Viewability
Certification
Promoting transparency in
viewability measurement
November 2015
www.abc.org.uk/viewability
*Mincidis sincimporro expedic tionet
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
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Why you should
read this report
Every year, advertisers pay for online advertising which
is never seen.
To better understand how much advertising is being seen,
viewability measurement products have been developed
and widely adopted by the industry. These products aim to
count how many viewable impressions are served as part of a
campaign.
However there has been much industry debate around how a
viewable impression (or viewability) is defined, and confusion
over how viewability products work. There are also reporting
discrepancies across these products.
The UK media industry, through JICWEBS, has set out to reduce
discrepancies and raise the transparency of a product’s ability
to measure viewable impressions. Importantly, it supports a
flexible definition of what a viewable impression is. This means
that the measure of how much of the ad (percentage coverage)
was in view and how long it was in view for, can be changed.
This enables the industry to trade using an appropriate viewable
impression definition on a campaign by campaign basis.
This, ABC’s second Viewability report compares six viewability
products simply and transparently to bring greater trust and
clarity to online advertising.
This report shows:
•What viewability is and why it’s a challenge for the industry
•How the industry is bringing transparency and trust through
JICWEBS and the Viewability Principles
•Who has been tested by ABC to these Principles
•What scenarios they have been tested in
•The results of these tests
Who are
JICWEBS?
JICWEBS (The Joint Industry
Committee for Web
Standards) is made up of
representatives from ISBA,
the IPA, IAB UK, AOP and the
NMA. It was created by the
UK and Ireland media industry
to ensure independent
development of standards and
benchmarking of best practice
for online ad trading.
“
Clearly, the viewability
debate is a key element of
our call for transparency in
digital ad trading. Dealing
with discrepancies in the
numbers is necessary now,
and media buyers and our
partners need to have a
clear understanding of the
differences in the capabilities
of these viewability
products. We support the
JICWEBS principles and
applaud the work done by
ABC in delivering increased
transparency.
Rob Norman,
Chief Digital Officer,
GroupM
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
“
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Viewability explained
Viewability is an online advertising metric that aims to track only the
ad impressions that can actually be seen by users. In other words, was
there an opportunity for the advert to be viewed and make an impact
for the advertiser?
Viewability products give advertisers valuable reporting on viewable
ad impressions, so play a vital role in ensuring advertisers only pay for
ads that have been seen, optimising their use of budgets.
There are many reasons why an
advert can’t be seen:
The ad may load out of view
The ad might not load in time
The plug-in might not be supported
There might be ad-blockers
The ad may be triggered by fraudulent
i.e. non-human activity
“
Viewability will remain a key issue for brands if they are to continue to increase
their spending on online advertising.As long as advertising depends on reaching
human viewers, success pivots on the ability of an audience to see ads but there
is still confusion over the measurement of this area. ABC’s Viewability Report
offers transparency and clarity in what is a very technically complex area and we
welcome any advance in understanding in what viewability measurement products
are actually delivering.
Bob Wootton,
Director of Media and Advertising, ISBA
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
“
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What does this report cover?
This report covers the results of the ABC Certification programme for the second round of
testing completed in October and November 2015 against the JICWEBS Viewability Product
Principles (Version 2, effective July 2015).
These products were tested:
What are the JICWEBS
Viewability Principles?
vCE Validation
DigitalMAI™ Visibility
Digital Impression Quality - Ad Viewability
Viewability
Ad Attention Manager
Moat Analytics
JICWEBS issued its first set
of Viewability Principles in
2014 when the industry was
struggling to understand
the variances in Viewability
measurement. These Principles
were updated in 2015 for the
latest round of testing and
cover four main areas:
1R
eporting % of ad viewable
and time ad viewable
2 Reporting viewable
impressions (inc. special cases)
3A
disclosure of what is being
measured (the advert or the
area)
4T
he measurement and asset
render requirements of the
products
More at www.JICWEBS.org
What does the testing and certification involve?
ABC’s testing is specifically designed to ensure
that all products are being tested on a ‘like for
like’ basis. This has been achieved by applying
automated testing within a ‘walled garden’
environment against seven behaviour scenarios
across four commonly used combinations of
browser and operating systems.
Complementary to the MRC/IAB requirements
and recommendations, the ABC testing reflects
the requirement for the products to take time
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
measurements every 100 milliseconds. It also
requires that they measure both standard and
larger formats (i.e. IAB rising star formats) for
at least 50% or 30% in-view (respectively) for at
least one continuous second.
Importantly, and new for this round of testing,
the products were also required to provide
disclosures on how they perform in relation to
the Principles.
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We test for 7 different
behaviour scenarios
1
Ad is served within multiple
(up to 3) cross-domain IFRAMEs
2
Browser is moved off screen
3
Page is scrolled
4
Browser is resized
5
Opening another browser
hides existing browser
We tested those
behaviours in these
browsers and
operating systems:
Firefox Windows
Chrome Windows
IE11 Windows
6
Opening another tab hides
existing tab
7
Opening another application
causes browser to lose focus
Safari OS X
“
As digital media evolves, new technology is enabling increasingly sophisticated
ways to buy media. It’s also allowing those involved to understand more about where
and how advertising is being served. The viewability of ads is one important aspect of this,
and a good proactive start for the industry is for an independent check to be introduced.
ABC is ideally suited to carry this out.
Pete Robins, Founder, agenda21
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
“
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Here are the results of the
disclosures and tests
PRODUCT DISCLOSURES
JICWEBS
Principle:
vCE
Validation
2.2 Are there any
scenarios where
modelling is used to
estimate viewability
instead of the
product measuring it
directly?
2.3 Are any userinitiated actions, such
as clicks, used as a
proxy for viewability?
If yes, explain the
steps taken to ensure
that counting such
actions does not
inflate counts.
3 Is the ad itself or
the ad container
measured?
4 At what point does
the measurement
of viewability occur
in relation to the
ad rendering, i.e.
whether pre, during
or post delivery of
the content creative?
None used in vCE
Validation.
The product reports
on all impressions that
it measures
None used
The ad itself
Measurement is
determined post the
ad creative loading
None used
None used
The ad container
Measurement is
determined either
before, during or
after the ad creative
loading, depending on
implementation
For cross domain
iFrames in chrome
and safari browsers,
DoubleVerify uses
placement-level
modelling to measure
viewability data
None used
The ad itself
Measurement is
determined during the
ad creative loading
None used
None used
The ad itself or the ad
container, depending
on implementation
Measurement is
determined either
before, during or
after the ad creative
loading, depending on
implementation
None used
None used
The ad itself
Measurement is
determined post the
ad creative loading
None used
None used
The ad itself
Measurement is
determined post the
ad creative loading
DigitalMAI™
Visibility
Digital
Impression
Quality – Ad
Viewability
Viewability
Ad Attention
Manager
Moat
Analytics
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
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Browser and
Operating Systems
Product
Ad Format
1 – Ad is served
within multiple (up
to 3) cross-domain
IFRAMEs
2 – Browser is moved
off screen
3 – Page is scrolled
4 – Browser is resized
5 – Opening another
browser hides existing
browser
6 – Opening another
tab hides existing tab
7 – Opening another
application causes
browser to lose focus
comScore
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Quality – Ad Viewability
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Integral Ad Science
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
See Product
Disclosure 2.2
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Not Tested
Yes
Quality – Ad Viewability
Large
Desktop Display
See Product
Disclosure 2.2
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Not Tested
Yes
Integral Ad Science
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
vCE Validation
DMA Institute
DigitalMAI™ Visibility
DoubleVerify
Digital Impression
Firefox
Windows
Viewability
Meetrics
Ad Attention Manager
MOAT
Moat Analytics
comScore
vCE Validation
DMA Institute
DigitalMAI™ Visibility
DoubleVerify
Digital Impression
Chrome
Windows
Viewability
Meetrics
Ad Attention Manager
MOAT
Moat Analytics
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
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Browser and
Operating Systems
Product
Ad Format
1 – Ad is served
within multiple (up
to 3) cross-domain
IFRAMEs
2 – Browser is moved
off screen
3 – Page is scrolled
4 – Browser is resized
5 – Opening another
browser hides existing
browser
6 – Opening another
tab hides existing tab
7 – Opening another
application causes
browser to lose focus
comScore
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Quality – Ad Viewability
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Integral Ad Science
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Standard
Desktop Display
See Product
Disclosure 2.2
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Quality – Ad Viewability
Large
Desktop Display
See Product
Disclosure 2.2
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Integral Ad Science
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Standard
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
Large
Desktop Display
Yes
Not Tested
Yes
Yes
Not Tested
Not Tested
Not Tested
vCE Validation
DMA Institute
DigitalMAI™ Visibility
DoubleVerify
Digital Impression
IE11
Windows
Viewability
Meetrics
Ad Attention Manager
MOAT
Moat Analytics
comScore
vCE Validation
DMA Institute
DigitalMAI™ Visibility
DoubleVerify
Digital Impression
Safari
OS X
Viewability
Meetrics
Ad Attention Manager
MOAT
Moat Analytics
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
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General findings
Overall the testing showed that, when
configured correctly, all six products are
capable of counting viewable impressions in
accordance with the JICWEBS Principles for
the scenarios tested.
The importance of being ‘configured correctly’
in this statement is key. The products work
in a variety of different ways therefore, if
not configured correctly, the results are
potentially misleading and you’ll continue to
see discrepancies. ABC suggests that people
implementing these products take the time
to understand how this is done effectively
to ensure they’re benefiting from the full
capabilities these products have.
For an interactive table of these results and
the individual Certificates which provide
further detail please visit
www.abc.org.uk/viewability
The main takeaway from ABC’s recent testing is that,
when configured correctly, all six products are capable
of counting viewable impressions in accordance with the
JICWEBS Principles for the scenarios tested.
“
ABC has helped the industry move towards a more
transparent digital trading environment. These six
companies have demonstrated their commitment
to raising trust around viewability products. We look
forward to more companies joining this scheme.
Nigel Gwilliam,
Consultant Head of Media, IPA
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
“
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comScore
“comScore is committed to developing
products that create trust and transparency
across the advertising ecosystem. We
are proud to be recognised by ABC for
passing every criteria on their rigorous
certification process and will continue
to build innovative solutions that create
confidence in a complex environment.”
Duncan Trigg, comScore Vice President
of Advertising Effectiveness
DMA Institute
“We are proud to have been rewarded
the globally recognised ABC Viewability
Certification for DMA Institute’s proprietary
technology, DigitalMAI™ Visibility across
all tested categories including the large ad
formats. With this important professional
acknowledgement, DMAi’s Partners are
assured integrity and transparency in DMAI’s
delivery of media intelligence needs.”
Marcel Vogels, CEO DMA Institute
DoubleVerify
“Attaining ABC certification for the
second year reaffirms the quality of the
DoubleVerify viewability solution and the
value that it delivers in the marketplace.
At DV we’re committed to helping build the
confidence and value in the digital media
ecosystem, and to build a better industry
for all to benefit.”
Wayne Gattinella, CEO and President,
DoubleVerify
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
Integral Ad Science
“We are proud to be re-certified for our
viewability technology for both display and
large format ads. ABC certification gives
confidence to the industry that vendors’
technology is meeting robust auditing
standards. This latest accreditation marks
a significant step forward for the industry
in addressing discrepancy concerns and
accurate measurement of widely adopted
ad formats.”
Phillip Hayman, Head of Sales
Engineering EMEA, Integral Ad Science
Meetrics
“We are very pleased to receive the
ABC Certification without any technical
limitation which underlines the quality of
our solution. We agree in the importance
to count on these rigorous guidelines
allowing our industry to transact on
reliable figures. It is another strong
move towards transparency, trust and in
particular establishing a new currency
based on viewability.”
Anant Joshi, Director of International
Business, Meetrics London
Moat
“We are thrilled to once again receive
ABC Certification in the UK. Having
gotten perfect scores on the certification
testing two years in a row, we are proud to
continue driving innovation on behalf of
our clients and the industry.”
Jonah Goodhart, Co-Founder and CEO
of Moat Inc.
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Jargon buster:
Viewable Impression
An ad delivered onto a web page which has had the
opportunity to be seen.
Asset
The item (e.g. an ad banner) which is having its
viewability measured.
Viewability
Whether something can be viewed (is visible) or not.
Browser
A computer program with a graphical user interface for
displaying HTML files, used to navigate the internet.
Browser Window
The movable area containing the browser. The browser window
can contain more than one tab.
Tab
Browsers can open multiple pages at once by putting each
page in its own sheet (tab).
Rendering
The process of generating an ad in a browser.
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the standard language used to
create web pages.
IAB Rising Star formats
Recommended ad formats from the IAB to maximise
advertising impact online.
IFRAME
Short for ‘inline frame’, is an area within a web page that
contains content served from a different source (e.g. an
advertisement) to the rest of the page.
In focus
The application, window or tab that is active
(upper most) and visible.
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
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About ABC
ABC’s stamp of trust underpins the way billions of pounds
worth of advertising are traded across the converging media
landscape in the UK and beyond.
ABC has two key roles:
1.To bring the industry together to agree standards that
define media measurement and determine industry-agreed
best practice.
2.To offer independent audit and compliance services,
delivering certification which verifies that data and
processes meet the industry-agreed Standards.
ABC is governed by the industry, for the industry. ABC’s board
consists of advertisers, media agencies, media owners and
trade bodies.They represent the differing interests of the
media industry and meet regularly to agree new standards and
make strategic decisions as to how ABC is run. With Board
consensus, ABC has the ability to provide certification for any
platform. As advertising platforms develop, ABC continually
innovates and evolves to ensure its portfolio of products and
services delivers to the media industry’s needs.
ABC UK was established in 1931 and is a founder member of
the International Federation of ABC (IFABC). Richard Foan,
Group Executive Director of Communication & Innovation,
ABC UK, also chairs JICWEBS.org and the IFABC Web
Standards Group, which works to deliver standards and
establish good practice across the world.
For further information please visit www.abc.org.uk/viewability
and www.JICWEBS.org
Published by
ABC, Saxon House, 211 High Street, Berkhamsted,
Hertfordshire. HP4 1AD.
Tel: +44 (0)1442 870800
Email: [email protected]
ABC Viewability Certification November 2015
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