The ICA Traffic Committee has developed a standardized coding for broadcast commercials that it hopes the rest of the industry will adopt and test drive over the summer months. The committee will meet again to discuss the results in September.
The voluntary coding system is designed to take the confusion and potential for error out of the traffic and billing processes by having a consistent commercial identification from production, to scheduling, and electronic billing.
Jani Yates, executive VP of the Institute of Communications and Advertising (ICA), says there hasn’t been any rhyme or reason to the codes. Every agency and station has a different code system but, she says, this new method is very logical and should eliminate discrepancies in matching the spot scheduled in the log to the one that was actually aired.
The universal 12-character alphanumeric code system identifies each commercial by client, brand, commercial number, year, media choice, length of spot, and language. Letters are used to denote the advertiser, the medium (T for television, R for radio, C for television combo), and language (E for English, F for French).
Yates says the new code is an interim measure and does not preclude the Ad-ID system from coming into Canada.
‘That’s why this is a pilot, and one that doesn’t cost anything. Ad-ID is still in the early stages but I’m sure that in the U.S. when the larger packaged goods companies are using it, that it will come up here. In the interim, we want to have something because not everyone will join Ad-ID. While it has benefits for larger companies, we still have smaller clients who are booking TV and have a need for consistency.’
ICA, ACA (Association of Canadian Advertisers), and TVB have been in discussions with Ad-ID (ad-id.org), which was in the U.S. this past April by the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
Ad-ID is a centralized Web-based databank and system for digitally coding all of types of advertising executions. Advertisers pay for each 12-character code assigned to its ad executions and are then able to track and manage their inventory of advertising messages. It not only makes scheduling and verification easier but could also have EDI, audience measurement, or ad tracking service applications in the future.
The tripartite ICA committee, an agency, broadcaster, and Television Bureau of Canada (TVB) collaboration, is headed by Edith Boyland of Leo Burnett and Jane Thomson of Mediaedge:cia with reps from the creative and media sides of the agency groups including, Omnicom, and ZenithOptimedia as well as TVB and major broadcasters, CBC, CTV, Sportsnet, CHUM, Global, CityTV, and Rogers.
