Ad Viewability Standards

Ever wondered what actually counts as a 'view' in Sponsored Display VCPM campaigns? At least 50% of the ad must be visible on screen for 2-3 seconds for the view to count. This aligns with Media Rating Council standards. Some sellers believe that a view counts as long as the ad is served on the page - even if the shopper never sees it. That’s not the case. Only visible impressions count.

ARE VIDEO ADS 'VIEWED' AT LESS THAN 2 SECONDS? Catch today's episode of MediaScience MYTH BUSTING Episode 22: Are video ads that are viewed for less than 2 second really viewed? THE MYTH: Video ads are not 'viewed' at less than two seconds so publishers shouldn't receive credit below that threshold VERDICT: BUSTED Remember, every work day in October, MediaScience will share research challenging industry conventions. The MRC Viewability Standard addresses a key issue in our industry. Advertisers shouldn't have to pay for ads that are not really viewed by the audience. Obviously, in this age of rampant ad fraud, this is a critical standard which serves an important function. But there are two dimensions to the Viewability Standard: Pixels on screen and Time. We have no argument with the pixels on screen dimension. Why should an advertiser have to pay If an ad is delivered 'below the fold' (i.e. not visible to the viewer because it is below what is visible)? So the requirement that at least 50% of an ads pixels being visible seems fair. But the assumption that a publisher shouldn't get credit unless a video ad is seen for at least 2 seconds crosses into a different realm. Why 2 seconds? Absent any proper research to test the real 'viewability' of an ad, this time threshold seems somewhat arbitrary. And, the specific threshold adopted has consequences. ESPN, for example, estimated that every 1 second added to this threshold cost them an average of 5% in lost revenue. To test this threshold, MediaScience conducted a study for ESPN where viewers were exposed to ads with different time thresholds of visibility. The research relied on proper medical-grade eye tracking measures so that we could accurately test for 'true' viewability. As we demonstrate, viewability begins at the half second mark and there is little empirical justification for the threshold being set at more than 1 second (that, at least, allows for non-viewability due to things like scrolling). Indeed, other research conducted by MediaScience also demonstrates that ad impact is front-loaded, and those first two seconds actually deliver higher impact relative to the rest of the ad. The difference between 1 and 2 seconds for a standard is highly consequential: It means that publishers in the US are missing out on over $3 billion a year in revenue as a consequence of this one factor alone! It's a case study which highlights the need for best-in-class research when adopting standards - because those standards are so incredibly consequental. #eyetracking #viewabilty #digitalvideo #advertising #marketingscience #digitaladvertising