• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, February 8, 2024

In what is likely to be a foundation for rapidly evolving future forms of media audience experiences, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Media Rating Council (MRC) this morning released a set of ad industry measurement guidelines for calculating the audiences of advertising in augmented reality (AR).

The guidelines, which were developed jointly by the IAB and the MRC, establish industry standard definitions and measurement processes for ads placed within AR-based campaigns, and are open for public comment until March 9. Read them here.

The new AR guidelines, which incorporate elements of guidelines developed by the IAB and MRC for previous new generations of ad-supported media, such as mobile in-app and in-game advertising -- such as when an ad experience renders and completes -- are part of an ongoing progression by the U.S. trade groups to evolve with new and evolving media technology and consumer experiences.

“The Augmented Reality advertising market is projected to generate $1.2 billion in revenue in the U.S. this year,” explains IAB Vice President-Experience Center Zoe Soon, adding, “Thus, as an industry, we need to establish a greater consistency on how we define and measure AR advertising to foster fairness and transparency for buyers and sellers.”

The guidelines account for unique interactive and immersive formats and experiences capable in AR-based media, which the authors note  “can accrue non-physical interactions with products, as well as the physical interactions related to browsing in the context of attribution.

While the guidelines are not intended to serve as explicit benchmarks for other forms of fully immersive virtual realty and/or mixed reality, they do set parameters for new augmented reality advertising experiences, including:

• Rewarded AR ads

• Virtual try-ons 

• Dynamic experiences masks

• Interactive world views

• Interactive 3D objects

• Portals/gateways

• Static filters