By George Slefo // March 15, 2017
Imagine having to charge your phone inside a house that has electrical outlets in 200 different shapes. Each has the power that your phone needs, but you have to find the one with the right fit.
While that sounds ridiculous, it sheds light on the current state of ad viewability for marketers.
Although groups like the Media Ratings Council and the Interactive Advertising Bureau have already recommended definitions for “viewable” ad impressions, publishers still hire different vendors using differing technology to measure them.
That’s maddening for marketers demanding greater accountability from digital advertising, including clearer measurements of whether the ads they serve appear on-screen or off. And it undercuts the publishers’ ability to compete with Facebook, the kingpin of digital display advertising, which uses the same technology to measure viewability on its 1.86 billion users.