Static online ad size standards developed by IAB Canada; streaming to follow

New made-in-Canada online ad format standards are being touted as an important way to reduce the cost of advertising online. On January 17, the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada) announced three new formats on which its members would standardize: a super banner, big box and skyscraper. Common pixel and file sizes will be used by all of IAB Canada’s approximately 70 members. It’s hoped the Canadian Universal Ad Package will reduce the costs and inefficiencies associated with planning, buying and creating online media. IAB Canada executive director Paula Gignac tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that the lack of standards for online media such as magazine and broadcast-related web sites means advertising agencies have to produce a staggering number of individual ads to cover a big media buy. "The cost is in the creation at the agency or the client direct level. Basically, we did a survey of various publishers and agencies and what came back is that often, for one single campaign for online, there could be as many from 70 to 90 pieces of creative developed. That’s just too much creative, and that’s going to keep online from being put into the plan just based on the number of hours that people within the advertiser crew or the agency crew is going to have to do to create those ads. "With these three standards, we can bring those down.There’s still going to be that different web sites would use that other sites won’t. But, the idea here is that it would be three ad units, any advertiser – even one that just started to be online right now –could be virtually guaranteed that all their kind of marketing and advertising needs would be met through these sizes, and also that they would get great penetration in the market, because they’re virtually everywhere. They are already, and they’re going to be even more so," Gignac says. The three standards – four when one format being phased out is included – came out of over six months of discussion by IAB Canada’s publisher and agency councils. The Canadian standard differs slightly from American standards, she says, because Canadians can generally handle larger ads due to the higher adoption of broadband Internet service here. Gignac notes that research done for years has shown that larger ads attract more attention. "We’re highly serviced in terms of broadband. We can go with those bigger ad sizes and know that the user is still having a good experience. We’re not waiting forever to have things download. So, we feel pretty confident that these are just the beginning of a standard. We’ll go to different standards as the industry matures. As broadband penetration goes higher, those standards may change." One of the key changes, she notes, is the adoption of a wider skyscraper ad for IAB Canada members. "You’ll note in the standards that there’s the one version of the skyscraper which is 120x600, and the other one is going to be 160x600. A little larger…It’s funny, when you really think about that standard, it’s only 40 pixels, but 40 pixels across is really important when you’re doing things like car advertising, so you can get the whole car into 160 pixel space…Who would have known that 40 pixels could hold back an industry? But it can." The organization now has its sights set on creating standards for rich media and video-streaming, as well as online ad measurement guidelines.

Static online ad size standards developed by IAB Canada; streaming to follow

Broadcast | February 4, 2005

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