Jakarta, November 18^th 2015. Five associations joint forces to standardize online audience measurement in Indonesia, in attempt to accelerate digital advertising growth in the country. The five associations involved in this initiative are Association of Asia Pacific Advertising Media (AAPAM), Indonesian Advertisers Association (APINA), Indonesian Digital Association (IDA), Indonesian E-Commerce Association (idEA), and Indonesian Advertising Companies Association (PPPI). Together they represent the majority stake in Indonesia’s advertising ecosystem.

According to the latest report this year, Indonesia’s internet penetration has reach 29% (over 70 million users) and is expected to grow significantly to outnumber Japan and Brazil in the next couple of year. However the advertising spending is still dominated by conventional media such as free-to-air television and print. This inevitably will change as advertisers shift their budget to where the audience is, and a singular national measurement would be among the crucial ingredients to convince advertisers and agencies to spend more in digital.

In this endeavor, the associations have created a steering committee to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of several measurement providers. This board is currently extending an open invitation alongside the request for proposal to several competent and relevant companies in the industry. They will be assessed based on several criteria such as data robustness, reporting capability, service level, and cost to determine the most viable measurement partner for Indonesian digital landscape.

Any interested vendors should submit their participation to the steering committee by December 1^st 2015 at the latest, with agreement to follow several requirements. They will then be given around 2 months to prepare a pitching presentation to the steering committee, which is scheduled by the end of January 2016. Once a company has been selected, there will be series of socialization to member of all five associations to ensure industry-wide adoption of the selected platform. There will also be an evaluation board to continually oversee the execution and maintain quality control of the appointed measurement standard.

This selection process will be repeated every two years to ensure that it keep up with the rapid development of digital industry in the country.

"Nowadays we are faced with complexity that hindered digital advertising from reaching its true potential. On one hand, media owners need to subscribe to several measurements, which is both costly and confusing. On the other hand, advertisers and agencies don’t have similar currency to assess their advertising media, which resulted in hesitation toward the data validity," said Danny Oei Wirianto as Co - Chairman of the Committee."We believe that now is the right time to start this initiative," he added.

The Head of Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) - Triawan Munaf - is also very much supporting this idea. “Innovation to drive competitiveness level definitely warrant a clear benchmark. We fully support and appreciate this independent initiative from digital industry stakeholders (AAPAM, APPINA, IDA, idEA, and P3I) to appoint an online audience measurement platform that will serve as an industry standard, to take-off and grow ahead. This should be an initial milestone for continual innovation in the future.”

About AAPAM (Association of Asia Pacific Advertising Media)

The Association of Asia Pacific Advertising Media was established in 2003 by prominent professionals in advertising, media and marketing industry in Indonesia, under the patronage of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA). The missions are to promote advertising industry in the region through seminars and publications, educates public and decision makers on the value delivered by advertising media in conjunction with the social economic development, and also to serve public interest according to the principles of humanity, egalitarianism and fellowship. www.apmf.com

About APINA (Asosiasi Perusahaan Pengiklan Indonesia)

Indonesia Advertisers Association was established on September 9, 2005 in Jakarta with the purpose as a place to share knowledge and best way of advertising practices and assistance for problem solving issues related to advertising.  APPINA carry out the vision and mission as follows; Develop communication and marketing activities of member companies, as part of the modern global economic system to be directed and empowered in accordance with good business ethics, to uphold the principle of fair competition. Advertisers, responsible for the accuracy of information on products or services that being advertised, with emphasis on consumer protection. Info: www.appina.or.id

About IDA (Indonesian Digital Association)

Indonesian Digital association was established in December 2013 to advance and grow the digital advertising industry in Indonesia. IDA was formed so that industry players could overcome the complexity, challenges, and to provide solution for digital advertising. Among IDA missions are to educate advertisers, agencies, and consumers about digital advertising; create professional ethical conducts; build and strengthen online media credibility; and also to develop measurement and tracking standardization. Today IDA members consist of 31 companies ranging from online media, ad network, and digital agency. Info: www.ida.or.id

About idEA (Indonesian E-Commerce Association)

Established in May 2012, Indonesia E-commerce Association is a forum for e-commerce industry players to interact with one another and with government officials. Currently, the members of the association include 180 players from online retail category, market place, daily deals, classified ad, price comparison, travel, payment systems, logistics, and related strategic partners. idEA envisions to make Indonesia a digital economy state-based through partnership with key strategic partners in an effort to boost the growth of Indonesia's e-commerce industry. idEA also provides educational programs and discussions about the rapidly developing industry. Info: www.idea.or.id

About P3I (Indonesian Advertising Companies Association)

Indonesian Advertising Companies Association is consist of 400 advertising companies across Indonesia. PPPI mission is to create a healty, dynamic and ethical business environment for the industry. This organization was founded in 1972 as a transformation from its precursor PBRI (Perserikatan Biro Reklame Indonesia) which had been established since 1949. www.p3i-pusat.com