferance, Group M CEO Irwin Gotlieb introduced our industry to the concept of "Jump Change" move things forward quickly, and to take a few leaps of faith to get the results that are urgently necessary. I'll take a deeper look at Irwin's interview with Jack Myers in a future post.
The Television Bureau has taken a huge step forward in creating the first open standards, AAAA registry based platform called ePort. ePort is not competitive to any existing industry initiative, and in fact fills a void that has always existed in Spot Television. Spot TV is 50 % Local, 50 % National, of the National portion 50 % is delivered by DARE, which leaves 75 - 80 % of Spot TV business delivered to stations via fax, e-mail, and telephone. ePort fills a void, and will demonstrate a best practice for all vendors to emulate, and frankly, co-operate with. ePort will be the focus of a future post.
AAAA & ANA have partnered to create Ad-ID, the foundation of a digital work flow and a cross media standard ad identifier. To date, over 500 advertisers have adopted Ad-ID, and more are coming on board. There are huge opportunities for process improvement related to Ad-ID, which I will address in a future post.
So to close this first post, let me say that I look forward to lively conversations, towards the common goal of increasing productivity, by moving eBusiness in the Advertising industry forward.
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