Association of Online PublishersHelping media owners build better digital business
6 Mar 2013 
AOP Commercial Group Backs Standardised Viewable Impressions
Premium publishers should make a standardised measure of viewable impressions a key strategic goal, according to the AOP’s Commercial Group.
The methodologies and technologies currently available to measure viewable impressions fail to deliver comparable results. With a membership that publishes quality content and holds readers’ attention, the AOP Commercial Group believes that a standardised measure will benefit its members as well as advertisers because it will bring transparency to the value of advertising inventory.
Says Jamie Labate, Chair of the AOP Commercial Group and deputing managing director of advertising at Dennis Publishing: “The generally accepted definition of a viewable impression is that at least 50% of the ad is on screen for a second. But how does this help us value ads on screen for three minutes? Is this advert worth 180 times the one-second viewable impression? Are advertisers willing to pay that much more, or only two or three times as much? If 75% of an advert appears on a consumer’s screen, is an advertiser willing to pay more for this? These elements and others need to be part of the commercial debate.”
To this end, the AOP Commercial Group is meeting some of the digital heads of advertising agencies to canvass opinions on viewable impressions and AOP publisher members have begun testing a variety of technology solutions. The next step is to draw up a plan that will lead to an agreed commercial and technological framework so that the publishing and advertising industries can use a standardised measure of viewable impressions and know that they are talking about a standard unit for ad engagement.
Says Sam Finlay, deputy chair of the AOP Commercial Group and head of advertising at IPC: “We need to start resolving the core issues of value now as some agencies are already using viewable impressions in their decision-making and campaign planning. We can foresee the day when agencies will want to bring the metric in to their commercial negotiations. The debate ahead of formulating a standard measure will undoubtedly get heated at times, but both sides of the industry have much to gain. We look forward to hearing everyone’s contribution.”
John Barnes, chair of the AOP, says: “While it is early days yet, this area is developing fast. It’s important to be aware of what’s going on and be prepared.”
The AOP Commercial Group
The AOP Commercial Group is focused on unifying publishers to pool knowledge and expertise in exploring common issues and opportunities particularly through project groups in emerging areas of commercial focus - data, video, mobile and engagement. The group aims to ensure that publishers’ commercial interests are represented with agencies and suppliers and that industry initiatives are prominent within the group.
The methodologies and technologies currently available to measure viewable impressions fail to deliver comparable results. With a membership that publishes quality content and holds readers’ attention, the AOP Commercial Group believes that a standardised measure will benefit its members as well as advertisers because it will bring transparency to the value of advertising inventory.
Says Jamie Labate, Chair of the AOP Commercial Group and deputing managing director of advertising at Dennis Publishing: “The generally accepted definition of a viewable impression is that at least 50% of the ad is on screen for a second. But how does this help us value ads on screen for three minutes? Is this advert worth 180 times the one-second viewable impression? Are advertisers willing to pay that much more, or only two or three times as much? If 75% of an advert appears on a consumer’s screen, is an advertiser willing to pay more for this? These elements and others need to be part of the commercial debate.”
To this end, the AOP Commercial Group is meeting some of the digital heads of advertising agencies to canvass opinions on viewable impressions and AOP publisher members have begun testing a variety of technology solutions. The next step is to draw up a plan that will lead to an agreed commercial and technological framework so that the publishing and advertising industries can use a standardised measure of viewable impressions and know that they are talking about a standard unit for ad engagement.
Says Sam Finlay, deputy chair of the AOP Commercial Group and head of advertising at IPC: “We need to start resolving the core issues of value now as some agencies are already using viewable impressions in their decision-making and campaign planning. We can foresee the day when agencies will want to bring the metric in to their commercial negotiations. The debate ahead of formulating a standard measure will undoubtedly get heated at times, but both sides of the industry have much to gain. We look forward to hearing everyone’s contribution.”
John Barnes, chair of the AOP, says: “While it is early days yet, this area is developing fast. It’s important to be aware of what’s going on and be prepared.”
The AOP Commercial GroupThe AOP Commercial Group is focused on unifying publishers to pool knowledge and expertise in exploring common issues and opportunities particularly through project groups in emerging areas of commercial focus - data, video, mobile and engagement. The group aims to ensure that publishers’ commercial interests are represented with agencies and suppliers and that industry initiatives are prominent within the group.
