Viewability

Essentials
Guide
Introduction
When you look at the evolution of digital advertising, it makes sense that
viewability has continued to be a top concern for marketers. The entire
digital advertising ecosystem exists to support brands and their efforts to
reach and influence consumers.

Whether caused by a growing number of channels and platforms or out of

necessity to stay connected, consumers are increasing their time spent
with digital media. It was not long ago that viewability rates of 50% were
the industry norm, but rates are on the rise. According to our H2 2020
Media Quality Report, viewability averages stand above 65% across nearly
all formats and environments worldwide.

While this marks an impressive accomplishment, that range indicates that,

as much as one-third of digital ads are going unseen by consumers in
certain environments. This viewability gap creates challenges for both the
buy and sell-sides of the digital media business.

Marketers often talk about reaching the right consumers, in the right
places, in the appropriate context. But first, marketers should ensure their
ads have the opportunity to be viewable and to make a lasting impact.
After all, advertising can’t be effective without first being seen.

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 CHAPTER 1

So, what exactly

is viewability?
Viewability is the ability for
a digital ad to be seen by an
actual consumer.
To be considered viewable, an ad must
meet the minimum guidelines set by the
industry, and should not include illegal bot
traffic and other forms of ad fraud as part
of the number of viewable impressions.

Viewability does not describe how

effective an ad was, whether it was seen
by target audiences, or if a consumer
actually looked at it.

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 3

Industry
Guidelines
The Media Rating Council (MRC) is an independent industry organization that
aims to secure audience measurement that is valid, reliable, and effective for
the media industry. The MRC has established criteria for viewable impression
reporting, and administers an audit and accreditation system to inform the
industry as to whether measurement services meet the established criteria.

The MRC guidelines define a general standard for measuring viewable

impressions on desktop and mobile web, and mobile in-app, for display and
video formats. For more information, please access the MRC website at
http://mediaratingcouncil.org/.

Since the digital market continues to evolve with new advertising opportunities,
and technology, the MRC is always re-evaluating their guidelines.

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 4

A viewable impression
is one that meets
the following
MRC guidelines:
The ad has begun to render on the page and is as follows, by format:

Display Video Large format

At least 50% of the ad in view, At least 50% of the ad placement in view, At least 30% of the creative in view,
for at least 1 continuous second for at least 2 continuous seconds for at least 1 continuous second

However, a lot can happen between fetching an ad and displaying it.

Even after the ad loads, the environment or consumer interaction can
interfere with the visibility of the ad.

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 5

Why would an ad not be viewable?
Environment 1. The creative does not render on the page

2. The ad loads in an area outside of the

5. consumer’s browser

3.

3. Multiple ads are stacked on top of each

other (called ad stacking)

4.
1.
4. Multiple ads are stuffed within the same
pixel (called pixel stuffing)
2.

5. Pages are frequently refreshed

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 6

Why would an ad not be viewable?
Consumer Interaction

The consumer takes an action The consumer takes an action before

before the ad can load the minimum time requirement is met

The browser is minimized The consumer opens multiple tabs,

and the ad is displayed in a tab
that’s not currently open

The consumer isn’t a real person

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 7

How are we doing
as an industry?
DESKTOP WEB DISPLAY MOBILE WEB DISPLAY

According to our H2 2020 Media Canada 71.90% Poland 69.10%

Quality Report (MQR), 68.8% of
worldwide desktop display ads and United Kingdom 71.30% Australia 68.80%
62.9% of mobile web display ads
were in view per the MRC standard. Australia 70.10% United Kingdom 67.80%
To check out the entire report,
download it here. United States 69.80% Canada 67.70%

Poland 68.30% Indonesia 67.10%

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 8

Programmatic vs.
direct buying

Historically, the viewability of inventory sourced

from publisher direct has been higher than that of
impressions sourced programmatically, specifically
from the open market. This is because of a common
tradeoff between efficiency and transparency in the
programmatic buying process.

While programmatic buying has increased efficiency,

the historical lack of transparency makes it harder for
buyers to know exactly what media they’re getting,
and assess the quality of that media.

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 9

 WORLDWIDE VIEWABILITY RATES ⟶
However, advances in programmatic technology
OVERALL PUBLISHER DIRECT PROGRAMMATIC continue to enhance media quality. Utilizing
verification tech, like IAS, has increased overall
Desktop Display 68.8% 66.3% 69.8%
viewability, time-in-view, and brand safety while
reducing invalid traffic in programmatic environments.
Desktop Video 73.6% 74.5% 72.9%

Mobile Web Display 62.9% 61.4% 63.5% It’s critical to utilize a media quality solution to
continue to bid with confidence and prevent bad
Mobile Web Video 73.7% 72.8% 74.1% actors from stealing valuable media spend.

Mobile App Display 72.1% 73.2% 71.5% While the digital advertising industry has seen
viewability rates improve through the years, there are
Source: H2 2020 Media Quality Report still additional opportunities for all parties involved to
work better together.

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 10

Core challenges in viewability
Not all impressions are measurable Despite representing different
technologies and platforms, the
current parameters for mobile
Different brands and agencies have
web and in-app viewability and
different viewability requirements,
display are similar
putting more burden on publishers
and ad tech companies
Over the last several years, some agencies, Vendors measuring the publisher
including GroupM and Publicis, have created their side may calculate viewability
own standards for what qualifies as a viewable
impression. There remains no standard definition
differently than those measuring
of a viewable impression within the industry. from the advertiser side

Companies measure viewability Vendors may have varying

differently, leading to discrepancies measurement capabilities
in the reports for brands and agencies

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 11

 Tactics to Minimize Media Quality
Challenges in 2020
(% of Respondents)

Viewability
Measurement
⟶

62% Even in the midst of these challenges, marketers

still agree that measuring viewability will remain the
bedrock of media quality assurance.

47% 59% It’s important to remember that the purpose of the

industry viewability standards is to ensure that ads
have an opportunity to be seen. Not to guarantee that
Ad fraud
mitigation 54% Brand safety and
the ad was viewed by a consumer, or to ensure ad
effectiveness. We’ll discuss the relationship between
suitability mitigation
viewability and ad effectiveness in a later section.

Brand safety and

suitability monitoring

CHAPTER 1: VIEWABILITY OVERVIEW 12

 CHAPTER 2

Channels,
environments,
and formats
This section breaks down the different
channels, environments, and formats based
on how viewability is measured. For instance,
display and video ads are measured the same
way on desktop and mobile web, but are
handled differently for in-app.

Additionally, social media and proprietary

platforms offer some unique ad formats that
present different measurement needs.

Note: Technological updates and increasing privacy

legislation, such as cookie deprecation (Google Chrome) or
IDFA (Apple), will not impact IAS Viewability measurement.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is not used in our
standard practices to ascertain this information.

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 13

Desktop and
mobile web ≥1s ≥5s ≥15s

Since display and video impressions within

75.2%
71.5%
web browsers behave similarly across both 67.0% 67.4%
62.5% 59.4%
desktop and mobile devices, they can be 56.9%
51.8%
49.8%
measured using the same methods. 42.0%
37.1% 37.9%
33.9% 33.9%
According to our H2 2020 MQR, 68.8% 21.0%
of worldwide desktop display ads were
viewable during the six month period.
Skyscraper Leaderboard Half Page Medium Rectangle Billboard
(160x600) (728x90) (300x600) (300x250) (970x250)
Here’s how that breaks down
by ad format ⟶

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 14

How can you measure display viewability on desktop and mobile web?

AD
AD

AD

Geometric Methodologies Browser optimization and simulated methodologies

• Measure the position and size of the ad relative to the • Analyze ad processing on-screen versus off-screen
position and size of the viewport

• Calculate the overlap to assess percentage of ad in view

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 15

Video
According to our H1 2020 MQR,
73.6%
73.6% of worldwide desktop video 73.7%
ads and 73.7% of worldwide mobile
web video were viewable.

Desktop Video Mobile Web Video

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 16

How can you measure video viewability on desktop and mobile web?
Video inventory served in browsers uses the same measurement methodologies as display. However, it is important to call out the differences
between the two types of video tags: VAST and VPAID.

VAST (Video Ad-Serving Template) is a script that gives video
players information about which ad to play, how the ad should
show up, how long it should last, and whether consumers are
able to skip it. VAST helps keep communications between
publishers and the ad servers consistent, standard, and
streamlined. It’s helped the video advertising market become
more sophisticated, with a demand for increasingly advanced
functionality and increased reporting.
VPAID (Video Player Ad-Serving Interface Definition) is a video
format that allows a rich interactive consumer experience with
video ads. VPAID supports interactive overlays, hotspots, blocking,
etc. Through VPAID, advertisers can easily see how individual ads
perform and devise ways of improving engagement and interaction
with the ad. As of 2019, however, VPAID has been officially
deprecated in favor of the Open Measurement (OM) Software
Development Kit (SDK)—but this transition will most likely take years.

OM Web Video SDK (Open Measurement for Web Video SDK) In December 2020, the IAB and Open Measurement Working Group (OMWG)
released the OM Web Video SDK, which improves standardization for measuring Viewability across all web video. The OM Web Video SDK
reduces the historical dependency on VPAID for viewability measurement and provides the industry with a single standard across web and
mobile apps that is trusted, transparent, and secure.

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 17

Mobile In-App
Mobile is an increasingly important channel for advertising, as
people now spend more than four hours a day on mobile devices.

It’s no surprise, then, that mobile is

projected to represent 80%

80%
of digital ad spending by 2025,
according to eMarketer.

However, prior to the introduction of a single open measurement

standard, the mobile ecosystem faced numerous challenges.
on mobile
The growing number of company-specific proprietary
measurement SDKs required too many integrations by app
developers and monetization SDKs. The OM SDK resolved
this problem by embedding most of the code within the apps
themselves, leveraging a standardized method that requires a
single integration to support multiple measurement vendors.

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 18

What is the OM SDK?
• In 2016, IAS spearheaded the Open
Measurement Initiative to push fragmented
in-app measurement toward standardization.

• In 2017 IAS transitioned govenrnance to the IAB

Tech Lab, renaming it the Open Measurement
Working Group (OMWG).

• The OMWG manages the creation and

adoption of the Open Measurement Software
Development Kit (OM SDK).

• The OMWG consists of over 200 members that

represent 50 companies. IAS continues to be a
leading member.

• Over 350 app publishers, broadcasters, SSPs,

and video technology companies have been
granted access for integration.

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 19

How does it work?
The OM SDK facilitates third-party viewability and verification
measurement for ads served to mobile app environments without requiring
multiple ad verification service providers’ SDK. It works across different
mobile platforms (iOS and Android) while standardizing and collecting
data and signals required to be measured for ad verification purposes
(e.g. impression, viewability). The OM SDK provides the collected data
to any participating measurement provider, allowing publishers and app
developers the ability to integrate one ad verification SDK and serve all
measurement providers.
IAS provided the foundational code and libraries of the OM SDK as a
contribution to an industry striving for accurate, scalable, and effective
measurement and verification in mobile app environments. IAS works
with both the buy- and sell-side to drive adoption forward. Alongside the
member companies of the OMWG, IAS continues to drive the roadmap,
contribute to the development of the OM SDK, and certify integrations.
CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS
For those integrating and measuring with the OM SDK, this means the
removal of black box challenges, equal data access to all vendors to
provide scale, and fraud-free delivery with trusted metrics all through
a lightweight and easy to use solution. Plus, the OMWG is consistently
working to increase features and improve the ease in which those new
updates are integrated.
While IAS still maintains our proprietary SDK, as well as MRAID, we are
dedicated to pushing industry standards forward for measurement and
encourage our clients to leverage the OM SDK for all their mobile and
Open Web inventory. Adoption of the OM SDK continues to grow, with
70% of our impressions in-app are measured via the OM SDK, and we
continue to certify major publishers every year. Once the OM SDK is fully
adopted by the industry, standardized third-party measurement will be
available at scale across all environments.
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OM SDK
adoption process
Action is required by the industry for adoption to occur.

Publishers have two routes to OM SDK measurement:

1. Complete the certification process with IAB Tech Lab

2. If you’re already an IAS client, you can do a direct
certification by working with your Integrations lead

If you want to learn more about getting started with

the OM SDK, click here.

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 21

Social Media and
Proprietary Platforms
Social media is defined as “websites and applications that
enable users to create and share content to participate in social
networking.” It’s a pretty general definition, but that’s because
it has to be. The concept of social media rapidly evolves as
new platforms pop up, and as existing platforms find new and
unexpected ways for people to connect with friends, families,
influencers, celebrities, brands, and more.
In 2021, advertisers will spend more than $49 billion in the U.S.
on social media alone, growing by 21.3%, according to eMarketer.
As the fastest growing channel, it’s no wonder why advertisers
continue to prioritize social media in their marketing budgets.

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 22

Here’s a quick breakdown of the different ad environments each of the top
social media and proprietary platforms provide:

Social media platforms provide varied types

of ad experiences, which means they also
offer various methods for describing and
measuring those experiences. For example,
there are different definitions for what
constitutes a video view, some of which are
summarized by Marketing Land. If you are
interested in learning more, we encourage
you to check out each platform for the most
up-to-date information.

Why does this matter? Billing. For example,

one platform may charge only for videos that
are 50% in view for at least 3 cumulative
seconds, while another may simply charge
for all impressions served.

CHAPTER 2: CHANNELS, ENVIRONMENTS, AND FORMATS 23

 CHAPTER 3

The relationship
between viewability
and ad effectiveness
In order for advertising to be
effective, it must first be seen.
Knowing this, it’s easy to shift focus
entirely toward buying viewable
inventory. While this remains
invaluable, what’s more important
is to ensure your brand is making a
lasting impact on your audience.

CHAPTER 3: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIEWABILITY AND AD EFFECTIVENESS 24

Research-based
perspective
The industry guidelines are just that – guidelines.
They provide a baseline. Remember the definition
of viewability, which assesses whether ads have
the opportunity to be seen by a consumer. Not to
guarantee that the ad was actually seen, or to ensure
ad effectiveness. That’s our job – creative agencies,
media agencies, publishers, and ad tech companies
must work together to maximize the impact of ads.

So, IAS collaborated with IPG Mediabrands and

Cadreon to conduct a research study that evaluates
how and when you should use the guidelines and
what the impact was on consumers.

CHAPTER 3: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIEWABILITY AND AD EFFECTIVENESS 25

What did we learn? Time-in-view is king 74%

There is a strong correlation between viewability,

ad effectiveness, and ad recall. It sounds intuitive,
but it’s now confirmed by research. 51%

One of the primary driving factors behind driving

ad effectiveness was how long an ad was in view.
In our study, time-in-view was responsible for
32%
most of the variance in ad effectiveness metrics.
It’s a much better predictor of whether or not 25%

PERCENT CHANGE IN RECALL (DELTA)

PERCENT CHANGE IN RECALL (DELTA)

a consumer will be able to remember the ad
17% 17% 17%
compared to what percent of the ad was in view.
Also, consumers’ attention increased only with the 11%
8% 9%
time the ad was in view - not the percent visible. 5%
1% 3% 4%
Together the industry can gain better insight into
the role metrics like viewability and time-in-view Under At MRC 4 sec 7 sec Under At MRC 75% 100% Under Meets MRC Above
standard standard standard standard standard standard standard
play in driving campaign success.
AVERAGE DELTA FOR ALL AD TYPES AVERAGE DELTA FOR ALL AD TYPES % WHO LOOKED AT AD % AD RECALL

Check out the full report here, which looked at a

total of 189 scenarios and involved nearly 10,000 Ad recall Ad recall Consumer attention
by time in view by percent in view vs ad recall
participants, and the presentation of its results at
our Viewability Breakfast.

CHAPTER 3: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIEWABILITY AND AD EFFECTIVENESS 26

 CHAPTER 4

How to improve
your viewability
The relationship between invalid traffic and viewability
Not all invalid traffic (IVT) is fraudulent, but all
IVT prevents an ad from having the opportunity
to be seen.
When it comes to fraudulent IVT, most industry
experts agree that fraudulent bot traffic
shouldn’t count toward impressions. Instead,
the industry should direct attention toward
preventing fraudulent IVT altogether, and
removing any fraudulent impressions from
campaign reports.
digital ecosystem. Blocking impressions
from being served to fraudsters (bots or
otherwise) is particularly critical for video,
which typically attracts more fraud than
other types of ads due to its higher CPM.
So, it’s critical that all companies in the
digital advertising ecosystem leverage both
viewability and IVT solutions to develop
a holistic approach to protecting digital
media, advertising spend, and revenue.

For example, IVT on mobile in-app may not

necessarily be from bots. Rather, it likely
also includes geo-spoofing. This is just one
of the ways IVT can vary throughout the

CHAPTER 4: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR VIEWABILITY 27

Steps to improve 1. Follow industry standards for viewability

your viewability 2. Leverage IVT detection and prevention, as

well as blocking technology, so that you’re

for brands ⟶ only sending ads to real people – and paying

for safe, viewable impressions

3. Leverage predictive targeting for viewability

4. Reallocate spend to formats that are

performing better during your campaigns

5. Look out for new ad formats that may result

from publishers trying to optimize their sites

CHAPTER 4: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR VIEWABILITY 28

Steps to improve 1. Constantly test and verify the effects of
different ad placements

your viewability 2. Work with your IAS team to ensure that

for publishers ⟶ the IAS measurement tag is always

placed in the right location on your page

3. Focus on producing quality and short

form content

4. Minimize passback ads

5. Consider implementing lazy loading

CHAPTER 4: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR VIEWABILITY 29

Conclusion
Viewability – the ability for a digital ad to be seen
by an actual consumer – is a key component of
digital media quality. The industry guidelines
provide a baseline to help everyone in the digital
advertising ecosystem ensure ads are served and
rendered such that they have the opportunity to
be seen by real people.
Viewability can also be used to better inform
media plans, improve publishers’ sites, and
potentially provide a more effective way to
transact.
At the same time, there are several core
challenges to addressing viewability, primarily
around differing opinions, technologies, and
capabilities. To add more complexity to the
situation, some of these challenges change
depending on the digital channel, environment,
or format. Not to mention that the digital
landscape is constantly changing with new
innovations.
All of these factors create operational
roadblocks for brands, agencies, publishers,
and ad tech companies alike. And ultimately
impact their ability to focus on what really
matters: reaching and influencing consumers.
As an industry, we can – and should –
continue to solve for the concerns around
viewability. At IAS we combine industry-
standard measurement methodologies with
our unique ad fraud detection technology,
to offer you the industry’s best viewability
coverage.
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About IAS
Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a global leader in digital CONTACT US
ad verification, ensuring that ads are viewable by real
info@integralads.com
people in safe and suitable environments. IAS’s mission
www.integralads.com
is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency
in digital media quality for the world’s leading brands,
publishers, and platforms. We do this through data-
driven technologies with actionable real-time signals FOLLOW US
and insight. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in
New York, IAS works with thousands of top advertisers
and premium publishers worldwide. IAS is part of the
Vista Equity Partners portfolio of companies. For more
information, visit integralads.com.

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