IAB releases substantial updates for MRAID to improve mobile rich media advertising

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab released proposed updates for the Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definition (MRAID) this week. The changes are open for public comment.

This is the first major update in more than four years to MRAID, the common API set by the IAB that enables mobile rich media ads to communicate with diverse mobile apps in order to render and perform actions properly.

MRAID 3.0 updates include:

1. Enabling viewability measurement by the viewable percentage of an ad, as well as clearer tracking on the presence of an ad
2. Audibility measurement to inform the ad if device audio is enabled and at what volume level
3. Detecting whether an ad is running in an MRAID-compliant environment at the time an ad is initialized
4. The ability to get location data if access is enabled by the user
5. Guidance on pre-loading ads to ensure ads are only shown to users when they are ready for display, not when they are still loading
6. Integrating Video Player Ad Interface Definition (VPAID) so video ads can be measured in mobile apps that are using MRAID

“In today’s mobile-centric world, guidelines that allow for interoperability are imperative,” said Alanna Gombert, senior vice president, Technology and Ad Operations, IAB, and general manager, IAB Tech Lab. “These revised guidelines will further enhance and improve the rich mobile ad experience for consumers, while also improving ad effectiveness for advertisers and publishers.”

Public comments are welcome through January 30.