Ad groups come to terms on Web contracts

NEWS

Two top advertising industry groups on Monday issued guidelines for interactive ad contracts, the latest effort aimed at untangling the Web's marketing woes. Issued by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the updated terms and conditions are meant to soothe recurring headaches felt among advertisers, agencies and Web publishers when negotiating online ad agreements. While many wrinkles were ironed out -- including those related to ad measurement -- issues related to consumer data collection were left on the table because of troubles finding common ground between publishers and advertisers. "We really dug into each other's business operations and...tried to make the document reflect those business differences," said Jeff Weitzman, senior director of client services at Yahoo!, an IAB member who was involved in the lengthy discussions to develop new terms and conditions. "It's going to be something that we want to stay on top of and keep talking about, going forward." Representatives from AOL, Walt Disney Internet Group, DoubleClick, Foote Cone & Belding, Modem Media, The Digital Edge and others participated in developing the terms and conditions, which were last updated in early 2001. At stake is the credibility of a relatively nascent marketing medium whose ups and downs have traced the dot-com boom and bust. After years of dramatic growth, sales in interactive advertising retracted in 2001 following the dot-com downfall, causing industry leaders to scrutinise everything from Web measurement to research. Making improvements to the ad buying process has been a top priority in an effort to lure traditional advertisers back online. This year, the IAB has issued new research on the effectiveness of Web advertising and guidelines for counting ad impressions. Still, quibbles regularly crop up during the ad negotiating process over areas such as discrepancies in ad-delivery counts and liability in an ad campaign mix-up. The latest guidelines represent a middle ground on many previous gray areas. For the first time, the terms and conditions address issues related to advertisements served by third parties, such as DoubleClick, or their agencies. The new rules clear up problems with tallying ads-delivered, resolving differing methods of counting used by publishers and advertisers. Web publishers typically count an ad when it's requested from the server; advertisers register an ad when it is sent to the page. The new contracts include guidelines for working through opposing ad counts if they differ by more than 10 percent, giving the agency the role as mediator. New language in the terms and conditions also gives publishers more clarity in the event of a lawsuit. For example, new language restricts the publisher's liability if, for example, a mistake is made in delivering an ad promoting a marketer's special discount beyond the end date of the campaign. "Although version one was a great first start, given that the industry has changed so rapidly, there were a lot of holes," said Adam Gerber, media director for the Digital Edge. "This new document plugs a number of those holes. It's much clearer for agencies and publishers as to what each of our obligations and responsibilities." Still, he acknowledged, rights to data collected in online ad campaigns -- which was in heavy dispute early on in the talks -- are still being discussed and were not addressed in the latest version of the terms and conditions. Web publishers have long used "cookies," or electronic tracking tags, to monitor visitor habits and response to advertising. Third-party ad networks and agencies do the same, creating comprehensive pictures of consumer behaviour across multiple Web sites. For the first time, both sides are questioning who owns that information. "We have decided that the data debate is a much broader discussion that needs to be addressed by all industry stakeholders and that process is now in motion," Gerber said. He said that the IAB and the AAAA are in the process of assembling a group of industry leaders to discuss the topic.

For everything Internet-related, from the latest legal and policy-related news, to domain name updates, see ZDNet UK's Internet News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

@Jack, > Works really well for thieves.... Nice attempt to deflect the argument by tossing in a point that's totally irrelevant, even it were...

1 hour ago by BrownieBoy on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

4 hours ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

7 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

12 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

21 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

2 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

2 days ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

2 days ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Ad groups come to terms on Web contracts

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Online ad group names permanent chief

The battle over getting to know you

Online ad market shows signs of recovery

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in IT Strategy

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

PHP Web Developer - html, css, javascript

Java Developer, Online Gaming, London

Quant Dev, Hedge Fund, FX, Excel VBA

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Make faster, smarter decisions using BI

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Business of IT / IT Strategy

Ad groups come to terms on Web contracts

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in IT Strategy

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features