Darmstadt, 6 December 2004 -- Advertiser-focused processes head the AdsML Consortium’s specification-development list for 2004-2005. Consortium members put electronic invoicing and ad content delivery linked to bookings high on the list of projects they will undertake in their Phase III standards creation work. In addition, developers plan to start working on placement standards for online ads. These will be the first AdsML standards to address the specific needs of advertisers. Process-specific standards released in October focus primarily benefit publishers. An inserts standard for newspapers and magazines and further refinement of the Bookings Specification, now open to public review, are additional development projects. Advertiser needs drive third year of standards writing. “Our project plan for the coming year is ambitious,” says Tony Stewart, director of consulting for RivCom, Inc., New York, and chair of the AdsML Technical Working Group, which met in New York recently, “but I think the work we’ve outlined demonstrates that the intent of the standards is to benefit everyone in the advertising industry. Electronic invoicing in particular drives this home by focusing on the needs of media buyers and advertisers.” Stewart adds, “Ad content delivery is another key area, particularly the ability to match art to bookings and to reference or carry electronic tearsheets.” John Iobst, AdsML chairman and vice president, NAA-Ifra Technical Solutions, LLC, Vienna, Virginia, U.S., concurs. “With standards for electronic invoicing and ad content delivery, we’re closing the loop. The AdsML Bookings Specification opened the process. Content delivery tied to the ordering process and invoicing tied to electronic tearsheets will complete the cycle.” Delivery of artwork also is expected to improve ad “copy chasing,” an activity that now pits advertiser production needs against publisher deadlines and adds extra work to the process of getting an ad to its audience. Online, print inserts enhance Bookings Specification. The Bookings Specification, now in review stage, is complete for magazine and newspaper advertising. This year, developers intend to expand the booking process to encompass printed inserts, as well as the most common types of online ad placements. “Our initial design of an online advertising specification will concentrate on the most commonly used features,” says Ulf Wingstedt, technical manager and co-founder, CNet Svenska AB, Stockholm. “Likely that will include banners and buttons. Online advertising is complex, and we want to build the standard in stages. It would be a mistake to try to be all things to all people. This is an important standard, and we intend to proceed cautiously and get it right.” Dual track approach will drive development effort. The Consortium also authorized the formation of two standards-writing sub-groups within the AdsML Technical Working Group. Working in parallel, the separate teams will divide the projects list in order to reduce dependencies and overlaps between projects, provide better support to external contributors and accelerate the pace of specifications development.