High levels of manual transmission and entry of data in the interactive advertising workflow creates large inefficiencies, unacceptable levels of errors, and increased billing difficulties. Business document delivery via standard eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schemas allows for the automated receipt and input of data, decreased manual entry and communication errors, and improved overall advertising and financial operations. The IAB Ad Ops Council, along with vendors and agencies from the interactive industry, has therefore developed a set of communication standards and system requirements for the electronic delivery and receipt of the following business documents:

• Request For Proposal
• Proposal 
• Insertion Order

This comprehensive solution has been released as Beta versions and will be tested and implemented by a number of IAB Beta Testing Partners throughout 2009. During this time, standards for electronic delivery of invoices will be developed and finalized. Companies interested in implementing these Standards should become Beta Testing Partners. It is not recommended that companies attempt to implement the Standards at this time without consulting with the IAB because changes will be made during Beta.

The eBusiness Standards are made up of a number of files, listed below, including functional and technical documentation as well as XML schemas:

• Functional Requirements 
• Technical Specifications 
• AAAA Registry Integration Guide 
• XML Overview 
• XML schemas (XSD files) 
• XML schema documentation (HTML files)

Download all documentation (6MB .zip)

While XML schemas make up a large portion of the Standards, there are also a number of functional and technical requirements. Key requirements include:

• Each trading partner will communicate directly via internal or vendor systems; a point-to-point system will be enabled using the AAAA E-biz for Media Registry 
• Document origination is standardized; agencies send RFPs, publishers send Proposals, and agencies send a final Insertion Order (IO) 
• Revisions are not supported in the Beta version and any negotiation or changes of Proposals or IOs will take place via other methods 
• All messages will be sent and received via web services using 128-bit SSL encryption

By implementing these Standards, the interactive industry will be able to significantly decrease the occurrence of miscommunication, campaign setup errors, and reconciliation delays. The resulting improvements in efficiency and higher quality results will enable companies to effectively scale their operations to meet the continued growing demand for interactive advertising services.