IAB announces winners of new video ad format competition

New video formats are headed to a computer or mobile screen near you. The IAB has announced the Digital Video Rising Stars, part of the IAB's Rising Stars Initiative. It including options for Filmstrip, Ad Control Bar, Time Sync, Extenders and Full Screen ads so that the viewer has the option of choosing the type of content wanted at the time. The ads are built to be used across video players and devices.

by Kristina Knight

"The dynamic fusion of sight, sound and motion plus interactivity offers marketers an unbeatable package," said Peter Minnium, Head of Brand Initiatives, IAB. "To date, too little of digital video advertising has included an interactive component, owing to a lack of standards. With the release of these new Rising Stars units, this is changing today."

"Digital video advertising has experienced explosive growth across the interactive advertising landscape, bringing in a little more than $1 billion in revenue in the first half of 2012 alone," said David Doty, Executive Vice President and CMO, IAB. "These innovative digital video ad units will propel the sector's growth. In addition, the widespread deployment of the IAB Video Suite - a comprehensive update to in-stream video advertising standards - will surely help pave the way for the rapid adoption of these formats."

The IAB set up a competition to develop the new formats last April; winners of the contest include CBS Interactive, DG MediaMind, Double Verify and Jivox. Jivox and CBS Interactive worked together to create the Sliding Full Screen and Adaptive Storyline options; both units offer built-in analytics.

"We applaud the efforts of the IAB to standardize the way interactive features are incorporated into digital video," said Diaz Nesamoney, founder and CEO of Jivox. "Our submission with CBS Interactive enables brands to create a TV-like full-screen experience, while also using the two-way interactive capabilities of digital video. We look forward to working with the IAB to turn these winning entries into IAB standards."

Jivox's Ad Control Bar will also be incorporated into the IAB units. This unit prompts the viewer to engage with video content through buttons which open additional content information.