Advertisers call for standard tool to measure efficacy of online ads
UK advertisers are calling on Internet companies to adhere to a single, industry-wide code for measuring the effectiveness of online ads.
The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA), which represents the interests of more than 300 companies, says the growth in online advertising revenues is being hampered by the lack of a standard Web auditing method.
ISBA is joining forces with Internet usage auditing body ABC//electronic and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) to press for an independent authority and system for auditing websites.
The call follows recent warnings from Internet portal and search engine Yahoo! that advertising revenues will not grow as quickly as had been previously anticipated.
ISBA says many of its members are reluctant to spend their marketing budgets on the Web because of the “uncertainty and suspicion” surrounding some Internet sites’ claims about advertising effectiveness and number of site visitors.
A recent survey by ABC//electronic found that the lack of Internet accountability and measurement came top of senior marketers’ list of worries about their ability to use new media effectively.
“The success of the online advertising market will depend on dot-coms throwing their support en masse behind a single, independent and reliable, advertiser-focused standard for Web auditing,” says Joe Lamb, ISBA’s communications manager.
“This is the most pressing issue for the online community if online advertising is to achieve its revenue potential in the long term.”
