• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, March 10, 2009

More than two dozen members of the Online Publishers Association will launch three new outsized display ad units in an effort to spark more high-impact ad campaigns online.

Starting in July, Web publishers including CNNMoney.com, ESPN.com, Forbes.com and NYTimes.com will introduce one of the three new ad formats that are larger than standard Interactive Advertising Bureau ad units and may run only one to a page. The idea is to inspire better ad creative by giving agencies more room to work with than in typical Web banners and buttons.

The move reflects a broader industry push this year to improve the creative aspects of online advertising in order to wrest more brand advertising dollars from TV and other traditional media. It also occurs against the backdrop of what could be one of the toughest years for display ads, as marketers cut back on spending or shift dollars to search advertising as a result of the recession.

"Agencies are looking for new ways to integrate their clients' brand experiences with more interactivity on the page, and these new units provide a way for them to accomplish this while capitalizing on the halo effect of the high-quality media brands," said OPA President Pam Horan. She added that the initiative would give agencies a "broader palette" to express their creativity.

Specifically, the proposed new units are:

• The Fixed Panel (recommended dimension is 336 wide x 860 tall), intended to appear naturally embedded into the page layout, and scrolls to the top and bottom of the page as a user goes up or down the page.
• The XXL Box (468 x 648), providing page-turn functionality and video capability and expandable to 936 x 648.
• The Pushdown (970 x 418), which opens to display the advertisement and then rolls up to the top of the page (collapsing to 970 x 66).

In addition to fostering greater creativity, the OPA outlined three other key goals in connection with rolling out the new ad types: providing greater "share of voice" for advertisers by increasing ad space relative to editorial content; creating a new ad metric to measure the emotional impact of creative advertising; and increasing consumers' ability to engage with brands.

Higher interaction with ads would be driven by including features such as embedded video players in ads and permalinks and other tools to encourage saving and sharing of ad content.

Each of the participating publishers will run at least one of the three ad units starting July 1, although many are expected to begin running one or more of the ads before then. Horan points out that the publishers' sites collectively reached 108 million unique visitors, or two-thirds of U.S. Web users--allowing agencies to test the new formats across a broad swath of the online audience.

Jim Spanfeller, president and CEO of Forbes.com and an OPA board member, said agencies are still making the transition from traditional to digital media when it comes to creating ad campaigns with emotional resonance. "Those working with the OPA would like to increase the velocity of that transition," said Spanfeller.

On the agency side, Rob Norman, CEO of media-buying giant GroupM, welcomed the OPA initiative. "Advertisers definitely want to improve the importance of branding online, and this is a good invitation to do that," he said. Ad units offering permalinks and other features to boost user engagement and sharing "may create a new line of creativity in where they go."

Norman also said he's aware of at least a couple of publishers that are redesigning their sites to better showcase the new ad units. "They're looking at an editorial as well as advertising clean-up, and both of those things are important," said Norman. Such efforts fit with the OPA's call for publishers to run fewer but more high-quality ads per page.

That means trading little-noticed banner ads in favor of the larger, more versatile units backed by the OPA.

In floating new types of display ads, however, the OPA is edging onto the turf of the IAB, which has historically set ads standards for the industry. The group has mounted its own push to promote the creative potential of online advertising this year, including creation of an advisory panel of a dozen top digital agency executives to address the topic.

"I think there might be a bit of saber-rattling that goes on about that," said Norman.

But Horan assured that the two groups share the same goals in improving ad creative and that the OPA wasn't trying to usurp the IAB's role in setting online ad standards. Spanfeller emphasized that the OPA effort would help speed the adoption of more brand-friendly advertising online. "Who better to push this along (than the OPA)?" he asked.

In a statement released today, IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg struck a collegial tone. "Interactive media are terrific channels for creating and reinforcing brand engagement," he said. "The OPA's work in developing new formats to showcase the power and the beauty of great, creative display advertising is a welcome reminder to all that the Web is good for more than direct response."

Last month, Rothenberg focused debate on the issue with his "Creative Manifesto" blog post, exhorting agencies and publishers to refocus on building brands rather than counting click-throughs.