• by August 15, 2000

Today at the Jupiter Online Advertising Forum, Web auditors ABC Interactive, BPA International and Engage I/PRO, a division of Engage, Inc., announced plans to launch Audit Central. Audit Central will be a collaborative site designed to provide visitors the ability to access verified, census-based traffic numbers from all of the Web's audited sites that publicize their audit reports.

Audit Central marks the first time that media buyers and investors will have one single resource to compare Web traffic audits. The Audit Central site is expected to launch in early September and will offer unlimited access to all visitors.

Jim Spaeth, President of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), applauded the “cooperative and generous spirit with which these three firms have developed Audit Central.” He said the website will be a real gift to the industry, and for the first time allow the media industry easy access to all site audits made public by publishers.

In addition to the audit report listings, the Audit Central site will feature online media educational and industry information, as well information on the audit firms.

Gerard Broussard, Senior Partner and Director of Media Metrics at Ogilvy One, said that site traffic auditing plays a “key role in making advertisers feel secure about their online media investments.” The site, he said, “will be a great place for media planners to quickly find audit reports from one source and will serve as an important foundation towards building sound Web advertising plans.”

“This will be a real boon to the online media community and a real incentive to publishers to make all of their audits public, as they do in traditional media,” adds Spaeth. “Most of all, Audit Central demonstrates the willingness of its sponsors to put the greater needs of this emerging medium ahead of their individual interests. That's the spirit that will help the online media achieve their potential.”