Standards and practices to be developed for podcast ads

Advertisers and marketers wanting a bit of input into the developing markets of podcast and other audio/video content may get their chance. The Association for Downloadable Content (ADM), a recently formed professional organization, is creating a list of standards for the industry and is opening for membership.

by Kristina Knight

In addition to becoming a member of the burgeoning group, the ADM is asking for nominations for executive board members and committee chairs.

Though relatively new and untapped, eMarketer has predicted that the podcasting and vodcasting industries will skyrocket over the next five years, reaching $400 million in ad revenue by 2011. Podcast advertising brought in about $80 million in 2006. Online video advertising is also expected to show explosive growth, moving from $225 million in 2006 to an expected $410 million in 2011.

With so much cash being put into these ad spaces and the amount of revenue to be made from podcasts, it makes sense that already the industry is developing standards for measuring the audience and ads served to them.

The ADM will focus on content that is downloaded by consumers. Blogs, vlogs, podcasts, vodcasts and content distributed through RSS or ATOM feeds will all be included in the organizations plans.