Guiding the Way: IAB Sets New Broadband Video Ad Guidelines

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Broadband Committee and Measurement Task Force have announced clear guidelines that would better monitor and account for broadband video commercials, reports Marketing VOX. The new rules, haled as the “Broadband Video Commercial Measurement Guidelines” will define, at a more concise level, what point of a broadband video commercial would trigger a count. The guidelines, ideally built for interactive media companies and ad-serving organizations will also branch out toward browser- or browser-equivalent-based Internet activity in relation to streaming video and audio advertising content.

The gist of the guidelines state that “a valid broadband ad impression may only be counted when an ad counter (logging server) receives and responds to an HTTP request for a tracking asset from a client. The count must happen after the initiation of the stream, post-buffering, as opposed to the linked broadband content itself. Specifically, measurement should not occur when the buffer is initiated, rather measurement should occur when the ad itself begins to appear on the user's browser, closest to the opportunity to see.”

The IAB provides a Web page that breaks down all the rules and guidelines and will give interactive media companies and ad-serving organizations a better grasp on the new measures and maintain consistency in the marketplace.