IAB Advances the Conversation, Releases Social Advertising Best Practices

Industry`s First Roadmap for Realizing Platform`s Advertising Potential
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Social media allows consumers to interact with brands and become marketing
messengers themselves-leading to the transformation of what was once a one-way
communication from brands to consumers into a two-way, ongoing conversation. To
define the key elements of social advertising and showcase best practices for
consumer control and privacy, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today
announced the release of "Social Advertising Best Practices," the next step in
the IAB`s ongoing efforts to build the advertising infrastructure of social
media. It provides publishers, agencies and marketers with recommendations for
the successful execution of social advertising campaigns. It was announced at
the IAB`s Social Media Marketplace in New York, a conference that brings
together industry-leading advertisers, publishers and platforms to tackle big
issues and provide real-world, real-time solutions for leveraging social media.

"Social Advertising Best Practices" includes:

* Key terms and definitions of the elements of a social ad and how social
advertising differs from other online display advertising
* A library of examples of distinct advertising creative executions for a
variety of marketing messages
* Recommendations for consumer policies on opt-in and opt-out procedures
* Privacy guidelines for publishers, agencies and marketers regarding data
gathering, consumer disclosure and usage of consumer information.

"We have inventoried the vast array of resources available in social media and
created a guide that publishers, marketers and agencies can use to build
powerful dialogues between consumers and brands," said Randall Rothenberg,
President and CEO of the IAB. "This document is an excellent introduction to the
conversation economy-where consumers have more ways to engage than ever."

"Social media is one of the areas that our clients are most interested in, based
on the audience size and high level of engagement. It is also one of the most
transparent brand and consumer connection points that we have ever faced in
marketing," said Curt Hecht, President, VivaKi Nerve Center "The work of the
IAB`s UGC & Social Media Committee will assist in removing a level of complexity
in bringing brands and people together."

"Industry standards are essential to making social media easy, safe and scalable
for advertisers," said Seth Goldstein, CEO of Socialmedia.com and co-chair of
the IAB`s UGC Social Media Committee. "The new IAB framework is a critical first
step in this direction and we are excited to help enable the next generation of
social advertising."

This document can be found on the IAB website at: http://www.iab.net/socialads

The IAB recently announced "Social Media Ad Metrics Definitions," a resource
that defines specific metrics for each type of social media. This document can
be found at:http://www.iab.net/socialmetrics

About the IAB`s User-Generated Content & Social Media Committee:

The User-Generated Content & Social Media Committee of the IAB is comprised of
over 150 member companies dedicated to helping develop and expand the
user-generated content space as a viable advertising platform. The committee
works to educate marketers and agencies on the strength of user-generated
content and social media as a marketing vehicle. A full list of Committee member
companies can be found at:
http://www.iab.net/member_center/councils_committees_working_groups/committees/user_generated_content_social_media_committee

About the IAB:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 375 leading
media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online
advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated
to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive`s share
of total marketing spend, and of its members` share of total marketing spend.
The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business
community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member
companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields
critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is
headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C.
For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

IAB:
Marla Aaron, 212-380-4714
Director, Marketing Communications
marla@iab.net

Copyright Business Wire 2009