AAAAs: Recommended guidelines for on-demand advertising

From the AAAAs conference last week in Orlando: The AAAAs Advanced Television Committee released recommended Guidelines for On-Demand Television Metrics

"These recommended guidelines will serve as a starting point to discuss how best to measure and verify on-demand behavior," said Tim Hanlon, SVP/Emerging Contacts at Starcom MediaVest and committee Chairman. "Our goal is to establish a dialog between the TV industry and marketers to better define the potential value of advertising within the on-demand environment."

The Guidelines, "On-Demand Television Metrics Guidelines," address the burgeoning sector of on-demand television advertising and include definitions of terms and eight initial guidelines for ad message delivery, verification and reporting, and behavior, among other topics.

Hanlon added that the Guidelines are designed to facilitate discussion among video program distributors, cable/satellite operators, technology enablers, and research intermediaries, with the goal of defining generally acceptable on-demand performance metrics. The guidelines are available for download at www.aaaa.org.

RBR observation:

Technology is moving so quickly that advertisers and agencies are struggling to put terminologies and systems in place to quantify new media and placement criteria. All estimates say VOD is and will continue to grow quickly. The industry needs to get the best handle on it to make the most of ROI. This was a major issue at the 4As in numerous sessions. Like the 4As and the RAB did for radio with the Universal Guide of Radio Buying and Selling Terms last year to clear up ongoing confusion, they've done the same here. It is crucial that this is done-everyone on the same page, as the pages keep turning faster and faster. Kudos to the 4As for shepherding the process.