How The 300x250 Became The Most Common -- And Fraudulent -- 'Video' Ad Unit

The blocky 300x250 banner ad has long been one of the most common ad units in the display advertising marketplace, but thanks to some ingenuity, cunning and outright fraud, it has also become one of the most common video advertising units sold via programmatic ad exchanges.

According to a first-of-its-kind …

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5 comments about "How The 300x250 Became The Most Common -- And Fraudulent -- 'Video' Ad Unit".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, March 8, 2018 at 1:23 p.m.

    Just one more example why overreliance on computers results in a very bad deal for advertisers who buy cheap via programmatic thinking that they are  targeting more "efficiently".

  2. Joe Mandese from MediaPost Inc., March 8, 2018 at 1:55 p.m.

    @Ed Papazian: Or we can look at the move by OpenX and Pixalate as another example of using computers to improve the quality of using programmatic to target more efficiently. And effectively.

  3. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, March 8, 2018 at 2:07 p.m.

    Joe, that's certainly a possibility though I can't say that for sure. However, I'm commenting on the generally sorry state of affairs with so many programmatic ad dollars getting, if not "wasted" certainly not delivering the goods as expected If corrective and foolproof systems exist to prevent this that's fine----but how many are using them and what do they charge for their service? If they charge more percentage-wise than the improvement they bring, that raises ROI questions I would think.There is just too much reliance on computers in the buying and selling of digital ads as well as in how they are "served". That's just my opinion---but many others seem to have similar views.

  4. Billy Tarter from Leads Dynamo, March 9, 2018 at 11:33 a.m.

    Another issue not mentioned in this article: pre-roll ads stuffed into 300x250 ad units have their value inherently diminished.  The whole point of buying pre-roll is that it comes before desired content that the user is waiting for, arguably increasing view rates and engagement.  Not true when it's in a 300x250 with no content otherwise.

  5. Billy Tarter from Leads Dynamo, March 9, 2018 at 11:33 a.m.

    Another issue not mentioned in this article: pre-roll ads stuffed into 300x250 ad units have their value inherently diminished.  The whole point of buying pre-roll is that it comes before desired content that the user is waiting for, arguably increasing view rates and engagement.  Not true when it's in a 300x250 with no content otherwise.

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