March 20, 2013

The IAB recently announced its Digital Video Rising Stars ad units as part of its larger Rising Stars initiative, which seeks to create new canvasses for brand advertising on digital platforms.  Once a Rising Stars unit has been selected, it will go through a testing process and, with success, be inducted into the IAB Standard Advertising Unit Portfolio, the definitive standard for the digital advertising industry.

Sally O’Dowd, Tremor Video’s blog editor, sat down with David Sanderson, director of creative strategy, and Erin Ozmat, product manager at analytics division VideoHub, to get their take on what it all means. Here’s what they had to say:

1. Tremor Video was a winner in the Rising Stars competition. Can you tell us more about that?

DS:  As people can see in our Ad Lab, we have been building all of the video ad units that the IAB designated as Rising Stars. Our ad units simply go by different names:

Super Pre-Roll has an interactive slate that “fills the player with a full canvas of interaction possibilities” like the IAB Full Screen format and has the “scrollable, multipanel, horizontal” features like the Filmstrip format.

Pre-Roll Plus has “rich ad content overlaid on video, changing in sync with video ad content” like the TimeSync format and is  ”an elegant interface allowing viewers to engage in multiple ways, if they so choose” like the Ad Control Bar format.

Pre-Roll Extended Play (PXP) “allows viewer to choose to continue viewing the ad content” just like the Extender format and provides long-form content, such as with movie trailer advertising.

Broadly speaking, we are thrilled that such units are becoming standardized. Knowing exactly what different ad units do makes it easier to conceptualize, plan and create video advertising. For our part, we use these ad units so that we can couple creative assets with interactivity, which in turn helps us to reach media objectives.

EO: Tremor Video’s winning ad formats and the IAB’s Rising Stars units have another important quality in common - they provide viewers the opportunity to actively participate with the ad.

And this benefits brands tremendously – we’ve seen the metrics. We know that purchase intent increases when consumers have the chance to view and engage with branded content in addition to standard pre-roll.  It’s why we have made interactivity so fundamental to all we do.

2. What does the development of the Digital Video Rising Stars ad units mean for brands?

EO: Currently there are many different types of interactive ad formats being built and sold, all with varying claims about marketing success. By standardizing interactive ad format functionality through the Rising Stars initiative, with input from Tremor Video and other winners, the IAB frees up brand marketers to think about the bigger issues: relationships with consumers, and the quality and relevance of their message. Standardized ad units also help brand marketers to measure and compare performance across campaigns and media buys.

3. Our Ritz client has used the Super Pre-Roll unit and participated in the IAB Rising Stars announcement. Why do you think the ad unit is particularly effective?

DS: The unit is great because it builds on and complements the other aspects of the Ritz “Kick Up the Kickoff” multimedia ad campaign, which features Chef Emeril Lagasse. The digital video ad invites the viewer to spend time with new Ritz recipes. It’s a great secondary conversation with the Ritz audience. If someone clicks on “Rollover for Kickin Gameday Recipes,” the pre-roll pauses and up pops the engagement slate featuring six different recipes.

EO: I also like this unit because it gives viewers multiple opportunities to engage with the ad. The trigger to engage is on target with the brand message and gives the viewer the opportunity to opt-in for more…or not. If viewers do decide to engage, they are given interactive recipes to pick from, as well as a chance to win the Ritz recipe contest. There is also a clear “close” button to leave the ad. It’s all about choices, and analyzing what choices people make can tell us a lot about them and what draws them to the brand.

4. What are the next steps in terms of the IAB working groups?

EO: David and I have been invited to participate in the IAB Full Screen and Ad Control Bar working groups. Our job is to define, build, and implement standards for these two types of Rising Stars. We will also be putting the Rising Stars ad formats through a testing process, to ensure that they not only look and work great, but also deliver on performance. The process should be completed in a few months.

5. What else do you want ad industry to know about the Rising Stars ad units, and our involvement?

EO: Leaders from top ad agencies served on the panel of judges that selected the winning 12 companies and five Rising Stars ad formats. The panel’s choices tell us about the growing importance of online video advertising to brands, and what units tend to work best. It is an incredible opportunity to work with these leaders and our peers to help the entire industry better leverage interactive video ad experiences. We’re really looking forward to it!