• August 10, 2006

A group of eight major marketers including Colgate-Palmolive, Ford Motor Company, and Visa on Wednesday demanded that online publishers provide audited advertising figures based on industry guidelines by mid-2007--and certify that their underlying ad-counting process is consistent and reliable by 2008. They warned that only audited and certified numbers would be used for payment against their interactive marketing campaigns. Major marketers that say they will require audits by next year include Kimberly-Clark, BMW, HP, ING, and Pepsi.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau in 2004 issued ad measurement guidelines, as well as procedures for the auditing and certification process. Last spring, the IAB also announced guidelines for broadband video commercials. The overall aim of the guidelines is to ensure consistency in the online marketplace, where companies are spending an increasing proportion of their ad budgets. The IAB guidelines recommend that online publishers hire independent, third-party auditors to conduct the certification process, but do not designate specific firms. Major accounting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young are among those that typically handle ad audits with oversight from the nonprofit Media Rating Council.

--Mark Walsh