• by Kate Kaye , December 10, 2002

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), has unveiled today its Universal Ad Package which includes a new, large standard ad format.

Based on a series of research and focus group conversations with agencies and marketers, the IAB’s Ad Sizes Committee which includes MSN, Yahoo!, AOL and CNET Networks Inc., has settled on four ad sizes: 160X600 IMU, 300X250 IMU, 180X150 IMU and the newly IAB-approved 728X90 IMU format. Standard formats, file weights, animation length and audio have also been determined as a result of usability studies, brand and traditional click performance tests and customer feedback.

“We don’t need new ad sizes,” insists IAB president and CEO, Greg Stuart. He believes that standardizing large ad sizes will help to proliferate the units, which not only perform well for marketers, but are preferred by creatives who appreciate working within bigger palettes.

The IAB has called for comments from the marketplace regarding the Universal Ad Package standards via a feedback form located on the IAB site. The IAB chose to move quickly on the issue, determining the standards which “aren’t set in stone” over just three months.

The 728x90 and 160X600 formats are intended for placement on page perimeters, while the 300X250 and 180X150 ad units have TV-like proportions. The Universal Ad Package announcement marks the IAB’s move away from promoting the widely-accepted 468x60 full banner format in favor of the larger sized ads that outperform their ubiquitous elder cousin.

“In essence, we’re no longer standing behind the smaller 468x60 banner,” comments Stuart, who admits, “we’re tired of the banner being referred to as the ‘much maligned banner.’” Regardless,” he adds, developing the newly standardized formats “is the right thing to do.”

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) supports the ad formats. In addition, a multitude of online publishers has agreed to make them available such as AOL, CNET Networks Inc., CBS Marketwatch, The Excite Network, Internet Press Association, iVillage, MSN, New York Times Digital, Univision Online, The Wall Street Journal, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive and Yahoo!

According to the IAB, the four sizes included in the Universal Ad Package will enable marketers to reach the majority of the audience they need to reach, and will curb costly decisions to build a multitude of ad types that many agree clutter-up the online ad space. Stuart stresses, however, that these newly released standards apply to in-page and on-page ads only, as opposed to rich media or above-the-page ad formats. Those are currently under review by the organization’s Rich Media Guidelines Task Force.

After assessing feedback on the voluntary standards over the next two months, the IAB will “lock them down” in February 2003. The organization expects compliance by all online publishers over the next twelve to eighteen months.

Stuart notes the IAB is “trying to rally everybody around” the Universal Ad Package units, the standardization of which represents the group’s mission to help interactive media companies increase their revenues. “The good thing here is seeing the publishers listen to agencies and marketers so we can get this business working for them,” concludes Stuart.