As spend balloons and new formats emerge, IAB Tech Lab moves to standardize CTV ad formats
The surge in new ad formats on connected TV is intensifying the need for uniform formats that deliver consistently strong performance.
IAB Tech Lab is looking to implement new standards for CTV ad formats
Today, connected TV (CTV) media buyers are traversing a complex, fragmented ecosystem. While challenges with targeting and cross-screen measurement abound, a smaller – but still significant – logistical challenge is navigating the various ad specs and formats across different platforms. Major CTV players, such as Hulu, Netflix, Roku, Peacock and Paramount+, set their own parameters – and adapting creative across this patchwork of requirements can drain time and resources for advertisers.
And the proliferation of new ad formats – including interactive choose-your-own-adventure-style ads, picture-in-picture ads, pause screen ads and shoppable units – only compounds the issue.
In response to the lack of standardization, the IAB Tech Lab, which sets technical standards for the digital ads space, on Tuesday unveiled a new initiative designed to bring greater order to the CTV market. The project, dubbed Ad Format Idol, aims to establish and standardize common ad formats and cement a ’build once, serve everywhere’ model that simplifies deployment across platforms, according to the IAB Tech Lab.
“CTV is experiencing explosive growth, but we’re still in the early innings of figuring out how to make it work at scale,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, in a statement today. “The industry is full of new ad formats that show promise but lack the technical standards to take off. Ad Format Idol is about cutting through the noise, finding what works, and giving it the structure needed to thrive. As we have done for early web advertising and with digital video, we want to set up the whole CTV ecosystem to succeed.”
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The development arrives at a critical time for both media buyers and sellers. More eyeballs are migrating to CTV, and, increasingly, consumers are opting for ad-supported offerings. Today, 80% of consumers use ad-supported models of CTV, according to research from LG Ad Solutions. In response to the migration, some 95% of advertisers planned to maintain or increase their programmatic CTV spend in 2024, per data from The Trade Desk.
As CTV solidifies its role in the digital advertising mix, the industry must work together to create common standards, much like the early days of web and digital video advertising.
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“Advertisers need standardization to scale investments and buying efficiency, and Ad Format Idol is set to address that,” said Cintia Gabilan, vice-president of the Media Center at IAB. “This initiative will help overcome fragmentation and ensure these formats can thrive across the CTV ecosystem.”
News of the program will be welcome news to advertisers. “Anything to further standardize CTV ad formats will help ad buyers. There isn’t any drawback in trying something out,” Ross Benes, senior analyst for TV and streaming at eMarketer, tells The Drum. With Ad Format Idol, he explains, advertisers might gain new insights into the kinds of formats that are popular across different platforms. It might “help them verify a little more clearly if what they are buying and selling is the norm, at least theoretically,” he says.
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The sentiment is echoed by Chris Harihar, executive vice-president of Mod Op, an independent marketing agency. “This feels well-timed“ as new formats pop up, he says. “We have seen a wave of ‘native’ ad formats – formats that actually work for CTV versus just cribbing from linear – emerge on CTV over the last few weeks. Screensaver ads, pause ads and shoppable ads such as Roku Instacart ads are examples. As more formats emerge, standardization is helpful to benefit the overall ecosystem.“
And beyond creative standardizing creative, Harihar suggests, this kind of initiative creates meaningful momentum toward “understanding how to evaluate performance.“
And this element – campaign measurement and optimization – remains a key challenge in CTV. With viewers spread across multiple streaming services, it’s tough for advertisers to track and compare performance across the board. The lack of a unified system makes it harder to measure reach, effectiveness and return on investment, leaving marketers with an incomplete picture of how their CTV campaigns are performing. An initiative such as Ad Format Idol can help the industry move a bit closer to achieving a holistic view of performance.
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As the program kicks off, the IAB Tech Lab is inviting stakeholders across the digital advertising ecosystem to submit their CTV ad formats for consideration by January 22, 2025. Selected formats will be evaluated by a task force within the Tech Lab, with further input from the organization’s Advanced TV and Programmatic Supply Chain Working Groups. This collaborative approach aims to create a technical foundation that will benefit the entire industry by promoting innovation while addressing the urgent need for standardization.
Urging industry professionals to share their feedback, Ken Weiner, chief technology officer at contextual ad firm GumGum and IAB Tech Lab board director, said, “This is about identifying the ad formats that can navigate complexity and make a difference in the way advertisers engage with audiences. If you’re working with a relatively common or templatized CTV ad format, we want to see it, and we want to help it grow into something that can benefit the entire industry.”
The Ad Format Idol initiative will be showcased at several key industry events in late 2024 and throughout 2025, including the IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting and NewFronts. These events will provide a stage for demonstrating how the standardization of CTV ad formats can unlock new possibilities for advertisers, publishers and platforms alike.