Receptiv launches first mobile web video ad format built for user experience standards

Formerly known as MediaBrix, mobile marketer Receptiv decided about a year ago to focus entirely on in-app video ads. Its lineup had previously also included in-app display and rich media ads.

This week, the New York City-based firm is moving into mobile web, launching a new video ad format that it says is the first built specifically to comply with the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s LEAN (Light, Encrypted, Ad Choice-supported and Non-invasive) ad standards and the Coalition for Better Ads’ initial standards.

Called Reveal, the new format is out-stream: video ads that aren’t in-stream like pre-roll ads, aren’t interstitials, and stay on top of the screen.

VP of Product Innovation JT White noted that, while some other existing mobile video ad formats also comply with these standards, Reveal is the first built specifically for them.

He pointed to three features in particular:

• A Contextualization for the user, where the publisher icon and a message from the brand are shown in a frame surrounding the video ad. This means, he said, that the user can immediately see that she is still on the publisher’s site, as well as the source of the video message.
• Mobile-first gesturing, where swiping right on the video ad takes the user to the brand’s webpage and swiping left closes the ad.
• And the ability to still read content, even after the ad is displayed. The ad format sits at the top of the screen, occupying no more than 28 percent in order to stay below the Coalition for Better Ads’ threshold, and the text or other content is scrollable underneath.

White said that the contextualization wrapper is unique to Receptiv’s ads and that he has not seen all three of these features in another mobile video ad format. Additionally, he said, the new format has a small file size of less than a megabyte, is encrypted and Ad Choices-certified, and offers closed captioning.

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.