Brands With Their Own Viewability Standards Are Causing Headaches for the Ad-Tech Industry

IBM is the latest brand to demand a higher standard for viewability with digital video.

New IBM standard — 100% of video ad must be in view for at least half of the video length (Ex: 15s of 30s ad)

Quote from John Murphy — Head of Marketplace Quality @ OpenX:
“There’s enough interest among brands and agencies in tweaking the standard that it would behoove the MRC to take another look at the definition… I would certainly encourage the MRC to do a reset and take another look given where the industry is now versus where they were when the definition was originally established.”

Flashback. Demanding More Stringent Measurement, Some Brands Are Using Their Own Viewability Standards

Current MRC standard — 50% of video ad should be in view for at least 2 consecutive seconds

HP standard — 100% of video ad must be in view for at least half of the video length (Ex: 15s of 30s ad)

New GroupM standard — 100% of video ad must be in view for it to count as a view, but with or without sound and regardless of auto-start.

HP estimates that 20–30% of digital inventory meets this standard.