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.
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