Web-Ad Protocol

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Focalink Communications Inc., a provider of Webadvertising-management software, announced that several companies have agreed toform the Internet Advertising Technology Council to work on an open protocol forcommunicating Web advertising-traffic information, ad materials and performancedata.

Companies participating in the IATC include Web ad-management developersAccipiter, Bellcore, ClickOver, Focalink, GlobalTrack, IMGIS, NetGravity, RealMedia and W3.com; interactive ad agencies Fathom, i-traffic Inc., K2 Design andModemMedia; and content provider Narrative Communications Inc. The companieswill evaluate Focalink and Bellcore's Simple Advertising Management Protocol.

The ultimate objective of an open protocol, such as SAMP, is to eliminatethe logistical burden on ad agencies that place online campaigns and make iteasier for them to invest more of their clients' budgets on the Web.