Addressable Ad Coalition Joins With AIM

The Addressable Advertising Coalition (AAC) joined forces with the Association for Interactive Media (AIM)), to create a marketing-oriented group designed to foster growth in the interactive media environment.

The AAC will operate as a co-organization within AIM, which is headed by Ben Isaacson, acting executive director. Art Cohen will serve as chairman of the AAC.

Isaacson said the entire media industry is poised for explosive growth in the coming years because of emerging technologies and delivery infrastructures, such as digital cable and broadband.

“With the added insight that comes from the AAC and its members, AIM becomes not only the largest Internet and interactive media industry trade organization, it becomes the one with the largest and highest quality base of research into audience preferences, tastes and habits,” he said.

AIM members include America Online, Bloomberg, IBM, MTV Networks, The Weather Channel, Yahoo, Media Metrix and Internet Shopping Network among others.

The AAC has become a proponent for quality and standards in research and use of professional measurement techniques for interactive media. It will work closely with advertising agencies and other marketers currently within AIM.

“The Internet and other interactive technology-based media are finally at a place where wide-scale deployment is economically feasible,” said Cohen, currently senior vice president of advertising and e-commerce for ACTV Inc.. “AAC can now offer its membership access to a wider range of direct advertising technology and market research — the core strengths of AIM — while providing AIM with a greater perspective on the power of addressable advertising and new opportunities made possible by TV-Internet convergence.”