Chrysalis launches site ‘name and shame' campaign

With a deadline of 1 September, Chrysalis is calling upon all UK b2c sites to register for an official traffic audit, or be publicly “shamed” - the company is also aiming to get advertisers to boycott sites that do not get audits completed by the deadline.

The move is part of an initiative Chrysalis launched in March, when it announced the intention to create an industry equivalent of the radio advertising body RAB, which would push for the adoption of universally accessible measurement methods and standard definitions. It also said then that boycotting of non-audited sites would be encouraged.

In a letter to be sent out to b2c sites, CEO of Chrysalis New Media Marcus Leaver and head of sports network Rivals.net, will ask for support for the campaign in order to persuade sites to help convince advertisers and analysts that the internet is a credible medium.

The letter will say: “Not publishing figures is crippling our industry. I therefore issue an Audit Challenge to all b2c sites to publish a recognised industry audit by September 1 - and at least quarterly thereafter or be named as a company that is not prepared to help this platform mature.

“Stop trading on non-existent, out-of-date or made up traffic figures because you are bringing this medium into disrepute,” he added.

Once the 1 September deadline is reached, Chrysalis said it would lobby brands and agencies with details of those sites which refuse to sign up for audits. It will also encourage them to boycott “offenders”.

The issue of website measurement and accountability is longstanding but was highlighted most recently in March when it was revealed that e-district had overstated its registered users and page impressions. The online advertising industry's official body, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), has its own Standards Committee which works on such issues, including the just-launched “audit watch” service on its website, which publishes recently audited figures. It also recommends sites receive six monthly audits.

If successful, the proposed Chrysalis body would seem to effectively rival the IAB, though both sides insists they are working together over its development. However, plans appear to have stalled since it was first announced in March. The new campaign does not yet have the direct backing of the IAB, however, IAB chairman Danny Meadows-Klue, said it supported any moves that promoted auditing because it encourages a “spirit of transparency and openness” necessary in the advertising industry.

While several of the major online publishers such as the Guardian, Yahoo!, AltaVista, Carlton and beeb.com are among those receiving regular audits, they are still in the minority. According to the ABCe's website, only 44 sites have been audited in the past year and just 16 have published audits since January.

ABCe, which is the industry's principle website auditor, focusing on site-centric metrics such as page impressions and users, welcomes the campaign. It has been working for several years to promote the uptake of its audits as standard, but feels there is reluctance from media owners to have audits as the figures often compare unfavourably to those revealed by publishers.

However, some sites complain that this is not the only reason for the reluctance to register for audits. Smaller companies say they are too expensive, while others complain that they take too long to produce resulting in traffic figures that are months old. However, Leaver said these reasons are merely “excuses”.

He said: “There are all sorts of excuses for not getting an audit but price cannot be one of them -compared to an awful lot of money VCs put into these companies, audits are not that expensive.”