• by Tobi Elkin  @tobielkin, June 7, 2016

Sizmek, an ad-tech provider supporting multiscreen campaigns, on Tuesday announced that the Media Rating Council (MRC) has accredited the company for desktop digital video viewability measurement. This means that Sizmek’s desktop viewable ad impressions meet industry standards.

The accreditation confirms that video impressions counted on ads served through Sizmek’s platform meet strict requirements established by the MRC for video viewability across both Flash and HTML5 in-stream formats on desktop. Sizmek’s technology enables reporting that adheres to the MRC’s guidelines for viewable video ad impressions and goes one step further—it enables customers to also measure viewability based on even stricter, customized thresholds. Those thresholds  aren’t MRC-accredited at this time.

Sizmek’s video advertising platform offers tools to simplify basic in-stream ads and build interactive creative formats. It also enables marketers to acquire new insights by layering on video viewability against the rest of their ad engagement data.

“A diverse video advertising strategy that includes both in-stream and rich media creative can yield increased brand awareness through content that elicits a combination of lean-back and lean-in viewing. We believe that advertisers are willing to pay a premium for the great return on ad spend these ads afford, but with the higher premiums, there is a greater need to prioritize viewability and ensure ads are in view and being seen by real consumers, not bots," Neil Nguyen, CEO of Sizmek, told Real-Time Daily via email. "The assurance from the MRC that our clients’ desktop digital video viewability measurements are held to the highest standard of accuracy is critical," he added.

Sizmek previously received MRC accreditation for its viewable desktop display impression measurement, along with display, rich media and digital video ad serving across desktop, mobile Web and in-app environments.