Hats off to any network that goes to this level of detail in attempting to promote effective quality standards with a goal toward “establishing a rigorous benchmark for the affiliate marketing sector worldwide.” I have not gone over the 22 page document with a fine tooth comb, however it seems really well thought out.

My 1st thought was, if this doc is close and covers the majority of issues, could it not be used as a rough draft or starting point of an industry wide code of conduct? Possibly one charter of the Performance Marketing Alliance could be to take the zanox Code of Conduct (with zanox’s permission of course) and Commission Junction’s Code of Conduct, combine the best points of each and create a set of industry standards that hopefully 90% of the industry could agree on? I know establishing industry standards is on the PMA todo list, just suggesting this doc could help provide part of the framework possibly. Just an idea…

PRESS RELEASE: Leading online marketing company aims to raise industry standards with an International code of behaviour for its advertisers, publishers, and service providers worldwide

London – September 26, 2008 – zanox, a global leader in performance-based online marketing, today announced the company has released a comprehensive and detailed code of conduct for it’s global affiliate network as an industry measure toward establishing a rigorous benchmark for the affiliate marketing sector worldwide. Conceived as a an industry-wide call to action, the zanox Code of Conduct will be implemented across the company’s entire network, including advertisers, publishers and service providers.

The zanox Code of Conduct governs clear quality standards, content descriptions, technical functionality and sanctions for potential infringements in a way that is completely transparent to all participants. In order to develop the new Code of Conduct, zanox referenced numerous international standards such as the ICRA vocabulary, which was established by the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI). Additionally, as zanox’s global footprint spans more than 200 countries worldwide, the company also took into account the different national legal systems and privacy standards of its global target markets.

“As the market leader in Germany, where our headquarters is based, and a global player with more than one million sales partners worldwide, we feel that we’re in a position of special responsibility for the affiliate marketing sector”, said Thomas Hessler, founder and CEO of ZANOX.de AG. “With the zanox Code of Conduct, we have the opportunity to promote effective quality standards and are proud to stand up for the entire industry.