The eBiz Buzz

Radio Accountability Initiative Announced at RAB Conference

2009-03-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Initiative to Address Accountability/Distribution Platforms

Orlando, Fla., March 18, 2009 … Ad-ID today announced the “Radio Accountability Initiative,” which was endorsed by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) at its RAB `09 conference. Harold S. Geller, senior vice president, cross-industry workflow, 4A’s, and managing director, Ad-ID LLC, announced the initiative during a panel discussion entitled “Increasing Cash Flow and Decreasing Makegoods Through Digital Commercial Workflow.” The Initiative will address accountability and distribution platforms that ensure the right commercials get on the right stations.

In endorsing the Initiative, Jeff Haley, president-CEO, RAB, said “As radio aims to grow its share of ad dollars, proof of performance, improved commercial workflow and consumer Interactivity are increasingly important at the station level. It is beneficial to make radio commercials as interactive as the purchase-enabled songs to which they are attached.”

“Accountability in radio revolves around identification. If you can consistently identify a spot, the advertiser it’s associated with, and centrally access other necessary information, you create an environment where accountability and transparency are core capabilities,” added Harold S. Geller, managing director, Ad-ID LLC. “Each of the founding participants in this initiative plays a key role in radio workflow; together they can demonstrate the accountability of radio.”

Initial initiative participants include: Allen Hartle, founder/CEO, Jump2Go; Harold S. Geller, managing director, Ad-ID LLC; Joe Rivera, vp/director of operations, FirstSpin Inc.; Rick Rowland, president, PowerLink Software.

Additional vendors and station groups will join as this initiative launches. There will be no restrictions to participation other than supporting Ad-ID. If advertisers choose to code ads outside of Ad-ID, a station’s own policy will govern how that ad is treated.

“The founding participants of the Radio Accountability Initiative can make radio more accountable with limited disruption to existing workflow,” added Geller. “Obviously as more vendors come on board, and adopt Ad-ID and XMP, more capabilities will emerge.”

About the Founding Partners
Ad-ID is the only advertising asset coding system supported and authorized by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) across all media. It is guaranteed to be globally unique and has more than 70 metadata fields, (including: advertiser, product, brand, ad title, medium, agency, and length / size). Ad-ID is a flexible metadata model that can integrate requirements of any media, and provides Web services that enable the easy retrieval of data by authorized users. There are currently over 700 advertisers, including 78 of the top 100 in the United States, signed up for Ad-ID. For this initiative, Ad-ID becomes the foundation of the digital workflow.

Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) is a labeling technology that allows you to embed data about a file, known as metadata, into the file itself. With XMP, desktop applications and back-end automation systems gain a common method for capturing, sharing and leveraging this valuable metadata, thereby opening the door for more efficient job processing, workflow automation and rights management. In this initiative, XMP will be implemented to take the guesswork out of ad identification. Adobe has been approached to endorse this initiative.

FirstSpin’s radio distribution platform ensures that commercial spots make it to the radio station, in time for air and with minimal manual intervention. Integration to Ad-ID’s central database of information about ads reduces a step of rekeying, and ensures that vendors further down the workflow will have the necessary data. FirstSpin plans to use XMP to embed the Ad-ID in the file, which will further automate station commercial operations.

Jump2Go is designed to make radio commercials as interactive as the purchase-enabled songs to which they’re attached, using the RDS layer of analog broadcast. Jump2Go will use Ad-ID to manage the identification of the ad; Jump2Go will also maintain a database of text that is associated with the Ad-ID based on the available output devices

PowerLink Software’s “Proof of Play” demonstrates the accountability of radio with definitive proof that commercials aired correctly. It can monitor ads before, during and after airplay via the Web. Combine Posting results and late copy change requests to the same screen and you have a one-stop shop for Ad buyers to be serviced with the latest technology! Power-Link’s integration with Ad-ID, enables it to use standardized data to aggregate across stations and markets in real time.

About The Radio Advertising Bureau
The Radio Advertising Bureau serves more than 6,000 member radio stations in the U.S. and over 1,000 member networks, representative firms, broadcast vendors, and international organizations. RAB leads and participates in educational, research, sales, and advocacy programs that promote and advance radio as a primary advertising medium.

About the 4A’s
The 4A's is the national trade association of the advertising agency business. The 1,196 member agency offices it serves in the United States employ 65,000 people, offer a wide range of marketing communications services, and place 80 percent of all national advertising. The management-oriented association helps its members build their businesses, and acts as the industry’s spokesman with government, media, and the public sector.

About the ANA
The Association of National Advertisers leads the marketing community by providing its members insights, collaboration and advocacy. ANA’s membership includes 400 companies with 9000 brands that collectively spend over $100 billion in marketing communications and advertising. The ANA strives to communicate marketing best practices, lead industry initiatives, influence industry practices, manage industry affairs and advance, promote and protect all advertisers and marketers.

MediaBank Is First Media Management System to Partner With Ad-ID

2008-11-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

Partnership Allows Advertisers and Agencies to SignificantlyImprove Operating Efficiency

CHICAGO (November 24, 2008) – MediaBank, a leading provider of integrated technology solutions that help marketers and agencies better manage the end-to-end media buying process, and Ad-ID, a joint venture of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), today announced the integration of Advertising Digital Identification (Ad-ID) with MediaBank’s technology platforms to help reduce common inefficiencies associated with the advertising and media buying process.

The full MediaBank product suite will integrate with Ad-ID to allow advertisers and agencies to more effectively manage metadata and measure performance throughout any media campaign lifecycle.

“Incorporating Ad-ID coding into MediaBank’s innovative products greatly improves operational efficiencies for media buyers and advertisers,” said Harold Geller, managing director of Ad-ID and senior vice president of Digital Initiatives at the 4A’s. “MediaBank is providing enhanced transparency, accountability and efficiency to our industry.”

Ad-ID, the advertising industry’s Web-based, complete-code system, offers a central database where information about each commercial asset can be entered and coded to bring consistency to asset identification and enable the digital exchange of information.

MediaBank is the first media management system to directly integrate with Ad-ID. The partnership provides advertisers and agencies – delivered either on an on-demand basis or three times daily – with new or revised Ad-ID codes and metadata instantly through the MediaBank system. E-mail notifications provide alerts for successful or rejected transmission with actionable messages. Using MediaBank and Ad-ID, an advertiser can eliminate manual double entry and common errors, as well as receive timely updates of Ad-ID data for trafficking.

“This integration demonstrates MediaBank’s commitment to product innovation and connectivity, and our dedication to provide our clients with the tools necessary to be the best at media buying,” said Brad Keywell, founder of MediaBank. “This is a valuable asset to our clients who are challenged to better navigate and understand the increasingly complex media landscape.”

MediaBank is built on an open architecture platform, which enables it to quickly integrate with other data sources and adapt as media types proliferate. The integration of MediaBank and Ad-ID has further enhanced the robust offerings provided to customers of MediaBank’s diverse product suite that includes MediaBank OX, the industry’s first fully integrated cross-media buying solution, and MediaBank AX, a leading analytics and media mix management tool that provides detailed, customizable analysis and tracking of all in-fight and historic advertising campaigns across all media types.

About MediaBank, LLC
Privately held, Chicago-based MediaBank, LLC is a leading provider of integrated technology solutions designed to enable marketers and agencies to better manage the end-to-end media buying process across all media channels – analog, digital, and emerging media types. MediaBank’s unique products provide marketers with unprecedented cross-media analytics and business intelligence capabilities through the use of planning, buying, accounting, workflow and data warehousing tools. MediaBank has more than 25 years of industry recognized experience in providing media buying solutions, and is committed to combining the latest technologies and applications to improve efficiency in the advertising industry. For more information on MediaBank, visit: www.mbxg.com.

About Ad-ID
Advertising Digital Identification, Ad-ID, is an Internet-based, digital identification system that generates a unique identifying code for all advertising assets (TV, radio, print, Internet, etc.). Each Ad-ID stores critical metadata related to an advertising asset. The system has open Web services for the interchange of metadata related to advertising assets, enabling advertisers, agencies, media and others throughout the media and marketing ecosystem to improve upon current ad-related processes and capitalize on emerging technologies and marketing opportunities. Developed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), Ad-ID is the only advertising asset coding system authorized and supported by the 4A’s and ANA. For more information, visit www.Ad-ID.org.

###

Contact:
Annie Elzey
Edelman for MediaBank
312-233-1391
annie.elzey@edelman.com

Kipp Cheng
4A’s for Ad-ID
212-850-0720
kipp@aaaa.org

Syncro Services announces integration with Ad-ID

2008-11-20T11:16:00.000-08:00

Syncro Services is pleased to announce that its spot ordering system has been integrated with Ad-ID’s database to create operational efficiencies and leadership in asset management and post-production technology.

Replacing the previous ISCI code assignment system, Web-based Ad-ID, which is jointly owned and operated by the ANA and the 4A’s, enables an automated process of identifying commercial creative assets to protect the uniqueness of codes and create data consistency. With so many Syncro clients being television advertisers, this digital exchange of information between Syncro and Ad-ID minimizes error by eliminating the need to manually retype spot information multiple times throughout post-production. Furthermore, this level of integration introduces a more uniform process for identifying commercial formats. By simply adding the letter “H” as the 12th character of an asset’s ID code in the Syncro system, the Ad-ID database is automatically updated, thereby alerting stations that an HD copy is available.

Many TV advertisers turn to Syncro for distribution of their HD assets. Since the number of HD-TV households is rapidly increasing, advertisers are willing to invest in HD formats, especially after making a sizable investment in television air time.

Having a commercial available in HD prevents copy from appearing cropped or distorted on HD TVs, which is relevant for brands with marketing efforts focused on visual appeal. Brand categories such as food, fashion, and cosmetics are conscious of airing distorted imagery for fear that their ad will be deemed ineffective or, worse yet, damaging to a brand’s overall equity.

Currently, Syncro is unrolling its Ad-ID integration to a select handful of clients, but further innovations that build upon Ad-ID are already planned. Specifically, Syncro is looking to automate the addition of key metadata by including captioning, station information, and shipping data to each spot hosted within its digital asset management system, and sister company, WheresMyMedia.

By linking the Ad-ID database to assets hosted in WheresMyMedia, trafficking, spot performance, and accountability can become even more automated and error-proof when monitored via WheresMyMedia’s reporting functions. As Ad-ID’s Managing Director Harold Geller explains, “Syncro’s database integration with Ad-ID will create welcome operational efficiencies for their clients.”

About Syncro Services
Syncro Services has been a leader in serving the advertising and production communities for over 45 years. Known for its state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge technology, Syncro offers a multitude of services including media duplication and distribution, international conversions, captioning, DVD, and High Definition encoding.

About WheresMyMedia
Syncro’s sister company, WheresMyMedia, delivers, hosts, and archives on-demand content on its customizable, Web-based digital asset management system. Known for its automated video-transcoding capabilities, WheresMyMedia provides an easy way for agencies, producers, and content providers to manage and repurpose digital assets.

About Ad-ID
Ad-ID is a joint venture of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). Ad-ID is a Web-based system that creates unique codes for advertising assets and is the only asset coding system authorized and supported by both these associations. Ad-ID is widely used throughout all segments of the advertising industry.

Activate in Ad-ID By October 1 to Avoid Activation Fees

2008-09-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

Ad-ID, the Web-based coding system, is the only system authorized and supported by the 4A's and the ANA.

Advertisers and their agencies have until October 1 to activate with Ad-ID and avoid the one-time activation fees.

When the old coding system, ISCI, was withdrawn last year, advertisers and their agencies were given until July to register their prefixes with Ad-ID, at no charge, and until August to purchase the necessary code contracts. That deadline was subsequently extended to September and October, respectively.

The Ad-ID team has hosted hundreds of meetings with agencies, advertisers, systems vendors, lawyers and media outlets, either face-to-face, via conference calls and webex demos all over the country. Ad-ID has also hosted four Webinars, which were all well attended.

The response to Ad-ID has been extraordinary. There are now more than 700 advertisers signed up--and that includes 54 of the top 100 advertisers.

Activating an advertiser in Ad-ID is a simple process. There are a variety of code-contract levels available to suit the needs of advertisers of all sizes-- including pro bono and non profits.

For further information, call the Ad-ID customer service team at (704)501-4410, or e-Mail.

For more information about Ad-ID visit The Ad-ID Website

Has Ad-ID Reached a Tipping Point?

2008-08-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

It’s been more than a year since I wrote my first blog entry about Ad-ID and about 10 months since Ad-ID became the only advertising asset-coding system authorized and supported by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). Lots has happened during this period, which tells me that we are definitely moving in a good direction toward bringing the advertising industry into the current, well maybe just the immediate past, century, when it comes to digital asset management.

There are currently more than 600 advertisers using Ad-ID, including 30 of the top 100, and more are activating every week. I have traveled all over the country to large and small audiences discussing this topic, addressing people’s concerns, and mostly listening to how Ad-ID can respond to the needs of our ever-changing industry.

Here are just a few things that we’ve done to make Ad-ID better:

For visual media, such as television, Ad-ID has facilitated the development of standards for the coding of standard and high-definition commercials. All standard definition commercial codes are 11 characters; the high definition version of the ad will contain an H in the 12th character.

Introduction of the small advertiser program: This allows advertisers that spend less than $5 million a year to purchase a 300 Ad-ID contract at a discounted rate of $2,500. That’s a 66 percent discount off the standard Ad-ID rate card.

Introduction of the limited Prefix Program: This program is only for advertisers who need five codes or less per year.

Made sure that “e-Media Front,” Ad-ID’s quarterly newsletter, addresses issues relating to advertising coding, in addition to more information about Ad-ID features, and quick tips. Our e-newsletter is now read by more than 3,000 subcribers.

We have also begun a series of Webinars, the first, “Introduction to Ad-ID,” was held June 25, 2008 (and will be repeated in September), and attended by more than 200 people. The second Webinar, “A Real-Time Demonstration of Ad-ID,” takes place on August 19, and I urge you to attend.

We had a very lively Q&A session following the first Webinar, and I wanted to share some of those questions with my readers, and urge you to write me or Lindsay Garvey if you have additional questions.

Q: Can clients and agencies be forced to use Ad-ID? Will TV stations refuse spots that don’t have Ad-ID #? Who are the “authorized entities” who can access the metadata from the spots? Is your slate page the actual slate that will be used in lieu of an edit company slate?
A: Ad-ID, as it was with ISCI, is a voluntary system. Please contact the media directly for their individual requirements. Only those who are given permission by the group administrator will have access to the metadata in Ad-ID. The Ad-ID slate page includes the general information that is typically found on a standard slate, but at this time is not used in lieu of the edit company slate.

Q: Can you include the screen shots with the post-webinar document?
A: They are on the Ad-ID Website for download .

Q: Are all broadcast networks adopting Ad-ID? Even internal creative services groups? (internal/in-house)
A: Media support includes ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Turner Broadcasting, and other national and local media companies. Ad-ID can be used to code all media. Please contact the media directly to determine their individual requirements. Many of the agency and broadcaster systems are also compliant with Ad-ID.

Q: Are you working with Donovan Data Systems (DDS) so codes don’t have to be entered twice?
A: DDS has confirmed that as of the end of May their systems can now accept up to 12 characters, which accommodates the Ad-ID 11 and 12 character code. At this time, Ad-ID is not integrated with DDS.

Q: As an AD-ID subscriber can we download the metadata to our own systems?
A: The Ad-ID metadata can be printed or exported directly from the Ad-ID Web site, in either comma separated values (CSV) or Extensible Markup Language (XML) format, or via Web services in XML format.

Q: What is the security for the data entered? Aren’t security rights an issue if all parties have access to Ad-ID’s Web’based system?
A: The Ad-ID Web site uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which protects data in transit from eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks. The data in Ad-ID is only accessible by those who are given permission to see the information by the group administrator.

Q: Can we continue to traffic spots that are labeled with ISCI code? Or do we need to recode all previous spots that will air in the future with Ad-ID code?
A: Codes created prior to January 1, 2009, can still be called ISCI codes, however they cannot be verified by Ad-ID if they are not created in the system.

Q: Can we just pay for our grandfathered ISCI prefixes for our clients and not use the formal system?
A: In order to ensure an ISCI prefix is activated in Ad-ID, the prefix can be activated prior to September 30, 2008, without a prefix activation fee and a code contract will need to be purchased by October 31, 2008, in order for the prefix to remain activated in the Ad-ID system. The code contract can be purchased at the level that best fits your needs. Ad-ID will not be in a position to authenticate codes not produced in the Ad-ID system.

Q: Can we keep the same alpha prefix or do we need to apply for a new apha prefix for a particular client?
A: If the prefix is a licensed prefix through ISCI or Ad-ID, then the advertiser can continue to use the prefix in Ad-ID.

Q: How does tagging of a TV ad work? If we have one ad with 300 tags, how does that work cost-wise? Who is authorized to view the Ad-ID slate? Why can’t codes roll over?
A: For one spot with 300 tags, we would anticipate that 300 separate codes would need to be created. Therefore, it would likely be best to do the unlimited contract for this client if they are doing tagging of this nature. The data in Ad-ID is only accessible by those who are given permission to see the information by the group administrator. Ad-ID code contracts are annual contracts and therefore expire at the end of the one-year period, even if there are codes remaining. For 50, 100 or 300 code contracts, if more than 30 percent of the contract has not been used at the expiration date, a discount of 25 percent of the cost of the new contract will be offered.

Q: If using one of the templates in which the year is one of the digits, what happens after 10 years? Do you recycle numbers then?
A: Ad-ID will not recycle numbers. For example, if the “1 digit year, 3 digit sequence option” is chosen and the advertiser has created 250 codes this year, they would have used ABCD80010000―ABCD82500000. In 2018, the system would begin counting up from the last code for this prefix (ABCD82510000, etc.).

Q: Could there be somewhere on the Ad-ID Web site where old ISCI codes could be logged (even though not guaranteed unique) so that all advertiser spots, old and new, can be found in one place? Can an advertiser purchase a single code and still keep their prefix?
A: At this time, Ad-ID is not able to store ISCI codes on the Web site. Yes, an advertiser can purchase a single Ad-ID code for $50 to ensure their prefix is activated in Ad-ID. The only exception is if the advertiser has multiple prefixes to activate, then the minimum contract that can be shared among multiple prefixes is the 10 code contract for $500.

Q: Currently, our agency has an ISCI prefix. Can we still use that on behalf of clients, or does each client need their own Ad ID?
A: All Ad-ID prefixes and contracts are advertiser based. Therefore, each client (advertiser) would need their own prefix. Agency prefixes can be held dormant in the Ad-ID system, but are not to be used in Ad-ID and are meant to be used for internal purposes only.

Q: Is the activation fee for clients that already have an AD ID code assigned? What happens with all the spots that are on-air right now that don’t have an AD ID code but have an ISCI code.
A: The prefix activation fees only apply to ISCI prefixes that are activated in Ad-ID after September 30, 2008. Codes created prior to January 1, 2009, can still be called ISCI codes; however they cannot be verified by Ad-ID if they are not created in the system. Any codes not created in the Ad-ID system cannot be termed Ad-ID codes.

Q: My agency currently puts an “R” behind original ISCI code when spot is REVISED, i.e., TCAA-T8-001CINR. Will this be able to be continued or do we have to assign an entirely new ISCI Code?
A: In Ad-ID, revised spots are coded with a new code in Ad-ID. An “R” is not able to be added at the end of an existing code. All Ad-ID codes follow the same structure of four alpha prefix, middle four characters and overflow.

Q: Our current ISCI prefixes will not be used by AD-ID unless we register them. Meaning if we don’t register them, AD-ID won’t use them for someone else? They are still bought and paid for by our clients and they will continue to own them, correct? Will the networks stop accepting spots that are not coded through AD-ID? So, if we just activate the codes, but don’t purchase a contract, nobody else can use that code? They won’t be recycled even if we don’t purchase a contract
A: Advertisers do not own their prefixes; they are licensed from Ad-ID as they were with ISCI. ISCI prefixes not activated in Ad-ID will not be re-licensed; however, if a firm goes out of business, its prefix may be re-licensed. If the advertiser activates its ISCI prefix in Ad-ID prior to September 30, 2008, there will be no prefix activation fee and the only cost will be that of the Ad-ID code contract. If a code contract is not purchased by October 31, 2008, the ISCI prefix will be deactivated and subject to the prefix activation fees. Please contact the media directly to determine their individual coding requirements.

Is It Too Late for eBiz?

2008-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

For over 20 years in the media business, we have lived in a world where workflow automation has taken a back seat to strategic initiatives (such as ROI metrics, audience measurement, and proprietary client initiatives) instead of moving forward with it in tandem.

As Irwin Gotlieb said at this year’s AAAA Media Conference and Tradeshow, reinventing business practices is now about our survival. To be clear, what I consider to be automated workflow is not online negotiations, but rather automating the fulfillment of the results of our negotiations, and the stewardship of those campaigns through integrations between buyer and seller systems.

There are still media buyers that depend on faxes to communicate orders to their media sales counterparts. To those buyers, shame on you; your systems suppliers have offered electronic transmission capabilities for years!

However, even these automation capabilities are inadequate at best.  Other industries—such as healthcare, automotive, consumer packaged goods, publishing, and major retail—havemandated integrated technology workflows as the cost doing business with them, and have gained co-operation and operational efficiencies as a result.

The majority of the media-buying community has paid lip service to workflow, but done nothing. Our media trading partners have developed workflows, and innovative ways of using technology, in a vacuum. Meanwhile, media buyers have failed to grasp the importance of automated workflows, and therefore have not moved their vendors to actively participate in the workflow conversations that have taken place under the auspices of our vertical trade associations and/or implement their recommendations.  

Automated workflows in emerging media have been slowed by this legacy thinking, and now agency systems vendors are realizing that our current highly manual model of stewardship is not sustainable.  We have been complacent, and allowed our vendors to make us choose between workflow and strategic enhancements, instead of moving them both forward or exercising the supreme motivator of finding vendors that will do so.  

The media business is at a crossroads, as we reinvent business practices while we sustain legacy practices. We must strike a balance between the effort required to compensate for 20 years of complacency, and living in a world where change happens all around us every day. Agencies must actively partner with media and trade associations, and demand that our systems vendors do the same.

So, is it too late for eBusiness? Perhaps in the legacy model. However, as new business practices emerge, the opportunity exists to transform a highly manual ecosystem to a well-oiled integrated workflow machine, or have technologists impose their solutions upon us. It’s your choice.

Have We Made Progress in eBusiness???

2008-04-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

At the 2007 AAAA Media Conference, McCann Worldgroup’s Greg Smith said, “eBiz must be a priority for you and your organization.” GroupM’s Mark Goldstein in his opening address to the Media Conference said, “We must make significant progress in eBiz.”

So how have we done in one year?

Greg’s message got through … somewhat. And Mark, we’ve made some progress. However, there is still frustration and confusion.

Here are some comments that have come directly from some of the vertical trade associations, some that have had success in eBuisness, some that are still struggling and trying to get things adopted.

“The key to increased adoption is constant engagement and participation from the Agency community.”

“We would like to see agencies embrace eBusiness further and dedicate more resources in order to ensure the initiative is ultimately successful.”

“We need aggressive marketing of the benefits to all parties; pressure generated from the management of the affected companies and further cooperation among the various software vendors.”

“People are more interested in keeping their media's technologies proprietary.”

“Commitment from the buy-side systems has stalled; the media have spent significant time, money and resources to move projects forward.”

“The agency commitment to push their vendors to work with our media has not been realized.”

As you read through these comments, is there a common theme? Each of these comments tell us that there must be active and immediate agency involvement in eBuisness efforts. Vendors must be able to innovate. However they must innovate in concert with business practices. As agencies, we must get better at articulating and delivering consistent and clear messages to all our vendors.

There must be agreement amongst all parties to adopt common Standards, by industry vertical markets. Many of the vertical market trade associations have devoted time and effort to developing standards, there is no room in our industry for squabbling over who’s standards are more open, we must recognize the business needs, and vendor capabilities, and allow for varying degrees of use of a standards, not different versions.

eBuisness isn’t about standards. It isn’t about XML, it isn’t about the AAAA registry. It’s about system to system conductivity supporting business practices. Standards are the means of supporting this conductivity. We have to do things in a simple, transparent, and universal manner.

The AAAA has spent substantial amounts of money, building a cross-media registry of trading partners. How do we leverage across all media to accelerate eBuisiness adoption? How do you move eBusiness forward? Talk to the chairs and the members the various AAAA committees about developing industry priorities.

Agency system vendors will do what their customers ask them to do. However we are asking in a lot of different ways, and in some cases for other things, let’s all get on the same page.

MediaWeek and Ad-ID

2007-12-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

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.”

Ad-ID Replaces ISCI as Official Industry Standard

2007-10-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

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:

(704) 501-4410 or cs@ad-id.org.

Why do we need Ad-ID?

2007-06-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

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.

Why do a blog in the first place...

2007-04-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

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.