Joint Effort from IAB Ad Operations Council & Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence Addresses Concerns Raised Regarding File Size Restrictions During Public Comment
New York, NY (July 15, 2013) — The interactive ecosystem has increasingly been turning to HTML5 ad code as a seamless solution to help traverse the complexities in scaling across various digital screens. To support this intensified use of HTML5, the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Ad Operations Council and Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence have published the final version of “HTML5 for Digital Advertising 1.0: Guidance for Ad Designers & Creative Technologists,” which addresses inherent challenges in leveraging the ad code, while providing a series of time and cost-saving recommendations on topics such as:
- HTML5 display ad units (non-rich media)
- File and ad unit size
- Code and asset compression
- In-banner video advertising and animation
- Efficient ad creative packaging
- Ad server compatibility communication recommendations
“With cross-screen campaigns becoming the norm, it is critical that we craft a uniform framework for HTML5 ad optimization,” said Steve Sullivan, Vice President, Ad Technology, IAB. “HTML5 technology is being rapidly adopted in the marketplace, but the code comes with its own set of issues and impediments that need to be confronted. This guidance helps break through those barriers, promoting a level of performance and functionality that not only improves the HTML5 experience for marketers, creative designers, publishers, and other industry stakeholders, but elevates the experience for consumers as well.”
Released for public comment in early May, “HTML5 for Digital Advertising 1.0” received significant feedback in regard to file size limits, with members raising concerns that the proposed limit would restrict HTML5’s key benefits, such as responsive design and accessibility of external files like JavaScript libraries through content delivery networks. As a result, IAB removed file size guidance and simply recommends that creative developers and technologists consult with their publisher and vendor partners on acceptable limits.
“Input from the interactive advertising ecosystem is vital in developing the IAB’s various industry guidelines, best practices, standards and more,” said Anna Bager, Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, IAB. “The amount of feedback we received on this particular document underscores the industry’s ongoing demand for seamless cross-screen advertising. Needless to say, we expect that this HTML5 guidance will fuel the multi-screen movement.”
The final version of the guidance was unveiled at theIAB Advertising Technology Marketplace conference in New York City, where, it will serve as the centerpiece of an afternoon mainstage session led by Cory Hudson, Creative Director, AOL, and Chair of the IAB HTML5 Working Group, entitled “The Future of HTML5 Advertising: Build Once – Deploy Everywhere.”
“HTML5 for Digital Advertising 1.0: Guidance for Ad Designers & Creative Technologists” is available for download atiab.com/html5. In addition, an HTML5 wiki for designers and developers has also been established to compliment the guidance, and is located at iab.com/wiki/index.php/HTML5_for_Digital_Advertising_Resources.
About the IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit iab.com.
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