Top Online Ad Companies Form Standards Alliance

A group of top online advertising companies has established the Advertising Standards Alliance (ASA), an industry trade group focused on resolving issues and standardizing online advertising practices.

The ASA immediately announced the creation of a new ad measurement standard, which will provide additional information for online advertising networks and ad servers to more accurately track their networks.

Initial member companies are 24/7 Media, AdForce, Adsmart, BURST! Media, DoubleClick,Engage, Flycast Communications, Microsoft bCentral, Real Media, Sabela Media, SmartAge.com, Teknosurf.com and ValueClick.

The companies said the ASA’s mission is “to make it easier for both Web advertisers and publishers to utilize and create value from Internet advertising.”

The group also said it will help online advertisers become more comfortable leveraging the marketing power and reach of the Internet.

The ASA’s first initiative is to create a measurement standard that allows for clear, distinctive measurement of reach and unique visitors.

The measurement standard, which defines both the entity that sold the ad and the entity that served the ad, will be implemented by all ASA member companies within the next six months.

A number of third-party companies are also supporting the standard, including Web measurement firms Media Metrix and Nielsen NetRatings.

“The online advertising industry has matured to the point where the formation of an industry group is critical to presenting an ongoing and open dialogue among the various online ad networks and ad serving companies,” said Lyn Chitow Oakes, chief operating officer for Flycast Communications.