• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, June 12, 2014

The coalition behind Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS) launched a new offensive today in its bid to spread the word within the industry about viewability standards for digital advertising and to persuade the industry to embrace proposed standards.

The group—comprised of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the Association of National Advertisers and the 4As—released a new 30-second video called “White Wall” that illustrates how ads that can’t be seen don’t make an impression.

The group also launched a contest inviting industry pros, students and others to create and submit videos that explore the importance of viewability standards. The competition is seen as way of extending the 3MS campaign. Entries will be judged by a cross-industry panel of CMOs, as well as agency and online publishing executives.

The winning spot will be announced at the IAB MIXX conference in September. More information on the contest can be found here.

“While the industry has recognized the need to shift away from served impressions … we are now faced with the challenge of raising awareness and encouraging adoption of the new viewable impression guidelines,” Duke Fanelli, EVP and CMO of the ANA.

The White Wall spot from FleishmanHillard depicts a young graffiti artist who spray paints a white wall, but the image he creates can’t be seen. The voiceover intones, “If you really want to make an impression, make sure your message can be seen. Learn how the new viewability standards benefit you.”

In March, the MRC lifted its advisory on viewability measurement for display ads, which it had imposed last year, citing inconsistencies in measurements across vendors. The MRC and IAB have proposed defining viewability as a combination of two measurements, including the percent of the ad in view (50% or more of standard ads on an active browser tab within the viewable space of the browser page) and the time that it was in view for (at least one second). The firms have also spelled out “special circumstances” for video and mobile, as well for other formats and situations.

The MRC is set to lift an advisory on viewability measurement for online video ad at the end of June.