IAB Publishes New Guidelines To Curb Pop-Ups
The Interactive Advertising Bureau has published a new set of best practice guidelines that could see pop-ups and other intrusive formats banned.
The first wave of a dozen new guidelines, which have been in development for some months, have been created to champion the needs of internet users by monitoring the way in which advertisers use pop-ups and similar rich media ads.
Pop-up advertising has come in for considerable criticism over recent months and research shows that consumers view them as a major cause of irritation. Complaints centre around the fact that they can be hard to close and are often designed to trick internet users into clicking through to a third party website.
The new guidelines, which will be unveiled next week, will give users control of sound and video formats, ensuring close buttons are clearly displayed and easy to use. There will also be a ban on fake interactivity and a recommendation that ads should only loaded on the domain where they reside.
Commenting on the initiative, IAB chief executive, Danny Meadows-Klue, said: “When you are introducing a new concept in consumer marketing you have to strike a balance between exploiting the interruptive potential of online and respecting the relationship viewers have with their media – in online that relationship is particularly intimate.”
He added: “We’ve seen competitions, video, animations and databases of content become routine parts of the ad without even needing the viewer to click-through to a website. But new formats bring new technical and design challenges, and a little standardisation will help clients reach larger audiences and their customers engage confidently in the content.”
The new guidelines have already received the wide-spread support of the industry. Daniele Fiandaca, chief operations officer at Profero, said: “Leading agencies are already there, the release of these standards sets up a model for the rest to follow.”
The Association of Online Publishers has also thrown its weight behind the initiative, saying: “We are delighted to endorse these new rich media standards from the IAB and our members are keen to promote their adoption as best practice for this fast-developing area of online advertising.”
Internet advertising continues to go from strength to strength and the latest forecasts from the Advertising Association suggest the medium will see expenditure grow by an impressive 30.3% next year as marketers continue to invest online (see UK Adspend Expected To Grow By 4.4% Next Year).
IAB: 020 8683 955 www.iabuk.net
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