Donovan Data Systems joins IAB as beta partner in EDI implementation for digital advertising

Where will my ad appear? How many impressions should be served per day or per month? Which audience should be targeted? These are just a few instructions communicated in buyline comments for digital media.

Lack of electronic processes and standardization between buyers, websites, ad servers and billing systems results in miscommunication, manual input and discrepancies. These, in turn, increase the cost of buying and selling digital advertising.

Industry-wide standards save time and money

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is working to define standard definitions and processes to reduce discrepancies and increase efficiencies, which will increase the profitability of digital advertising.

For the past few months, Donovan Data Systems (DDS) has been part of the IAB working group responsible for creating eBusiness standards for interactive media. The agency workflow, ad server and publisher participants in the initiative are helping to define the business rules and XML schema for system-agnostic electronic delivery specifications.

"Adding electronic data interchange (EDI) processes to any industry, once the transaction set is defined and all partners have programmed to it, creates efficiencies on all sides," says Harvey Kent, DDS' chief media strategist. "This is of paramount importance for digital media, where precise targeting results in an explosion in the number of transactions."

 

Kent appeared on the Interactive eBusiness Solutions panel at the IAB Ad Operations Summit, held October 30, 2008 in New York City. He was asked about pitfalls to be avoided when creating EDI solutions, given DDS' vast experience in developing and helping to establish EDI standards for other media. 'We must make sure we get the definitions right and agree on business practices, then continue to modify,' explains Kent. 'When buying and selling systems transfer data electronically, everyone gains,' he states.