IAB Informer - July 2008

Get Immersed in Mobile at the IAB Leadership Forum, Monday, July 21

Learn how to connect with your consumers on their small screens at the IAB Leadership Forum: Mobile on Monday, July 21, in New York City. Register now!

Understand the mobile landscape with an overview from keynote speaker, Maria Mandel, Senior Partner, Executive Director of Digital Innovation, Ogilvy.
Gain insights into practical solutions at the IAB’s “Mobile Marketplace” – a fast-paced, one-stop-shopping environment. Compare some of the best tools available.
Hear case studies from the entertainment, sports and consumer packaged goods sectors.

In conjunction with the event is the release of the IAB Mobile Platform Status Report that explores how mobile is a valuable platform for interactive advertising. Visit www.iab.net on Monday to download the document.

Already registered are American Express Publishing, AT&T, Campbell Soup Company, Canon USA, Inc., Carat USA, Citi, CNN Digital, Deutsch Inc., Grey Worldwide, GroupM, Island Def Jam Music Group, Johnson & Johnson, Kenneth Cole Productions, Lowe Worldwide, Marsteller, McKinney, Merkley + Partners, Procter & Gamble, R/GA, Universal McCann, Warner Bros., Wells Fargo, Western Union, Young & Rubicam, Zenith GPE and more. Join them today.

Revenue Cycle Best Practices Increase Efficiency and Effectiveness

The IAB has released Revenue Cycle Best Practices (.pdf), a document that recommends a series of internal controls and processes for publishers aimed at increasing efficiency and effectiveness in the online advertising revenue cycle. It was created by the IAB’s CFO Council, comprised of financial professionals representing 46 leading interactive companies.

Key recommendations from the document include:

Specific processes for obtaining internal pricing approval
Advice to publishers that they closely monitor open receivables that are more than 60 days overdue and that they recommend actions to their sales teams for collections
Implementation of appropriate controls along the insertion-order process to ensure proper execution
Regular meetings between collections teams and Ad Sales Management.

MIXX Conference & Expo 2.8—The Official Interactive Event of Advertising Week

Interactive advertising’s preeminent event is only two months away and the agenda is shaping up to be one of the most exciting yet. The MIXX Conference & Expo 2.8, September 22-23 in New York City, will feature industry leaders Leslie Moonves, Clay Shirky and others who are defining the future of advertising now. MIXX brings together a dynamic cross-section of speakers and attendees and delivers cutting-edge programming focused on the invention and reinvention of the media ecosystem. Early-bird registration ends Friday, July 18. Brand marketers and ad agency executives may qualify for a complimentary registration. Register today.

Revised Ad Unit and Rich Media Creative Guidelines Simplify Online Ad Buying

To provide the interactive advertising industry with a common minimum set of creative specifications, the IAB recently released the Revised Ad Unit and Rich Media Creative Guidelines. These updates will simplify the online ad buying process by:

Addressing minimum guidelines for common ad formats and sizes such as banners and buttons as well as transitional and various over-the-page units such as floating ads, page take-overs and tear-backs;
Defining rich media as separate from basic animated ads by requiring interaction aside from the ability to click-through;
Covering ads delivered into standard web environments including email and static and dynamic web pages; and
Updating the minimum file sizes of the 2002 Universal Ad Package (found at www.iab.net/UAP)

IAB Small Publisher Membership: How Could You Benefit?

Small publishers now have the opportunity to become members of the IAB, taking advantage of special membership benefits that include training programs and Webinars designed exclusively for small publishers, access to IAB networking events, business insurance and protection programs, membership in IAB's new Small Publisher Committee and a formal environment in which to stand strong against adverse regulation that could hinder their ability to sell or carry advertising. What could joining do for your future? Read more »

“I decided to join the IAB for any number of reasons. Primarily, I want to be connected with an organization that’s ahead of the curve, and gives me an enormous competitive edge in the marketplace. I also enjoy being surrounded by other successful people who help me to achieve goals I set for myself. I also love the fact that the IAB represents small digital publishers like myself in Washington. I don’t have the time nor resources to be heard, but politicians need to know the facts about what is happening in the Internet world I work in. The IAB delivers a fair and balanced perspective to these lawmakers."

— Tim Carter, Founder, AsktheBuilder.com