• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 25, 2013

The Interactive Advertising Bureau on Monday unveiled five new ad units, which it believes have the potential to accelerate interactive video ad buys, while expanding the scope of typical display buys.
 
First up was the “Filmstrip,” which is a scrollable, multipanel, horizontal unit. The IAB found it to be highly engaging with many content possibilities, while leaving users fully in control of the ad experience.
 
Another featured unit was the “Ad Control Bar,” which sits above a user’s player controls. It boasts what the IAB considers to be an “elegant interface” for viewers to engage in multiple ways and allows any ad to be interactive without affecting video ad content.
 
The units won out among some 70 submissions to the IAB’s Digital Video Rising Stars contest, which kicked off last April. Peter Minnium, head of brand initiatives at the IAB, said superior interactivity was what set the winners apart.
 
“To date, too little of digital video advertising has included an interactive component, owing to a lack of standards,” according to Minnium. “This is changing today.”
 
The “TimeSync” unit offers quality ad content overlaid on video, as well as targeting and inviting interaction at the most appropriate moments, according to the IAB.
 
The “Extender” unit lets viewers choose to continue viewing ad content, while offering interested viewers the option for deeper video engagement.
 
Finally, a “Full Screen” unit invites viewers to interact, then supplies a full canvas of interactive possibilities, including more video, social features and catalogs.
 
Digital video advertising has experienced explosive growth across the interactive ad landscape, bringing in a little more than $1 billion in revenue in the first half of 2012, according to the IAB.
 
Once Rising Star units have been selected by the IAB, they are subjected to an extensive testing process. If they perform well, each has the opportunity to be inducted in the IAB’s Standard Advertising Unit Portfolio.