IAB releases online video ad format compliance seal

The Interactive Advertising Bureau has released a “compliance seal” to be displayed by those businesses that are compliant with their recently published “Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines”.

by Helen Leggatt

iab%20compliance%20sea.gif The purpose of the guidelines is to standardize the most common online video ad elements and is to be updated as new ad formats become widely adopted.

The seal will be issued to businesses after a compliance readiness form has been completed, reviewed and approved by the IAB. It will indicate to media buyers that the website upholds the IAB’s best practices for the most commonly used ad formats, including linear and non-linear video ads and companion ads.

According to the guideline's executive summary, they have been developed for these particular ad formats in order to meet the following marketplace needs:-

- More efficient operations through a common set of creative submission guidelines.

- More efficient development of ads and players through minimum common creative guidelines, including click functionality and duration definitions.

- Easier digital video ad buying across multiple sites through minimum common ad sizes for
overlay and companion ads.

- Better consumer understanding of ad interactions and environments through best practice recommendations for creative development and player environments.

"These guidelines respond to the very real market need of simplification and standardization that will continue to propel the explosive growth of online digital video," said Mike Hurt, director, Industry Development of Microsoft and Co-Chair of the IAB's Digital Video Committee, in a recent announcement.