Top Trade Groups Join Forces to Standardize Distribution Specs for Video Ads

Historic Effort Will Help Advertisers, Agencies, and Production Houses Streamline Cross-Platform Video Delivery

NEW YORK--()--Eight leading trade associations serving the advertising, marketing, and video technology industries are joining forces in an historic bid to create new guidelines for simplifying the distribution of digital video ads throughout the ad production sector.

The recommendations to be developed are aimed at advertisers, agencies, and production houses engaged in the production of digital video on computers, smartphones, tablets, and traditional television, which is increasingly becoming a digital medium.

The trade groups taking part in the initiative include:

  • The Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
  • The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Technology Laboratory
  • The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's)
  • AICE: (The North American post production industry trade association)
  • The Digital Production Partnership Ltd (DPP)
  • The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA)
  • The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM)
  • The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)

The trade groups will establish three joint working groups to address standards and make recommendations that will simplify digital video advertising distribution. Each group will address a specific area that the organizations have identified as being critical for meeting the ever-growing digital appetite of marketers and consumers. They are:

  • File Delivery Specifications
  • Advertising Metadata
  • Audio Specifications and Best Practices

The three groups will commence work immediately and their work will evolve over time according to the issues they are addressing. Depending on each group’s disparate progress, an early draft of some recommendations could be completed by the end of the year.

“This is a momentous event in our industry whose time has come and is, in fact, overdue,” said Harold S. Geller, Chief Growth Officer of Ad-ID LLC, a joint venture of the 4A’s and ANA. “Implementing common practices between digital assets will increase efficiency, profitability, and growth within our industry and I’m proud to be working with this exceptionally distinguished lineup of industry groups to deliver meaningful standardization across the supply chains.”

Alanna Gombert, General Manager, IAB Tech Lab, and Senior Vice President, Technology and Ad Operations, IAB, added: “The time has come to chart a more efficient course that will support consumer consumption and ease navigation across multiple screens. These collective efforts will not only benefit our members, but the industry as a whole.”

“AICE is proud to be taking an active role in determining the best digital advertising distribution practices for production and post,” said Ryan Schnizlein, chairman of AICE's Technical Committee and Chief Technology Officer of Cutters Studios. “We look forward to working with stakeholders in other top trade organizations to overcome current and future integration challenges for our members.”

ABOUT AD-ID

Ad-ID is the industry standard for identifying advertising assets across all media platforms (broadcast, online, mobile, over-the-top, print and audio). The web-based system is a central, secure source for the industry’s asset identification information and ensures that all assets are delivered correctly to media and consumers. Ad-ID is a joint venture of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and serves more than 2,600 advertisers of all sizes and most advertising agencies in the United States. For more information, visit www.Ad-ID.org.

ABOUT IAB TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

The IAB Technology Laboratory is an independent, international, nonprofit research and development consortium charged with producing and helping companies implement global industry technical standards. Comprised of digital publishers and ad technology firms, as well as marketers, agencies, and other companies with interests in the interactive marketing arena, the IAB Tech Lab’s goal is to reduce friction associated with the digital advertising and marketing supply chain, while contributing to the safe and secure growth of the industry. The organization’s founding member companies include AppNexus, Google, Hearst Magazines Digital Media, PubMatic, Tremor Video, Yahoo, and Yahoo! JAPAN. Established in 2014, the IAB Tech Lab is headquartered in New York City with an office in San Francisco.

ABOUT AICE

AICE is the marketing communications post production association whose members are independent creative editorial, design, visual effects, color grading, audio, music and post production companies. It is dedicated to the advancement and promotion of these companies and the essential role their artists play in the media creation process. With chapters in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Toronto, AICE represents a significant segment of the vibrant post production industry, and continues to maintain its strong collective voice in the commercial advertising and marketing industry. Among its signature initiatives and programs are the annual AICE Awards, which highlights creative excellence among its member companies; the regular publication of white papers and advisories on relevant trends and developments in post-production; and active participation with other industry organizations on the establishment of standards and best practices for the post production process. For more in-formation, visit www.aice.org.

Contacts

ANA
John Wolfe, 212-455-8011
Cell: 914-659-8663
Director of Communications
jwolfe@ana.net
or
IAB
Laura Goldberg, 347-683-1859
laura.goldberg@iab.com
or
AICE
Anthony Vagnoni, 973-403-9815
Cell: 973-493-8736
anthony@avagnoni.com

Contacts

ANA
John Wolfe, 212-455-8011
Cell: 914-659-8663
Director of Communications
jwolfe@ana.net
or
IAB
Laura Goldberg, 347-683-1859
laura.goldberg@iab.com
or
AICE
Anthony Vagnoni, 973-403-9815
Cell: 973-493-8736
anthony@avagnoni.com