Eighty-two percent of advertising professionals feel the current definition of a "view" for desktop video ads is wholly insufficient, according to a recent survey by Sqad, a provider of solutions for planning and managing advertising investments.
Only 18 percent of those polled believe the current standard, which states that desktop video ads are considered "viewable" if 50 percent of an ad's pixels are in view for at least 2 seconds, to be an acceptable minimum amount of time. Almost half (49 percent) feel video ads should be displayed for at least 5 seconds to be considered viewable, raising questions about the Media Rating Council's current definition of "viewability."
"Attempting to tackle the issue of finding a standard definition of viewability is an extremely complex and difficult task, especially in the current dynamic and evolving media marketplace. Despite the challenges, it is reassuring to know that the IAB, ANA, 4As, and the MRC continue their efforts to achieve a consensus regarding an acceptable definition for all parties that accurately reflects the way digital ads are being viewed and consumed," said SQAD CEO Neil Klar.
The survey also found that media professionals are still familiarizing themselves with the cost of in-stream video advertisements. According to the poll, there is a higher level of knowledge of the cost of display ads as compared to in-stream video ads. When asked to identify which ad category had the highest average CPM for display in 2014, 43 percent were able to properly identify the Finance/Insurance category while only 27 percent correctly identified the costliest category for in-stream video (also Finance/Insurance). According to SQAD's WebCosts, the average CPM in 2014 in the Finance/Insurance category was $20.13 for display and $44.17 for in-stream video.
