The Interactive Advertising Bureau is inviting public comment on a newly issued set of rich Internet application ad-measurement guidelines applicable primarily to online media companies and ad-serving organizations.
The guidelines will gauge at what point an ad impression is counted in rich online application environments built with technologies such as AJAX and JSON.
The best-practice tips are geared to online browser or browser-equivalent-based Internet activity where page content changes and ad serving are no longer linked.
A standardized set of measurement guidelines is critical for online advertising as new technologies develop and outpace current tracking infrastructure.
The IAB guidelines recommend that “in instances where significant user activity (click through and responding to mail and changing search options through clicking or typing, etc.) is present, this activity can be directly tied to ad-serving and counting provided that counting rules are defined in a consistent and fully disclosed manner.”
Also, the guidelines say that “in special circumstances, due to the nature of the application, there may be no material user activity, for example, a single streaming event (e.g., financial tickers, sports game coverage, long single-stream video content). In these cases disclosure and counting must abide by the auto-refresh guidelines of the current IAB Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines.”
Comments to the guidelines can be made on www.iab.net/RIA.aspx through the first week of June. Advertising agencies, online publishers, advertisers and technology vendors can respond. The guidelines become final after the feedback is reviewed.
