IAB Launches Specs Database: Updating Is Key

The Interactive Advertising Bureau, along with its AB Ad Ops Council Joint Working Group on Late Creative, unveiled a database hub for ad unit creative specs yesterday. The free-with-registration resource currently includes specifications of 88 publishers, from About to Ziff Davis.

The key here, of course, will be ensuring the information is up-to-date. The IAB noted publishers will be expected to update specs within 72 hours of making changes. However, as anyone who’s ever worked a day in his life knows, such duties often fall by the wayside. And if you’re the guy responsible for making sure the creative satisfies all specs of all publishers in a media plan, that three day grace period could be a problem.

Still, even though agencies and advertisers will most likely (at least on occasion) be picking up the phone or shooting off an e-mail to ensure specs are met, the database will probably prove a valuable resource.