LONDON: ISBA, the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers, is to adopt a new viewability standard and has called for advertisers around the world to be given the facility to buy digital display at 100% in view.

The organisation, which is grappling with the issue of cross-media measurement, believes the opportunity to see (OTS) for digital will need to be changed to meet parity with other forms of media, i.e. 100% in-view compared to the current Media Rating Council (MRC) guideline of 50% in view.

ISBA is now a member of the MRC and will be working with regional trade bodies to develop and establish globally adopted standards across all major markets.

ISBA also acknowledged that different advertisers have different needs and said that an advertiser should be able to buy at whatever viewability threshold(s) delivers against its particular business objectives – including below 100%.

The longer-term aim is for there to be a market where brands are able to buy their advertising delivered as designed i.e. 100% in-view for full duration.

“We are very pleased to have got to this point with viewability,” said Steve Chester, Director of Media at ISBA.

“Raising the standard is something our members want but we also recognise the different needs of our members and what we have announced today reflects this.”

The IPA welcomed the move, with director general Paul Bainsfair observing that “we have been pushing for 100% video visibility for a while, and so are delighted with this significant step forward in raising standards.”

“Our IPA research by Les Binet and Peter Field points to video being the most important brand building form online, and so this latest development can only help to further fuel its effectiveness.” he added.

Sourced from ISBA, IPA; additional content by WARC staff