“Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines” Provide Marketers and Agencies with Greater Brand Safety and Trust

CARLSBAD, Calif. – In a move that standardizes the information networks and exchanges provide to advertisers, enhances buyer control over placement and context, and builds brand safety, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released “Networks & Exchanges Quality Assurance Guidelines” for public comment.
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http://blog.betteradvertising.com/2009/12/07/self-regulation-your-business-and-your-privacy/

By Scott Meyer, CEO, Better Advertising

Fitting The Pieces of Self-Regulation Together

WASHINGTON – At Better Advertising, we believe that industry self-regulation is the key to more transparent ads that produce better results. How our industry fits the pieces of Self-Regulation together will be a major topic of conversation at the FTC’s Exploring Privacy Roundtables. The first is Monday, December 7th. Better Advertising will be there, actively tweeting and blogging. Keep an eye out for me, Colin O’Malley and Sim Simeonov. And, Better Advertising will be filing a request to participate at the next one on January 28th in Berkley.
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NEW YORK – The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to withdraw recently issued enforcement guidance regarding the opinions and commentary of bloggers and other participants in social media, saying the rules unfairly and unconstitutionally impose penalties on online media for practices in which offline media have engaged for decades. In an open letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Randall Rothenberg, the President and CEO of the IAB, called the FTC’s distinction between offline media and online media, “constitutionally dubious.”
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Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Reevaluate How to Reach Consumers during the Search Process

RESTON, VA – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released the results of a study of changes in search engine marketing in the pharmaceutical industry as a result of the FDA warning letters distributed in March 2009. Using comScore data, the study found that sponsored link exposures to U.S. Internet users declined more than 50 percent immediately after the FDA warning letters were issued to pharmaceutical manufacturers concerning the exclusion of fair balance language in sponsored link advertising.
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US bloggers and publishers of all sizes are now asked to declare all forms of compensation they receive in order to promote products and services on their sites. Not doing to can lead to penalties of up to 11,000 USD, according to new regulations issued earlier by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

It is for the first time since 1980 that the FTC modifies regulations with regard to testimonials, endorsements, shopping advices, reviews; it is also for the first time that blogs are to be monitored as well.
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IAB Releases “Data Security Best Practices” for Advertisers and Publishers; 2009 Online Lead Quality Summit

LAS VEGAS – As consumers are sharing ever more details about themselves to obtain personalized information, products and services, it is critical that industries working with consumer data maintain the highest standards of security for the storage of that information. To provide a framework for monitoring security vulnerabilities, threats and potential fraud, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released “Online Lead Generation: Data Security Best Practices,” a guide that ensures the safety and security of consumers’ personally identifiable information. The announcement was made at the fourth annual TARGUSinfo Online Lead Quality Summit (OLQS), a premiere event where senior interactive marketing executives from the lead generation industry met to discuss best practices and emerging trends.
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Internet Activity Index Reveals Consumers Spend More Time Online with Content Than Community and Communications

New York, NY – Internet users continue to spend a majority of their time with Content sites, up from 34 percent of total time spent in 2003 to 42 percent in 2009, a 24 percent increase, according to the Online Publishers Association (OPA). The OPA announced a six-year analysis of its Internet Activity Index (IAI), a monthly gauge of the time being spent with Commerce, Communications, Community, Content and Search. And, while consumers may be spending significant time with Community sites, it’s coming at the expense of their time with Communication sites whose core capabilities are email and Instant Messaging (IM).
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New Marketplace Tool Addresses Growing Advertising Platform

MIXX Conference & Expo 2009

NEW YORK – Long form video is forecasted to be the driving factor in the growth of digital video advertising over the next five years. Continuing its leadership role in developing standards, guidelines and best practices in the growing digital video advertising marketplace, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released “Long Form Video Overview,” the latest tool to help marketers and agencies better understand and make the most of digital video as a marketing platform. The announcement was made at the IAB’s fifth annual MIXX Conference and Expo in New York City.
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