Ad-ID, a centralized Web-based system for digitally coding all types of advertising executions, is expected to eventually make its way to Canada. Bob Reaume, VP of media and research for the Association of Canada Advertisers in Toronto, says the ACA will likely be involved in bringing the system to Canada. He says this could be as a subsidiary of or in partnership with Ad-ID (Advertising Digital Identification LLC) in the U.S., which is operated by the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies of New York.
Reaume says the ACA has already had some preliminary discussions with the Ad-ID groups in the U.S. and with the Television Bureau of Canada because the TVB’s approval and commercial clearance numbers would have to fit in with the Ad-ID system.
‘I think it is a good system and I think it is going to be accepted internationally and it’s only a matter of time before it comes to Canada,’ says Reaume. ‘There would be much less human error and it can be easily checked by the media to see what [execution] should be running.’
Ad-ID is something like a barcode for advertising assets. It helps marketers track and manage their inventory of advertising messages and makes it easier to schedule and verify that print and broadcast ads run as planned. It could also have EDI, audience measurement, or ad tracking service applications in the future.
It works by assigning each ad execution – or an individual creative component such as photography or artwork if it is re-used in separate or ongoing executions – a unique 12-character code.
The Ad-ID system has been adopted by a number of international marketers such as Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, and Johnson & Johnson. It is also endorsed by U.S. industry groups the Television Advertising Bureau, Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, the Interactive Television Alliance, the Internet Advertising Bureau, and the Outdoor Advertising Association.
