Media Ratings Council Greenlights New Viewable Ad Impression Metric For Video Ads

After more than a year-long review process, the Media Rating Council (MRC) gave the go-head for the digital media industry to being transacting and measuring on viewable ad impressions for video ads.

According to the MRC, the new viewable ad impression metric was created in a collaborative effort between the MRC and IAB’s Emerging Innovations Task Force, and supported by a “substantial amount of research” and cross-industry input.

From the announcement:

The guidelines for viewable impressions state that 50 percent of pixels (whether video or display) must be in the viewable portion of an internet browser for a specific minimum amount of time: at least 1 continuous second for display ads, and at least 2 continuous seconds for video ads.

On March 31, the MRC issued its Viewable Impression Advisory for display advertising, and released the newly created Viewable Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines. Upon releasing the guidelines, the MRC opened a 30-day public comment period, as well as established a three-month long gating period so the industry could prepare.

The three-month gating period ended today, marking what the MRC claims is a milestone in its combined efforts with IAB’s 3MS initiative, shifting from, “A served impression to a metric that provides more meaning in the digital landscape.”

The MRC says it is working with vendors to reconcile discrepancies in viewable impression counts. “This on-going reconciliation effort has helped to standardize measurement practices and minimize the margin of difference between vendors’ impression counts,” said the MRC in the statement it released today.

To help spread the word and educate the industry on viewable ad impressions, the IAB has launched a PSA campaign through its 3MS initiative. As part of the campaign, 3MS is asking other industry organizations and vendors to submit their versions of the “viewability” metaphor. Here are two PSAs created by 3MS as examples:

Banner Day by 3MS

White Wall by 3MS