The standards, which will cover pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll video ads, are being launched in response to concerns that advertisers are not making the most of online video opportunities.
The IAB said that while online video usage is rapidly increasing, media owners are receiving a multitude of file types of varying degrees of quality. The IAB standards are designed to simplify the planning, creative, booking and buying process – particularly for cross-site campaigns.
The key recommendations include the provisos that video ads should be 15 seconds or less, that they should be in widescreen (16:9 ratio), and contain legible text.
The standards are available to download at www.iabuk.net/videostandards and have already been accepted by media owners including AOL, Bauer, BSkyB, Channel 4, CNET Networks, The Guardian, ITV, Microsoft and The Telegraph.
To coincide with the new standard, the IAB is dedicating more resource to video advertising, with the video taskforce changing into a monthly video advertising council, launching later this year.
Jack Wallington, programmes manager at the IAB, said: Video standards are essential for advertisers to get the most out of the medium. Just like a cinema ad has to be different to TV, the IAB strongly advises creating ads specifically for online, playing to the medium’s strengths.
When shooting a commercial for TV, you must always consider how it will need different shots to be edited to work on a desktop or laptop screen.
Founded in July 2008, the IAB video standards council is one of the IAB’s fastest-growing groups and already has more than 20 members, including media owner heavyweights AOL, Bauer and Sky.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
