Members of Thailand's Internet community are working to establish
an association to upgrade industry standards.
Consisting of advertising agencies, media buyers and Internet service
providers, the grouping would be called the Bureau of Internet
Advertisers Thailand (BIAT).
BIAT's initial objectives are to set guidelines on how website traffic
is represented to advertisers, establish criteria for auditing traffic
and create a framework for protecting consumer privacy.
M-WEB vice-president operations, Mr Glen Poff, said the industry needed
to act now while Thailand's Internet industry was still undergoing
teething pains.
"Some web sites are severely undercharging for advertising and some are
very expensive.
"I am not sure advertisers understand the premium they are paying or
what they receive in return.
"But as far as fraud and deception is concerned I wouldn't call it
that," he said.
Member companies would enjoy increased credibility that would in turn
enable them to go out and attract a bigger piece of the advertising pie,
he added.
BIAT committee members are drafting guidelines based on the Internet
Advertising Bureau of the UK and Ireland.
It will move quickly to register the association with the Thai
government, establish an office and a two-category fee structure for
members and associate members.
Mr Poff said: "We would like to use it as a forum to rally support and
let the advertising industry know what we are working towards."
Lintas (Thailand) business development director, Mr Philip Eisenbeiss,
said establishing BIAT would help build awareness and improve industry
standards.
"It is an education tool to gradually move the industry in the same
direction."
He said it would provide Thai companies looking to advertise on-line
with standards they could use to advertise overseas.
"It would provide a core for future development, giving Thai companies
information they could apply on a global basis," said Mr Eisenbeiss.
The BIAT intends to set guidelines for on-line advertising rates and
standardise ad sizes used on Thai and English language websites.
It is considering creating a BIAT seal of approval given to websites
that meet certain criteria to ensure consumers that private information
gleaned from "cookies" would be protected.
BIAT is intended as a soft regulatory body that will not police the
industry; compliance will be based on the honour system.
However, some representatives voiced concern there would have to be a
system of checks and balances to ensure transparency when auditing
website traffic.
