Wireless Advertising Association - WAA -Addresses Issues Facing Industry; Board of Directors and Association Begin Establishing Voluntary Guidelines

The Wireless Advertising Association (WAA), an independent Strategic Organizational Unit of the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), formed by the merger of the Wireless Advertising Industry Association (WAIA) and the IAB's Wireless Ad Council (WAC), held its first meeting last week in New York City, to establish voluntary guidelines for the wireless advertising industry.

The WAA's Board of Directors is composed of executives from wireless operators, wireless ISPs, content providers, ad sales firms, and wireless and ad serving infrastructure companies. Companies represented on the Board of Directors include: AdForce, AvantGo, Contra, DoubleClick, Engage, FusionOne, Lot21, Lycos, Media Metrix, Motorola, Nokia, OmniSky, OpenGrid, Oracle Mobile, PCS Innovations, Phase2Media, 24/7 Media, SF Interactive and Turner Broadcasting.

During this meeting, the Board and association participants further defined the first four areas for which the WAA will seek to establish voluntary guidelines for the wireless industry. These initiatives include:

- Ad Measurement - defining the metrics and methods for tracking ad delivery and determining ad effectiveness

- Creative Standards and Ad Models - defining ad formats and sizes as well as appropriate display methods

- Consumer Issues & Privacy - determining how best to garner consumer acceptance while maintaining consumers' privacy

- Ad Delivery - determining the processes and associated technology standards for ad delivery

Over 150 companies were represented at the meeting and worked collectively to address the issues within each initiative, determine an approach for defining industry guidelines and outline next steps. Companies in attendance represented countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the U.S.

"We are fortunate to be able to address these very important issues that face the wireless platform as an industry, rather than as individual groups representing the segments of the industry," said Tim DePriest, interim Chairperson of the WAA. "We believe that the approach we have defined will serve to propel the orderly growth of wireless advertising as it takes its place as an integral element of advertisers' and marketers' media plans."

Open to all members of the wireless community, the WAA encourages those interested to register at wireless@iab.net to take part in the creation of voluntary guidelines for the industry. The WAA's next meeting will take place in San Francisco in mid-July. Day and location will be posted on the IAB Website (www.iab.net). The organization has slated elections for the new Board of Directors and Officers in the second quarter of 2001.


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