The popularity of connected TV among consumers is hardly groundbreaking news anymore. With hundreds of millions of viewers in the US alone, CTV is quickly becoming the preferred streaming method for audiences far and wide. However, this large pool of viewers, combined with CTV’s relatively young age, has led to a bit of disarray in the CTV advertising landscape. There is an urgent need to standardize CTV ad formats and ad trading processes in general.
IAB Tech Lab has recognized this need and launched the CTV Ad Format Idol initiative. The initiative aims to bring order into the still-messy CTV ad industry and standardize the emerging connected TV formats.
The Current State of Affairs
The CTV ad formats that are mostly in use today, especially when it comes to video ads, have their footing in traditional linear television. This, of course, comes with the added perks of digital environments, such as skippability and clickability.
While these have been doing a good job so far, they fail to utilize the unique capabilities of CTV. As a blend between traditional TV and the digital world, CTV can offer creative formats and unique viewing experiences across the board. Not to mention that standard instream video ads have become so commonplace that most viewers find them boring at best.
What I’m trying to say is that the industry is aching for creative but standardized CTV ad formats. This is where IAB Tech Lab comes in.
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Follow UsIAB Tech Lab’s Move to Standardize CTV Ads
The IAB Tech Lab has launched the CTV Ad Format Idol initiative, which aims to standardize new and innovative CTV ad formats. The initiative will bring together industry experts to recommend, evaluate, and standardize practices for emerging ad formats that are effective in connected TV environments. Ad servers, networks, agencies, SSPs, publishers, and other industry players are invited to submit their CTV ad formats for evaluation by January 22, 2025.
What Can We Expect?
It’s still too early to tell exactly which ad formats the initiative will encompass, and we probably won’t have more information before Q1 2025. However, the IAB Tech Lab has named some formats already, such as the brand bug and pause screen ads.
Personally, I’m pretty excited to see what kinds of changes the initiative will bring, both as someone who works in the industry and as a consumer.
The Importance of Standardization
Given the rate at which CTV advertising has been growing, you might be wondering whether this move for standardization is really necessary. Advertisers are reaching their audiences, publishers are making money – what more could we ask for?
First of all, without standardization, this growth is bound to slow down eventually. Too many different formats call for more resources for ad creation and deployment for advertisers, as well as a significantly smaller demand pool for publishers.
Additionally, with standardized formats, ads can function properly across different CTV platforms and devices, reducing any technical challenges along the way. Not to mention that this also provides the groundwork for a seamless user experience.
Finally, with standardized formats across the board, there will be a broader adoption of these new ad types. This will serve as a springboard for even further growth of the CTV advertising landscape.
Jump on the CTV Train With TargetVideo
The best time to jump on the CTV wagon was a few years ago. But even if you missed that train (see what I did there?), it’s still not too late. With TargetVideo, you can launch your own CTV app for all the popular operating systems – without any coding! Take advantage of the ever-expanding CTV advertising landscape and create a reliable source of revenue.
