What are IAB Standards? A Complete Guide
As fast as the digital advertising industry is growing, it needs to be governed by standards to make sure parties can work together in harmony. It doesn’t help the fact that it was calculated that digital advertising spending worldwide amounted to 521.02 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. The source projected that by 2026, the spending would reach 876 billion dollars, which is where the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and its standards, come in.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) serves as a council in the ad tech business, developing rules and norms to ensure seamless operation in the ad tech industry.
What Is the IAB?
The IAB, founded in 1996, has been guiding the advertising sector for nearly two decades. IAB is in charge of conducting research, educating those who work in the digital advertising industry, and providing legal support. Furthermore, in 2014, the IAB Tech Lab got established, which is in charge of ads.txt anti-fraud specifications, Project Rearc for identity addressability, VAST tags and video specifications, OpenRTB real-time bidding protocols, Open Measurement SDK for viewability and verifications, data accountability, and consumer privacy.
IAB standards make sure that the stakeholders may work on vital problems in the digital advertising market together. These standards:
- Ensure brand safety and lower ad fraud safeguards consumer privacy and enable responsible data use
- Maintain consistency in ad measurement and experiences
- Drive efficiency and transparency in ad measurements
IAB Standards – What You Can Expect (examples)
An IAB standard ad size can be defined as an ad unit seen on most applications and websites. Today, three sizes are considered standard ads- Leaderboard (728×90), medium rectangle (300×250), and skyscraper (160×600). These ad units are widely utilized in ad tech and are regarded as the most profitable ad sizes. Publishers can implement these ads easily such that their demand is always high from the advertisers, and they help in increasing the earning potential of publishers.
It should be noted that IAB’s ad portfolio also recognizes several other ad sizes, including billboard (970×250), smartphone banner (300×50, 320×50), and portrait (300×600). Publishers should preferably test different ad sizes to discover which ones get the best results. Furthermore, employing varied ad sizes might assist them in successfully dealing with banner blindness, which occurs when using popular or common ad sizes.
The Advantages of IAB Standards
- IAB standards make it easier to create ad inventory.
- IAB New Ad Portfolio uses aspect ratio-based sizes rather than set pixel sizes, allowing ad units to appear uniformly across numerous screens.
- IAB standards provide rules for publishers interested in experimenting with new technologies such as social media, augmented reality, virtual reality, and even emoji advertisements.
- New Ad Portfolio prioritizes quicker load performance to deliver a better user experience and ensure that advertising renders as rapidly as feasible.
- IAB standard advertising optimizes display ad profits for publishers that want to monetize their apps through ad networks.
Bottom Line:
While the IAB standards encourage advertisers and publishers to adopt its rules and practices, they are not required to do so. However, considering that the three most popular ad sizes in the digital advertising business are part of the IAB New Ad Portfolio, it is evident that most in the industry realize the commercial benefits of standard sizing.
AdPumb advises publishers to follow the IAB’s recommended practices and principles to stay relevant and boost revenue.
AdPumb makes sure our partners follow such guidelines from IAB standards to help our publishers get the most out of their monetization strategies. We are an ad mediation firm that focuses on programmatic advertisement through tried and tested ad mediation strategies that work for publishers in increasing their fill rates to a guaranteed 99.99%, enhancing eCPMs and revenue to make sure you lead when it comes to generating revenue and making your endeavours worthwhile. Get to us to make sure you are not leaving money on the table today!