AOL to let advertisers trade via viewability metrics in UK

Lock & Scroll has been designed to prevent wasted impressions of loading ads by locking the ad in position when it loads on a page, so that it remains in the reader’s eye line as they scroll down the page.

Several other large formats have been introduced across AOL’s portfolio to provide advertisers with viewability-based ad trading, including its portrait format Project Devil.

The move follows hot on the heels of the official market launch of industry-backed ad viewability metrics, unveiled in the UK by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) last month.

Prior to that the industry body had advised companies not to trade using viewability metrics until official standards had been confirmed – an initiative that has been spearheaded by the IAB in the US along with other trade bodies over the pond.

The current standards that define an ‘in-view’ ad specify that 50 per cent of pixels must be in the viewable portion of an internet browser for a minimum of one second. For Rising Star / large-canvas ad formats –such as AOL’s Portrait Devil – 30 per pcent of pixels must be in view for one second.

Standards for mobile and display are yet to be determined.

Noel Penzer, managing director AOL UK said: “We work with 70 per cent of the UK’s top 100 publishers and we believe in delivering a premium and safe environment for brands through our network. The partnership with Integral and the introduction of Lock & Scroll demonstrate AOL’s serious commitment to better ad viewability and takes us one step further to ensuring wasted impressions are consigned to the past.”

Google was among the first movers in this space, introducing a policy centred around letting advertisers only pay for ads that are seen last December.