Connected TV (CTV) advertising revenue is expected to exceed $40 billion by 2027, according to eMarketer. But in order for that expectation to become a reality, standardization of myriad CTV advertising formats is going to have to be sorted out, says IAB Tech Lab, a trade group charged with establishing technical standards for the global digital advertising industry.
“CTV is experiencing explosive growth, but we’re still in the early innings of figuring out how to make it work at scale,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, a non-profit separate from the Interactive Advertising Bureau but operating under the IAB umbrella. “The industry is full of new ad formats that show promise but lack the technical standards to take off.”
Enter “Ad Format Idol,” a new initiative cooked up by IAB Tech Lab aimed at establishing such standards. Part of the focus is to standardize how to accurately describe new and emerging CTV ad formats within the bidstream. The organization hopes to streamline CTV ad scalability and efficient programmatic transactions by creating common standards that enable a “build once, serve everywhere” dynamic.
Starting Tuesday, October 22 and running through January 22, IAB Tech Lab is inviting stakeholders across the digital advertising ecosystem to submit their most successful CTV ad formats for consideration. Each entry will then be evaluated by a task force appointed by IAB Tech Lab’s Advanced TV Commit Group. Once that evaluation is completed, the org’s Advanced TV and Programmatic Supply Chain Working Groups will blend all their learnings and work to update their respective specifications.
Ad Format Idol will be showcased at key industry events, beginning with IAB Tech Lab’s International Summit in London on November 5, as well as the trade group’s “I Want My CTV” confab on December 5 in New York City.
“We’re looking for ad formats that have real potential to scale across different channels and streaming services and change consumer’s advertising experience on CTV,” added Ken Weiner, chief technology officer for GumGum and IAB Tech Lab board director, in a statement. “This is about identifying the ad formats that can navigate complexity and make a difference in the way advertisers engage with audiences.”
Meanwhile, separately but related, a new report compiled by the IAB, IAB CTV Video Ad Format Landscape: How Standardization Can Drive Programmatic Growth and Innovation in CTV, highlights what the broader trade group describes as an “urgent need” for CTV ad format standardization.
“Our latest report shows the industry is buzzing with creative ad formats, but scaling them across platforms remains a significant challenge,” said Cintia Gabilan, VP of Media Center at IAB, in a statement. “With 75% of CTV spend being transacted in programmatic already, advertisers need standardization to scale investments and buying efficiency, and ‘Ad Format Idol’ is set to address that. This initiative will help overcome fragmentation and ensure these formats can thrive across the CTV ecosystem.”
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