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Ernst & Young will provide third-party certification of Yahoo!'s audience measurement software system and controls. ABVS Interactive will provide its expertise in interactive auditing, verification, and industry-developed standards to independently validate figures in Yahoo!'s site usage reports. The two-step approach was jointly developed by ABVS Interactive and Ernst & Young based on established industry principles.
"Measurement and verification is a strategic initiative that is important for growth of the industry and advertising on the Internet," said Jeffrey Mallett, senior vice president, business operations, Yahoo! Inc. "Yahoo! believes it is important to make a proactive effort to empower advertisers and content providers with the timely data they need to take full advantage of the opportunities available through our network of targeted properties.
"Our new measurement process will provide advertisers with prompt information about the volume of user activity experienced by our Web properties. The accuracy of our system and the data it generates will then be independently validated by Ernst & Young and ABVS, further enhancing the appeal of our advertising programs. Collecting, aggregating, and reporting reliable data requires working with top companies like ABVS and Ernst & Young."
With an average of more than 20 million page views per day and 550 advertisers in December 1996, the continued growth of the Yahoo! Network has resulted in voluminous amounts of complex user data captured every day. As a result, Yahoo! has developed an internal self-measurement system to accommodate, process, and report the data using principles applied to traditional media. Beginning this summer, this new system will generate daily usage reports which advertisers and content providers will be able to access electronically.
Ernst & Young is currently evaluating and documenting Yahoo!'s reporting software, processes, and procedures, and will recommend changes to incorporate established industry standards for controlling the information and the content of information to be provided prior to certification of the system. Ernst & Young will also recommend controls to monitor changes to Yahoo!'s system to certify ongoing systems integrity. ABVS Interactive will audit site usage reports and verify that the reported activity is qualified against server log data and in compliance with industry-developed standards.
Additionally, Ernst & Young and ABVS will work with Yahoo! to develop an ongoing certification process that will include continuous monitoring of changes and sampling procedures to ensure the ongoing reliability and integrity of Yahoo!'s measurement process and the data it generates.
"We are delighted that Yahoo!, one of the highest profile sites on the Web, has selected ABVS to verify its user activity for advertisers," said Michael J. Lavery, president of ABVS. "Yahoo!'s decision to develop a self-measurement process that is certified and audited by respected third-parties, sends a clear signal that it is committed to growing the industry and advertising on the Internet. Yahoo! is delivering the accountability that advertisers require to make informed buying decisions."
"Leading-edge Web enterprises like Yahoo! are now in a position to provide reliable interactive advertising media measurements," said Paul Faux, National Director of Electronic Commerce Assurance Services for Ernst & Young. "We are strongly committed to working with the interactive media and advertising communities to help establish trustworthy interactive audience measurement processes that are comparable to those used by traditional media. This will drive the growth of Web advertising and has the added benefit of providing information relevant for developing electronic commerce."
Yahoo! selected ABVS Interactive because of its strong reputation among the advertising community and its auditing expertise. Ernst & Young was chosen for its information systems experience, its international recognition as a trusted third party, its ability to provide dynamic project teams, and its advertising measurement and interactive media capabilities.
Yahoo! has historically partnered with third-party companies to provide value-added content and services to its users and advertisers. As one of its first clients, Yahoo! has worked with I/PRO since January 1996 to measure and audit Yahoo!'s main Web site. I/PRO will continue to provide this service until Yahoo!'s new measurement system becomes available this summer. Yahoo! and I/PRO are currently evaluating a variety of new opportunities to work together and intend to have an ongoing relationship.
About ABVS
Interactive
ABC, ABVS' parent company, is the world's first and
largest circulation auditor of traditional print media. For
83 years, advertisers have relied on ABC's audits to make
advertising buying decisions. ABVS currently provides
interactive auditing services for more than 55 clients and
works with advertisers, advertising agencies, and content
providers to create industry-developed standards.
About Ernst &
Young
Ernst & Young provides assurance and advisory
business services, tax services, and consulting for domestic
and global clients. Through its electronic commerce
practice, the firm leverages its reputation for objectivity
and global capabilities to certify the integrity and
security of information generated by or transmitted over the
Internet, including advertising data and real-time
information for investors. Ernst & Young LLP has 23,000
people in 89 United States cities.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), offers a globally-branded
Internet navigational service to information and
entertainment on the Web. As the first online guide to the
Web, Yahoo! is one of the most visible and recognizable
names associated with the Internet. Yahoo! provides a
context-based directory structure for Internet resources, as
well as integrated AltaVista Web-wide search capabilities.
The Company is continuing to develop a global family of
Yahoo!-branded media properties for targeted geographic
(Yahoo! Japan, UK & Ireland, France, Germany, Canada,
San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago,
Washington DC, Boston, Austin, Seattle, Dallas/Fort Worth,
Atlanta); shared-interest (Yahoo! Internet Life magazine and
website and MTV/Yahoo!'s online music guide); and
demographic audiences (Yahooligans!, a Web guide for kids
and Beatrice's Web Guide for women). Yahoo! can be found on
the web at www.yahoo.com. Yahoo! Inc. headquarters are in
Santa Clara, California.
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Contacts:
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Blaise Simpson
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Diane Hunt
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Ginny Sexton |
Cassie Arnold |
Industry Support of Yahoo! Internet Advertising Measurement and Verification Program"I applaud Yahoo!'s commitment to honesty and openness in the reporting of impartially audited audience data and their intention to subscribe to existing, and developing industry standards. In doing so, Yahoo! ensures that advertisers are provided with meaningful and comparable data. CASIE and the ARF are committed to working together to develop standards in this area and to working with any medium seeking to provide valid, accurate and relevant measurements."
"Advertising opportunities associated with top-tier Web sites like those in the Yahoo! network are clearly of great interest to global advertisers like IBM. We have a lot of confidence in our advertising dollar investment in Yahoo! and have the added assurance that their site usage information meets the highest possible degree of accountability from ABVS and Ernst & Young. The audit represents an important step in the evolution of the buying and selling of advertising on the Web, and clearly demonstrates Yahoo!'s commitment to supporting Web advertisers."
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