Setting Wireless Ad Standards

More than 100 companies from 15 countries recently met in Barcelona, Spain to discuss advertising standards, metrics and privacy issues for wireless advertising recently. The meeting, which attendees considered a success, was the first in the wireless Advertising Association WAA's continued plan to institute global standards for wireless advertising and to encourage participation from companies all over the world. The meeting was organized in conjunction with the IBC's Mobile Advertising Conference and is the first of several global meetings set to happen around the world over the next several months. One of the key outcomes of the meeting was that members voted to approve standards for SMS communication. This is the first step in reaching consensus around ad standards and will be followed by announcements of other ad standards as they are approved by the working groups and the WAA Board. Standards in wireless advertising are needed sooner than later, according to some industry experts. Rather than having a myriad of different advertising platforms, standards created now will guide all wireless manufacturers to build the universally compatible protocols that advertisers are demanding. These standards help advertisers reach any device, regardless of the manufacturer because all platforms are being designed for such compatibility. Standards will also benefit advertisers who need to have a simple means to buy and understand a new medium. "We are very pleased at the outcome in Europe," said Perry Allison, Global Chair of the WAA and VP, Strategic Alliances for SkyGo. "This meeting was an essential first step in bringing together all the companies worldwide that are interested in furthering the wireless advertising industry. We had great representation from many countries and see significant momentum around our initiatives in Europe."

- Anya Khait may be reached at anya@mediapost.com

Next story loading loading..