When it comes to display ads, rich media and Flash-based ads account for 40% of impressions, according to a new study of online display formats introduced
Tuesday by comScore.
That proportion is close to the 42% of impressions captured by static JPEG-based display ads. Animated units using the GIF format accounted for 14% of impressions.
ComScore defines rich media as as encompassing high interactivity and in-page video, expandable or retractable and floating or between-the-page units. The technology behind them is powered
by companies including PointRoll, EyeBlaster, EyeWonder, Unicast, and Interpolis, Motif/DoubleClick.
Flash Ads can include animation, click-through functionality, and various levels of
interactivity.
In its new Ad Metrix Creative Summary report, comScore also looked at share of impressions by ad size. The breakdown was fairly even across different formats, with banners accounting for
23.1% of impressions; rectangles, 22.7%; non-standard ads, 22.1%; buttons, 20.7%; skyscrapers, 10.6%; pop-ups and pop-unders, 0.7%; and large ad units introduced last year by the Online Publishers Association, 0.1%.
The three oversized units launched by
the OPA, including a pushdown unit that has become more common on sites such as The New York Times and ESPN, were aimed at delivering higher-impact brand campaigns.
"While the OPA ads are still
very small in terms of total impressions, they are bound to grow and they tend to run at much higher CPMs than more standard ad formats," said Andrew Lipsman, senior director of industry analysis at
comScore.
While rich media and Flash command a large chunk of impressions, rich media last year accounted for only 7% of overall ad spending, according to data from the Interactive Advertising
Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. While still a small segment, digital video is one of the fastest-growing formats, increasing 39% in 2009 to $1 billion. Display ad spending overall increased 4% last
year to $8 billion.
The much-maligned banner ad still attracted 23% of ad dollars, about equal with its share of impressions. Adobe Flash, of course, has been banned from Apple devices by CEO
Steve Jobs, but still remains a pervasive ad technology online.