Following four months of review by advertisers and ad agencies, the Internet Advertising Bureau's Universal Ad Package, a suite of four standard online ad sizes, was accepted last month as an industry standard for online advertising sales.
Last December, the IAB Ad Sizes Task Force announced the sizes and solicited feedback from online publishers to determine if they were acceptable.
"We went through a process to identify those four units and make sure that they were what the advertisers and agencies needed," Adam Gelles, director of Industry Initiatives for the IAB, told EIR. "The response from them was overwhelmingly in favor of the package."
As with other media, marketers and ad agencies then can plan ad packages more easily and transfer them to multiple online publishers' sites.
"Ultimately, its goal is really to create an environment where marketers and agencies view interactive as they do all other mediums," Gelles said. "This is really to encourage marketers who aren't engaged and are engaged to invest in interactive advertising."
The IAB's ad package standardizes online advertising by offering four online ad size formats-728x90, 300x250, 160x600 and 180x150. The package is designed with the idea that an advertiser can buy, plan and create around those four units and know that they will reach at least 51% of the online publisher's audience.
Online publishers agreeing to comply with the IAB's package will adopt the four ad-size standards and ensure that each of its advertisers' ad packages are viewable by at least 50% of its users.
IAB member compliant sites can be identified by displaying the UAP Compliance Seal. Compliance to the guidelines is self-regulated and self-reported to the IAB. All IAB member companies, including MarketWatch.com WSJ.com and Yahoo!, plan to comply with the standards within the next 12 to 18 months.
IAB: 212-949-9030 or www.IAB.net
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