Digital Marketing: ANSI Seeks Comments on Proposal for New ISO Technical Committee

Submit Comments by August 30

As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) seeks comments by August 30 on a draft proposal for a new ISO technical committee (TC) on digital marketing—the promotion and advertising through digital channels based on digital technology.

Digital marketing involves using new media or digital technology to achieve marketing and business goals. According to the proposal, digital marketing can make it easier for consumers to obtain information about products, services, and brands, and offers benefits over traditional marketing, such as lower cost, higher ROI, measurability, and personalization.

Submitted by the Standardization Administration of China (SAC), China's member body to ISO, the proposal includes the following scope statement:

“Standardization in the field of terminology, requirements, guidance, practices, tools, and methods for organizations and professionals conducting digital marketing.”

Excluded are digital marketing activities that will lead to e-commerce transactions and relevant work within the scopes of the following committees:

• ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology
• ISO/TC 154, Processes, data elements, and documents in commerce, industry, and administration
• ISO/TC 207, Environmental management
• ISO/TC 225, Market, opinion, and social research
• ISO/TC 307, Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies
• ISO/TC 321, Transaction assurance in e-commerce
• ISO/TC 324, Sharing economy

The aim of this proposed TC is to provide standards for terminology, requirements, guidance, practices, tools, and methods for organizations and professionals conducting digital marketing. The proposed TC seeks to:

• Provide unified guidance for the joint development of the global digital marketing industry and promote business connectivity among countries
• Regulate the behavior of digital marketing practitioners, avoid inappropriate behavior such as misuse of data and dissemination of false information, and improve the overall ethical level of the industry
• Improve the overall quality level of the digital marketing industry, and reduce low-quality, fraudulent, and harmful practices, thereby enhancing the reputation and sustainability of the entire industry
• Encourage competition and innovation in the digital marketing industry, provide clear rules and frameworks for organizations, and drive their development towards higher quality standards
• Help consumers, businesses, and other stakeholders to participate more confidently in digital marketing while adapting to and adopting new technologies by creating a trusted digital marketing ecosystem

Read the proposal and submit comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy and strategy, at [email protected] by close of business on Friday, August 30. All input that ANSI receives will be used to develop a recommended ANSI position and comments that will be sent to the ANSI ISO Council for approval before submittal to ISO by the October 8, 2024, voting deadline.