On Monday, The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada) unveiled their standards for online advertising. It is called the CUAP (for Canadian Universal Ad Package) with the intent to help streamline online ad buys and equalize issues like ad sizes (both visually, file size and more).
Although this may seem long overdue, the online advertising industry in Canada, according to the press release titled, IAB Canada Announces Canadian Online Ad Standards, is at about $295 million in revenues and up 68 percent in the last two years.
Up next from IAB Canada will be standards for rich media, video-streaming and online ad measurement guidelines.
My thoughts on this? It’s about time! I should mention that I am an active member of the IAB Canada and I strongly feel that now, more than ever, companies need to better understand the power of online marketing and its immense value. Hopefully this announcement will not only act as a “standard guide” but as a wake-up call to the many companies who see their online presence as nothing more than an expensive brochure or another line in their marketing mix.