DARMSTADT, Germany -- The "AdsML Is Live!" information session, held in Amsterdam recently, featured a lineup of speakers who reported on individual AdsML implementation experiences and outlined challenges met and overcome. The Ad Bookings, Materials Delivery and XMP Ad Ticket specifications were tested in multiple pilots, with their uses tailored to specific business and regional needs. "The AdsML e-commerce standards for advertising have moved beyond vision and development to actual implementation," says AdsML Consortium Chair John Iobst. "The AdsML speakers at IfraExpo this year are implementers who have gone toe-to-toe with these standards. They know a great deal about what it takes to make the specifications work in the real world. Their challenges and methodologies have much to teach all of us, and their successes show that the specifications do work and are adaptable to varying corporate and regional needs." Iobst is vice president, Technology Group, of the Newspaper Association of America in Vienna, Virginia USA. Multiple projects Indicative of AdsML's flexibility. Pilots highlighted at the recent IfraExpo 2006 demonstrated some of the different ways the specifications can be used. Specifications employed included Ad Bookings, Materials Delivery, AdsML Envelope and Controlled Vocabulary specifications, with plans already laid to use the e-invoice and e-tearsheet specifications in AdsML Framework 3.0. The latter specification is now open for public review. Ad Bookings News International Newspapers Ad Bookings pilot, completed in May 2006, which tested bookings of travel-specific classified and display ads during a three-month trial. Report presented by Director of Operations Patricia Kill of Unified Publishing/Times Media, London, U.K. Independent Newspapers (Ireland) and Papermule Ltd created a centralised ad production facility with Papermule's Workflow and used the AdsML Ad Bookings specification as the standard for transferring bookings. Report presented by Joe Kirk, principal, K Media Consulting, Chichester, U.K. The Los Angeles Times (USA) newspaper Ad Bookings project discussed successes and also reported extensive use of the AdsML Controlled vocabularies to bring disparate internal systems into alignment. Report presented by Jay Cousins, Senior Consultant, RivCom Ltd (CSW Group), Oxford, U.K. AdsML Envelope At Krkimedia Oy (Finland) an 11-month old ad ordering project now boasts 400 registered users, moves 12,000 ads a month. The organization is now planning for e invoicing using AdsML Framework 3.0. Report presented by AdsML Vice Chair Harald Lˆffler, research manager for Ifra, Darmstadt, Germany Materials Delivery An upcoming AdFast project of the UK Newspaper Society that will use the Materials Delivery specification (plans are laid to incorporate the Ad Bookings specification in 2007) - presented by Gary Cullum, Editor and Publisher, Cullum Publishing Ltd., Hemel Hempstead, U.K., representing the U.K. Newspaper Society. North American Ad Agencies Put AdsML to Work The "AAAA ebiz for media" project of the American Association of Advertising Agencies ñ the only effort driven by the agency sector of the industry ñ plans a proof of concept project by December 2006. Report presented by Tony Stewart, director of consulting, RivCom Inc., New York, N.Y. USA "The AAAA ebiz for media initiative is extremely important in North America as it deals with the digitization of orders across ALL media," said Alan Darling, executive vice president of Vio Worldwide. "We are particularly pleased that AdsML has been selected as the basis of the print media order schema for newspapers and magazines. The schema is scheduled for final approval in November and we expect that pilots to prove the schema between different sending and receiving parties will be developed late this year and begin testing in the early part of 2007." Darling is a Steering Committee member of AdsML and represents Vio as a Founding Gateway member for AAAA ebiz for media. AdsML-Compliant Projects, Products Coming of Age "The growing list of AdsML implementations and pilot projects illustrates that the exchange standard is aiding in the advertising process for both advertisers and workflow production operations," commented James Olney, publishing product manager for Agfa. "The implementation experience [that speakers] shared was valuable for the large group that attended the íAdsML is Liveí session. Outlining individual project scope, successful steps, and challenges can be used by those that are planning implementations. We definitely will be using the information shared as we prepare for installations for our recently introduced AdsML advertising system - Arkitex AdCenter and AdControl." Agfa is a long time supporter of the AdsML Consortium and a strategic partner.