Why This Matters 

Although 80% of Americans listen to Digital Audio monthly, the channel receives less than 3% of digital ad spend. A key reason: audio is often excluded—or underrepresented—in Media Mix Models (MMM) due to inconsistent, incomplete data.

What the Guide Covers

This beginner-friendly resource helps advertisers, agencies, and publishers:

• Understand why MMM for audio matters
• Identify the data gaps holding back investment
• Standardize key inputs like creative, media type, geography, and audience
• Learn how to structure and deliver data for MMM inclusion
• Move from anecdotal success to measurable business outcomes

Download the Full Guide
Explore how to get audio properly represented in your next MMM.
Download Now

Join the Working Group 
Help define the future of audio measurement in MMM.
Sign Up Here

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The post Measuring Digital Audio in Media Mix Models (MMM): A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on IAB.

Now Open for Public Comment

Despite the digital transformation of media and marketing, invoicing remains one of the last strongholds of outdated, manual workflows. From emailed PDFs to snail-mailed paper bills, the financial operations underpinning digital advertising still rely on slow, error-prone processes that create unnecessary friction, delays, and reconciliation headaches.

IAB’s Digital Advertising Invoice API Specifications aim to change that.

Developed in collaboration with Mediaocean—with Mediaocean’s Prisma specs serving as a foundational blueprint—these guidelines provide an API-first framework to modernize how invoices and related documentation are exchanged. By aligning on common data structures and protocols, the Seller Invoice API and companion File Upload API automate routine tasks, reduce human error, and help speed up payment processing while improving transparency across publishers, platforms, and buyers.

These specifications are now open for public comment until August 11, 2025.

What’s Included

The Digital Advertising Invoice API Specifications defines two complementary APIs:

1. Seller Invoice API – A standardized way to submit invoice data from Sellers to Buyers for reconciliation and payment.
2. File Upload API – A structured method for uploading supporting documentation (e.g., invoice PDFs, proofs of delivery, service confirmations).

These APIs can be implemented separately or together, depending on the Buyer’s system architecture.

Why This Matters

The current invoicing process in digital advertising is slow, inconsistent, and often opaque:

• No Acknowledgment of Receipt: Invoices are frequently sent via email with no confirmation of receipt—some may even land in spam folders.
• Mismatch with Buyer Systems: Submitted invoices often fail to match the buyer’s Purchase Order or Insertion Order, resulting in rejections or manual clarification loops.
• Lengthy Reconciliation Time: Finance or media teams are forced to review and reconcile details line by line, consuming hours of back-and-forth communication.
• Delayed Payments: These inefficiencies directly impact cash flow for sellers and delay critical budget cycles for buyers.
• Inconsistent Formats and Fields: Invoices are submitted in a wide range of formats with inconsistent data fields, making them difficult to parse and automate.
• Manual Uploads and Document Handling: The absence of standardized document submission processes leads to delays, missing files, and audit challenges.
• Lack of Documentation Standards: Without uniform rules for supporting materials, incomplete records and disputes become common.

Meanwhile, traditional media channels like TV and radio already leverage EDIs to streamline these processes. Digital deserves the same.

It’s time to bring automation and accountability to the invoicing process. These guidelines are the industry’s step toward a faster, cleaner, and smarter future.

Key Benefits for the Ecosystem

Designed for both Buyers and Sellers, these guidelines offer a scalable path to modernize financial workflows across the digital advertising value chain. Sellers, including publishers and platforms, should work closely with their Invoice System providers to implement these APIs.

For Sellers:

• Receive confirmation that invoices have been successfully delivered and received.
• Reduce the risk of invoice rejections due to formatting or field mismatches.
• Accelerate payment timelines by minimizing manual processing delays.
• Upload supporting documentation (e.g., PDFs, proof of performance) in a consistent, traceable way.
• Improve audit-readiness and streamline dispute resolution with standardized submissions.
• Future-proof financial operations across display, video, audio, CTV, gaming, and emerging formats.

For Buyers:

• Automate ingestion of invoice data into internal systems for faster reconciliation.
• Eliminate manual entry, PDF parsing, and unnecessary administrative back-and-forth.
• Improve data consistency and accuracy with standardized formats and validation rules.
• Speed up approvals and streamline budget management cycles.
• Increase transparency into invoice status and supporting documentation.
• Strengthen vendor accountability through clear structure and tracking.

Who Should Use This

These guidelines are designed for:

• Sellers: Publishers, media owners, platforms, measurement vendors.
• Buyers: Agencies and advertisers who receive and process invoices.
• Invoice System Providers: Technology platforms that support financial data workflows.

What Happens Next

The draft guidelines are open for review through August 11, 2025. We welcome comments from across the ecosystem—publishers, agencies, platforms, tech vendors, and financial operations teams.

Following the comment period, IAB will incorporate feedback and finalize the standards for release in October 2025.

Download the Guidelines & Submit Feedback

Download Digital Advertising Invoice API Specifications

• Submit comments to invoiceapi-comments@iab.com

Feedback may include:

• Questions or suggestions related to technical specifications or API structure
• Recommendations for field-level definitions, formatting, or naming conventions
• Comments on compatibility with existing systems or integration challenges
• Proposals for future enhancements or use cases
• Clarifications on terminology, processes, or roles

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who are these APIs intended for?
These specifications are primarily intended for financial systems that generate invoices on behalf of media companies, publishers, and ad tech platforms—so they can build directly to the API structure and ensure consistent, automated invoice submission.

They are also designed for any buyer’s media planning/buying platform or financial system that processes submitted invoices to build to these specifications for ingestion and integrate the data into their internal reconciliation platforms.

We also strongly recommend that buyers evangelize the adoption of these specifications to their vendors—including publishers, media companies, ad tech platforms, and others—to ensure consistency, efficiency, and automation across the ecosystem.

What is the Seller Invoice API?
The Seller Invoice API is designed to standardize and streamline invoicing across the digital advertising ecosystem by addressing both the structural integrity of invoice data and the technical aspects necessary for integration between Seller and Buyer Invoice Systems. To achieve this, the API organizes invoice data into clearly defined categories that align with how financial and order-related information is typically structured within media buying workflows.

What is the File Upload API?
This complementary API allows Sellers to upload supporting documents (e.g., invoice PDFs, proof of performance) that can be associated with the invoice data submitted via the Seller Invoice API.

Do both APIs need to be implemented?
Not necessarily. Buyer Invoice Systems may support the Seller Invoice API and File Upload API as two separate endpoints or integrate them into a single solution, depending on their internal architecture. While it is highly recommended to implement both APIs to enable full automation and document traceability, the Seller Invoice API is required at minimum to ensure consistent, machine-readable invoice submission.

What media types are supported?
The guidelines are designed to support all digital formats, including display, video, audio, CTV, programmatic, and gaming.

How does this improve operations?
By replacing PDFs and manual uploads with standardized API submissions, these guidelines enable automation, reduce error rates, and accelerate payment timelines.

Is Mediaocean’s Prisma required to use this?
No. While the guidelines are informed by Prisma’s structure, they have been adapted to be system-agnostic and can be implemented across any invoice or financial system.

How long is the comment period open?
The guidelines are open for public comment from June 10 through August 11, 2025.

How can I provide feedback?
You can email comments or suggestions to invoiceapi-comments@iab.com. All feedback will be reviewed and considered before final publication.

About This Initiative

This work was made possible through the collaboration of Mediaocean, who contributed their Prisma API specifications to serve as the foundation for a system-agnostic industry standard. The IAB team adapted these specs to ensure broad compatibility across platforms.

Contact Us

For more information, contact:

IAB Measurement, Addressability & Data Center
data@iab.com

Download Digital Advertising Invoice API Specifications

Download

The post IAB’s Digital Advertising Invoice API Specifications appeared first on IAB.

IAB’s Gaming Ad Formats Framework helps advertisers, agencies, and publishers:

• Navigate the evolving gaming ecosystem
• Understand available ad formats across media types

Developed in collaboration with leaders across the gaming, media, and advertising industries, this framework categorizes gaming ad formats by media type, providing clarity, consistency, and strategic direction. The framework provides a comprehensive breakdown of key gaming ad formats, making planning easier and more effective.

Download the IAB Gaming Ad Formats Framework now to explore the space, unlock new opportunities, and level up your advertising strategy.

For detailed guidance on execution, definitions, and creative best practices, explore IAB’s companion piece: IAB Creative Guidelines and Best Practices for In-Game Advertising.

Download Gaming Ad Formats Framework

Download

The post IAB Gaming Ad Formats Framework appeared first on IAB.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is seeking public comment on the General Terms for Advertising Agreements, a baseline set of contractual terms that, when used with the forthcoming transaction addenda, will establish a consistent set of terms that can be leveraged across all types of advertising and marketing agreements.

What These Terms Do—and Do Not—Cover

The General Terms are designed to apply to advertising transactions and platform or service agreements between buyers, sellers, and technology providers. This includes contracts for ad serving, measurement, verification, data-sharing, programmatic transactions, and direct buys.

Importantly, the General Terms are a baseline set of terms that can be used for all deal types. It is intended for use only in conjunction with deal specific addendum that IAB will release for public comment on a rolling basis. For example, an advertiser or its agency that engages in a direct buy with a publisher can use the General Terms in conjunction with our anticipated release of a direct buy addendum. Likewise, we will release other ad technology addenda that can be used in conjunction with the General Terms.

These terms do not cover service agreements between agencies and advertisers/brands. Business-specific terms — such as cancellation rights or delivery requirements — will be addressed in separate addenda tailored to each transaction type, which are being developed in parallel by IAB’s Terms & Conditions Task Force.

Download Terms and Conditions Here

Why Now?

The industry has operated under an outdated contract template for too long. The last major update to the Standard Terms and Conditions for Internet Advertising for Media Buys One Year or Less was in 2010, before the rise of social media, programmatic advertising, connected TV (CTV), streaming, and AI-driven ad placements.

Consequently, companies have developed their own contract modifications, often adding long and complex addendums on top of existing direct buy agreements to address new media types, technologies, and evolving business models.

This patchwork approach has made advertising agreements more complex, and time-consuming to negotiate.

The General Terms aim to fix this by creating a common legal baseline that can serve as the foundation for all types of advertising transactions and technology partnerships when used in conjunction with the forthcoming addenda. By establishing consistent and standardized terms, the industry can reduce inefficiencies, improve clarity, and streamline negotiations across different deal structures.

An Evolving Framework for a Changing Industry

As the industry continues to evolve, IAB will revisit and update these agreements to ensure they remain relevant, adaptable, and aligned with the latest advancements in digital advertising, technology, and regulation.

By creating a scalable and flexible foundation, these terms will support the industry’s ongoing transformation, making it easier for companies to navigate future shifts in technology, measurement, and advertising business models.

Public Comment Period – Industry Input Needed Now

For now, the public comment period is focused solely on the General Terms.

IAB is seeking feedback from advertisers, agencies, publishers, and ad tech platforms to ensure these terms provide a strong, adaptable foundation for all types of digital advertising agreements.

Public comment is open until July 21, 2025.

How to Provide Comments:

1. Download the Full General Terms Document
2. Review the Proposed Terms & Conditions
3. Submit Your Feedback by July 21, 2025 via email to terms-comments@iab.com

This is an opportunity for the industry to help shape a set of standard terms that will reduce inefficiencies, minimize legal friction, and improve contract consistency across digital advertising.

What Are the General Terms?

The General Terms are a baseline set of contractual terms that, when used with the forthcoming transaction addenda, companies can independently choose to us for advertising transactions, platform agreements, and service contracts related to advertising and marketing.

Key Components of the General Terms:

• Invoicing & Related Terms – Standardized invoicing, payment schedules, and liability structures.
• Performance Obligations – Defined responsibilities for service execution, reporting, and deliverables.
• Confidentiality & Data Protection – Clear guidelines on handling sensitive business and consumer data.
• Intellectual Property & Ownership – Legal clarity on the ownership and use of ad creatives, platforms, and proprietary data.
• Force Majeure – Establishing protocols for handling unforeseen disruptions.
• Representations & Warranties – Setting contractual assurances for compliance, service quality, and data governance.
• Dispute Resolution & Termination – Providing structured pathways for handling contract disputes and modifications.

Why This Approach is Ideal for the Industry

1. A Standardized Yet Flexible Foundation for All Advertising Agreements

For the first time, the General Terms provide a consistent baseline for contracts related to digital advertising services, platform use, technology partnerships, and data agreements.

This ensures that:

• Key contract provisions are either pre-established or include optionality, reducing negotiation time and legal costs.
• The same core principles apply across different deal structures, minimizing discrepancies and inefficiencies.
• There’s a baseline understanding of fundamental terms that have complexity in the digital advertising industry making transactions smoother and clearer.

2. Future-Proofed with Modular Addenda for Customization

While the General Terms establish consistency across different deal types, they do not force a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, Specific Terms Addenda will be introduced later in 2024 to address unique needs for:

• DSPs & SSPs – Data-sharing agreements, platform access rights, and liability structures.
• Ad Servers – Standardized terms for tracking, delivery, and attribution requirements.
• Measurement & Ad Verification Services – Expectations for reporting, compliance, and auditing.
• Direct Buys & Programmatic Transactions – Covering upfront deals, sponsorships, and social media transactions.

This modular approach ensures that businesses can adopt only the terms relevant to their specific agreements while still benefiting from an industry-wide standard.

3. Designed for Today’s and Tomorrow’s Digital Advertising Ecosystem

With the rise of programmatic automation, AI-driven optimization, first-party data strategies, and new privacy laws, contracts must evolve beyond static agreements written for a different era.

The General Terms help the industry move forward by:

• Addressing the shift to data-driven advertising and the need for transparency in measurement and verification.
• Providing consistency across new buying models (CTV, streaming, gaming, retail media, and beyond).

This approach ensures that contracts are no longer a bottleneck but instead enable faster, clearer, and more effective transactions.

What Happens Next?

Step 1: Gather Industry Feedback (May – July 2025)

The public comment period is open until July 21, 2025. Industry stakeholders are encouraged to review the terms and submit feedback.

Step 2: Refinement and Finalization (Summer 2025)

IAB will review all feedback, and refine the General Terms, as needed.

Step 3: Introduction of Specific Terms Addenda (2025)

Once the General Terms are finalized, IAB will introduce modular addenda on a rolling basis to address different business models and transaction types.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why is IAB releasing the General Terms now?
The last major update to standard terms for digital advertising contracts was in 2010. Since then, social media, streaming, programmatic advertising, AI-driven ad placements, connected TV (CTV), evolving privacy laws, and new business models have transformed the industry. This update ensures that contracts align with today’s digital advertising ecosystem while remaining flexible for future changes.

2. Do these terms apply to all advertising agreements?
The General Terms provide a common contractual foundation for advertising transactions, platform agreements, measurement and verification services, ad technology partnerships, and data-sharing agreements. However, they do not cover agency-client service agreements (e.g., scope of work or retainer agreements between advertisers and agencies). Companies can independently determine whether to use the General Terms and addenda.

3. Are these terms only for direct media buys?
No. The General Terms apply broadly across technology services, ad platforms, measurement, verification, and data-sharing agreements—not just media transactions.

4. Who should review these Core Terms?
Advertisers, agencies, publishers, ad platforms, ad tech providers, measurement and verification companies, legal teams, and finance professionals involved in digital advertising contracts.

5. How do these terms compare to the 2010 Standard Terms & Conditions?
The General Terms are significantly broader in application to than the 2010 Standard Terms & Conditions. These new terms ensure consistency across all advertising and marketing contracts and introduce flexible addenda to adapt to industry changes.

6. How do the Core Terms differ from past attempts at standardization?
Unlike previous updates, the General Terms take a modular approach, creating a universal legal framework that can be easily adapted to different business models. Specific Terms Addenda will provide additional customization for DSPs, SSPs, ad servers, measurement providers, and other key areas. To streamline adoption, the General Terms include pre-checked provisions where modular, allowing companies to efficiently incorporate them into agreements without extensive negotiation. This flexibility ensures contracts can be tailored to unique business needs while offering a standardized foundation that evolves with the industry.

7. Can companies modify the Core Terms for their specific needs?
Yes. While the General Terms provide a standardized foundation, companies can still negotiate custom terms based on their specific needs. The Specific Terms Addenda will further help customize agreements for different types of transactions, but some transactions will inevitably be bespoke. All companies should independently determine its use or deviation from the General Terms and Specific Terms Addenda.

8. What if my company already has long-term agreements in place with ad tech platforms or vendors?
The General Terms do not override or replace existing contracts. However, they offer a standardized structure that can be leveraged for new agreements or renewals, at the discretion of the parties. For example, companies may choose to adopt all or parts of the General Terms and any addenda to streamline negotiations, and reduce complexity in future transactions.

9. Will these terms be mandatory?
No. The General Terms and any forthcoming addenda are not mandatory. Companies must independently determine whether to use them. The IAB believes that its use will improve deal efficiency.

10. Will there be resources to help companies implement the General Core Terms?
Yes. IAB will provide guidelines, educational resources, and FAQs to assist companies in understanding and adopting the General Terms and addenda.

11. How do these terms handle liability and dispute resolution?
The General Terms include clear billing & payment terms, liability structures, and dispute resolution mechanisms to provide greater transparency and protect all parties involved in digital advertising agreements.

12. When will the General Terms be finalized?
The public comment period runs until July 21, 2025. After that, IAB will review feedback, make necessary refinements, and finalize the terms. Specific Terms Addenda will be introduced later in 2025 to cover more tailored contract needs.

13. Can the General Terms be used on their own?
No, the General Terms alone are not a complete agreement and must be paired with an addenda to be fully utilized. However, once the General Terms are finalized, companies can leverage or incorporate any part of the General Terms, or specific terms from them, into any contract, agreement or addenda they deem appropriate. While the General Terms set a common framework, upcoming Specific Terms Addenda will fill in the details for different types of transactions, including direct buys, programmatic platforms, and measurement services.

14. What happens after the public comment period ends?
IAB will review industry feedback, refine the framework, and finalize the General Terms before developing Specific Terms Addenda in late 2024 and beyond.

Submit Your Feedback Before July 21, 2025

Send your feedback via email to terms-comments@iab.com.

This is your chance to help shape the future of digital advertising agreements. Your input is critical to ensuring standardization, transparency, and efficiency across the industry.

About the Terms & Conditions Task Force

The IAB Core Terms & Conditions were developed through IAB’s Terms & Conditions Task Force, which includes over 150 companies spanning the entire advertising ecosystem—brands, agencies, publishers, media companies, platforms, ad tech, and measurement providers.

The Terms & Conditions Task Force develops a standardized set of terms for advertising agreements, providing a clear framework for updates, performance obligations, invoicing, confidentiality, and more. These terms create a strong foundation for efficiency and flexibility in transactions across the industry.

The Core Terms are now available for public comment, allowing industry stakeholders to review and provide feedback before finalization. Once adopted, they will establish a common structure to support various transaction types. Next, the Task Force will develop Tailored Specific Terms Addenda to address the unique needs of different buying models, technologies, and services across the ecosystem, including programmatic platforms, measurement, verification, and other key areas. The first addenda focus on direct buy terms, updating them to reflect sponsorships, upfront deals, and programmatic transactions as buying models evolve.

Interested in joining the Terms & Conditions Task Force or see a list of participating members? Click here.

The post IAB General Terms and Conditions: Open for Public Comment appeared first on IAB.

The IAB, in collaboration with the Media Rating Council (MRC), formed the Attention Task Force to bring together industry experts and stakeholders. Through this effort, the IAB and MRC have released the Attention Measurement Guidelines for public comment.

Developed with input from over 200 industry leaders across advertising, media, and measurement, these Guidelines establish a comprehensive framework for the consistent measurement and reporting of attention. They provide detailed guidance across four primary methodologies: data signals, visual and audio tracking, physiological and neurological observations, and panel- or survey-based approaches.

The Guidelines are designed to create greater transparency, consistency, and comparability in attention measurement and will serve as the foundation for future MRC accreditation audits of attention measurement services.

This document is open for public comment through July 12, 2025.

We encourage all stakeholders — including brands, agencies, publishers, ad tech platforms, and measurement providers — to review the Guidelines and provide feedback. Your input is vital to shaping the final version of this important industry resource.

Submit your feedback to: attention-comments@iab.com

Important Information

Please note that the current document is a draft version. It may contain minor typographical errors, grammatical inconsistencies, or formatting issues that will be corrected prior to final publication. We welcome feedback not only on the substantive content, but also on areas where structure, clarity, or language could be further improved.

The final version of the Guidelines is expected to be published before the end of 2025. Upon finalization, the Guidelines will support MRC accreditation audit efforts for attention measurement providers.

Download the Draft Guidelines

Download the IAB/MRC Attention Measurement Guidelines – Draft for Public Comment

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the Attention Measurement Guidelines?

The Attention Measurement Guidelines provide a framework for the consistent reporting and evaluation of attention metrics across digital media. They outline definitions, methodologies, reporting outputs, and quality evaluation procedures to enhance transparency, comparability, and accountability in attention measurement.

Who should review and comment?

We encourage feedback from brands, agencies, publishers, ad tech platforms, measurement vendors, researchers, and other stakeholders involved in media buying, planning, measurement, and evaluation.

How can I submit comments?

Comments should be submitted via email to attention-comments@iab.com by July 12, 2025.

What type of feedback are you looking for?

We welcome all feedback that can help improve the clarity, structure, and substance of the Attention Measurement Guidelines.

Specifically, we encourage comments on:

• Definitions and Terminology: Are the terms used throughout the document clearly defined and consistently applied? Are there areas where additional clarification is needed?
• Metric Frameworks: Are the outlined metrics appropriate, actionable, and relevant for measuring attention across different media environments? Are there important metrics missing that should be considered?
• Methodologies and Processes: Are the approaches to data collection, visual/audio tracking, physiological observations, and survey-based measurements described clearly? Are there sections that require more precision or nuance?
• Reporting Outputs and Evaluation Procedures: Is the guidance around outputs, reporting formats, and evaluation processes comprehensive and understandable? Could additional examples or explanations strengthen these areas?
• Technical Accuracy and Practical Application: Do the Guidelines reflect current technical capabilities and real-world operational realities? Are there potential barriers to implementation that should be addressed?
• Privacy, Transparency, and Accountability Considerations: Are the privacy-related considerations sufficient? Are there areas where transparency or user rights could be better addressed?
• Overall Structure and Readability: Are there opportunities to improve the organization, flow, or accessibility of the document to better serve different types of stakeholders?

We also welcome suggestions for areas where additional flexibility, scalability, or future-proofing could be incorporated to support ongoing innovation in attention measurement.

Your feedback will directly inform the refinement of the final Guidelines and help ensure they are practical, credible, and broadly applicable across the media and advertising ecosystem.

Are the Attention Measurement Guidelines final?

No. The current version is released for public comment and is considered a draft. It may contain minor typographical or formatting issues, and feedback on both the substance and structure of the document is encouraged. A final version will be published after the public comment period concludes and feedback is incorporated.

Can organizations begin aligning to the Guidelines now?

While the Guidelines are currently open for comment and subject to finalization, organizations are encouraged to review them to better understand the emerging framework for attention measurement. Final alignment for accreditation purposes will occur once the Guidelines are officially finalized and published.

How do the Attention Measurement Guidelines relate to outcome measurement standards?

The Attention Measurement Guidelines are intended to complement, not replace, existing outcome measurement standards. Attention metrics serve as an additional data point to help assess exposure and engagement, providing a fuller picture of advertising effectiveness alongside delivery and outcome-based metrics.

Will attention measurement providers be able to seek accreditation?

Yes. While the Media Rating Council (MRC) has already begun audits of attention measurement services against existing Standards and Guidelines, once finalized, these Guidelines are intended to serve as the basis for future MRC accreditation audits of attention measurement services.

Will public comments be anonymous or attributed?

Feedback submitted during the public comment period may be referenced or summarized during the finalization process. If you prefer that your comments remain anonymous or attributed differently, please indicate this clearly when submitting your feedback.

Additional Resources
In August 2024, the IAB Attention Task Force released the Attention Measurement Toolkit, focused on Data Signal Approaches to attention measurement. The Toolkit was developed to help agencies, advertisers, publishers, and measurement providers better understand how attention can be captured and reported using digital data signals.

The Toolkit includes:

• Attention Measurement Explainer: Data Signal Approaches
• Attention Measurement: Agency/Advertiser Checklist
• Attention Measurement: Publisher Checklist
• Attention Measurement: Request for Information Questions 

These resources were developed as an initial step toward building a consistent, transparent understanding of how data signals contribute to attention measurement practices.

Additional explainers covering Visual and Audio Tracking, Physiological and Neurological Observations, and Panel/Survey-Based Methods are currently under development and will be published alongside the final Attention Measurement Guidelines, expected before the end of 2025.

Ongoing Industry Collaboration

The IAB Attention Task Force continues to convene industry experts and stakeholders to advance attention measurement practices.

As part of its future efforts, the Task Force will be partnering with the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) to develop an Attention Measurement Guide.

This Guide will be designed to complement the Attention Measurement Guidelines by providing additional implementation support and application considerations for organizations across the media and advertising ecosystem.

If you are interested in participating in the IAB Attention Task Force and contributing to the future of attention measurement, we welcome your involvement.

Submit a request to join the Attention Task Force here.

The post Attention Measurement Guidelines: Now Open for Public Comment appeared first on IAB.

That’s why IAB collaborated with industry leaders to launch the Creator Economy Definitions and Taxonomy—a shared language to define and standardize key terms and concepts across the ecosystem. The clear, consistent terminology provided in this taxonomy will:

• • Equip brands, agencies, platforms, and creators with a shared lexicon
  • Drive efficiency, transparency, and long-term scalability
  • Streamline workflows & strategy
  • Support sustainable industry growth

Download the IAB Creator Economy Definitions and Taxonomy today and help shape the future of creator-driven advertising.

Download Now

The post Creator Economy Definitions and Taxonomy appeared first on IAB.

The IAB Video Compliance Brief, a new quarterly series from the IAB Media Center, Public Policy, and Legal Affairs teams, breaks down the latest developments and what they mean for brands, agencies, and publishers. Stay informed on how to protect your campaigns, avoid compliance risks, and adapt your video ad strategies.

This edition covers:

• Data Privacy and Advertising Regulations Update
• New FTC Rules on Subscriptions and Negative Option Billing
• Increased Scrutiny on Data Brokers and Geolocation Data
• AI Governance and Advertising Compliance
• Expanding Children’s Privacy and Social Media Rules

Download the first edition of our Video Compliance Brief and stay tuned for the next release in June 2025.

Download the IAB Video Compliance Brief: Q1 2025 Edition

Download

The post IAB Video Compliance Brief: Privacy, AI, and Subscription Rules appeared first on IAB.

While many companies continue to produce traditional fixed-size ad formats, it is essential for brands, advertisers, publishers, and creative agencies to embrace the benefits of the IAB New Ad Portfolio. Flexible ad sizes improve delivery across diverse screen sizes and devices while future-proofing campaigns for emerging technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). These innovations unlock unparalleled creative opportunities and optimize performance metrics, including faster load times and enhanced user engagement.

First introduced in 2017, the New Ad Portfolio represents a significant evolution in digital advertising standards, designed for today’s multi-screen, mobile-first environment.

About the New Ad Portfolio

The IAB New Ad Portfolio replaces all the previous creative display guidelines for mobile and desktop – including the Universal Ad Package (UAP), rich media units, and other ad units’ related guidance.

The new ad units are based on aspect ratio and size range rather than fixed pixel sizes. Flexible sized ad units (aka “Responsive Ads”) allow for ad delivery across multiple screen sizes and integration with responsive website design. The creative design can scale to different screen sizes.

It streamlines design and cross-screen production with:

• Flexible Sizing Based on Aspect Ratios and Size Ranges: Enabling seamless delivery across various screen sizes and integration with responsive web design.
• LEAN Principles: Lightweight, encrypted, AdChoices-supported, and non-invasive advertising formats.

Key Ad Types

The IAB New Standard Ad Unit Portfolio includes:

• Display ads
• Native ads
• New media experiences like Emoji ads, 360-degree image and video ads, Virtual reality ads and Augmented reality ads

Benefits by Stakeholder Group

For Brands, Advertisers, and Media Agencies

• Future-Proof Campaigns: Compatible with new technologies like AR, VR, and 360-degree video.
• Cross-Channel Consistency: Seamlessly adapt campaigns across smartphones, tablets, and desktops.
• Enhanced Performance: LEAN-compliant ads improve load times, engagement, and ROI.
• Improved Metrics: Adherence to new standards enables advanced performance tracking.

For Creative Agencies

• Creative Freedom: Design with flexible aspect ratios to support interactive and immersive formats.
• Streamlined Production: Reduce redundant creative development for cross-screen compatibility.
• Cutting-Edge Opportunities: Experiment with formats such as AR, VR, emoji ads, and 360-degree video.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Align seamlessly with brands, publishers, and media buyers.

For Publishers

• Improved User Experience: LEAN principles ensure smoother, less disruptive ad delivery.
• Optimized Inventory: Flexible sizing improves the use of screen real estate.
• Future-Ready Infrastructure: Supports modern ad formats and platform requirements.
• Broader Appeal: Attract high-quality campaigns with better ad experiences.

The Creative Specs Template

The IAB Creative Specification Requirements Template is a comprehensive tool designed to help communicate creative specifications for various ad formats between media companies, ad buyers and creative teams. This template ensures consistency in ad delivery, proper rendering, and optimal performance across platforms and environments.

Each tab in the template corresponds to a specific ad format, including Display, Video, AR/VR, Native & Social, and Audio, allowing publishers to specify the necessary technical and creative requirements. Additionally, an “Other” tab provides flexibility for emerging ad formats and unique placements

By leveraging this template, media companies can streamline creative development, enhance collaboration with agencies and advertisers, and ensure ads meet the latest industry standards.

How to Create LEAN/Flex Ads

Creative agencies can create LEAN-compliant and flexible ads by following these tactical steps:

Step 1: Design Creative Assets

• Choose Design Software with Flexibility in Mind: Opt for tools that allow for dynamic and adaptive design capabilities. Look for platforms that support responsive designs, enable aspect-ratio-based layouts (e.g., 16:9, 4:3), and provide easy exporting in multiple file types to suit diverse media channels.
• Create Flexible Layouts: Use relative dimensions like aspect ratios rather than fixed pixel dimensions to ensure ads look great across a variety of screens and devices. Consider tools that support grid systems, scalable vector graphics (SVG), and dynamic resizing.
• Optimize for Lightweight Performance
  • Compress Images: Use compression tools that reduce file size without compromising quality, ensuring faster load times.
  • Streamline Animations: Optimize animations to run smoothly by reducing frame rates, simplifying transitions, and exporting in efficient formats.
  • Minimize Code: Incorporate clean, optimized scripts and remove unnecessary code to enhance ad responsiveness and reduce latency.

Step 2: Assemble Ads in HTML5

• Build the Framework: Look for solutions that offer seamless compatibility with the Lightweight Ad Guidelines, allowing for scalable, optimized ad creatives. Consider platforms or ad creative companies with end-to-end capabilities to assemble ads with the correct specifications for multiple environments.
• Add Animations (Optional): Incorporate animations to enhance engagement.
• Maintain a Professional Appearance: Include a distinctive 1×1 pixel border around your ad to ensure a clean and polished design.
• Include Click Tags:Ensure your ads are trackable by integrating click tags as specified by the advertiser’s ad server. Follow the server requirements to enable precise measurement and tracking of ad performance.
• Maintain a Professional Appearance: Include a distinctive 1×1 pixel border around your ad to ensure a clean and polished design.
• Follow Additional Requirements:Always consult the advertiser’s ad server for specific technical specifications and creative requirements to ensure seamless delivery and compliance.

Note: Companies with robust, end-to-end creative assembly capabilities, such as those specializing in responsive and lightweight ad formats, can streamline this process and deliver high-quality outputs tailored to the required specifications.

Step 3: Test the Creative

• Cross-Device Testing: Validate that the ad renders correctly across various browsers, devices, orientations, and screen sizes to ensure a seamless user experience.
• Performance Testing: Test load speeds to confirm they meet requirements, such as staying within the recommended 150KB maximum file size.

Step 4: Export and Submit

• Use Clear File Naming Conventions:Organize and name files clearly and consistently to streamline handoffs and ensure compliance with advertiser specifications.
• Export Files: Save your files in the required formats, such as HTML5 (ZIP) for interactive ads, JPEG/PNG for fallback creatives, or MP4 for video ads.

HTML5 for Digital Advertising 2.0 Guide

Refer to IAB’s HTML5 for Digital Advertising 2.0 Guide for essential guidance on creating HTML5 ads. This guide includes:

• Tools and technologies like JavaScript, CSS, SVG, and video codecs.
• Tips for generating, packaging, and testing ads.
• Collaboration strategies with ad operations to ensure seamless campaign execution.

Resources and Examples

For detailed guidelines, additional guidance and visual examples of ad formats, visit the New Ad Portfolio: Advertising Creative Guidelines on IABTechLab.com. This resource includes:

• Creative guidelines for fixed and flexible ad sizes.
• Examples of lightweight, cross-screen, and immersive ad formats.
• Insights into AR, VR, and 360-degree video ad experiences.

The post IAB New Ad Portfolio: Advertising Creative Guidelines appeared first on IAB.

The IAB Data Protection Assessment Template (the “Assessment Template”) is designed to help businesses in the digital ad industry evaluate processing activities based on regulatory requirements. This template incorporates feedback from the IAB Privacy Implementation and Accountability Task Force (PIAT). We will continue to update this document as the law changes and industry needs evolve.

The IAB Assessment Template provides a structured framework tailored for digital advertising operations, enabling businesses to:

• Accurately document the underlying data processing activities in language that reflects the activities conducted by digital advertising market participants.
• Identify risks associated with personal information processing, including targeted advertising, profiling, and data sales.
• Document safeguards to mitigate potential harm to consumer privacy.
• Weigh the benefits of data processing against the risks, ensuring compliance measures are in place.

This template helps ad tech companies, publishers, advertisers, and agencies navigate complex privacy obligations. However, it does not replace the critical role performed by legal counsel. Businesses should consult with legal experts for regulatory compliance.

Download the Template

The post Navigating Data Protection in Digital Advertising with the IAB Data Protection Assessment Template appeared first on IAB.

IAB has released the Generative AI Playbook for Advertising, providing guidance into the practical applications of generative AI in the industry. This playbook dives into key use cases, including content creation, campaign optimization, and measurement, offering actionable insights and methodologies to help brands, agencies, and technology providers integrate generative AI into their marketing strategies effectively.

Discover how Generative AI can:

• Accelerate creative development cycles
• Enable smarter, more effective testing
• Deepen audience engagement through tailored messaging
• Optimize campaigns with data-driven precision

Download the playbook now and gain the tools to unlock generative AI’s full potential in advertising.

Download the Playbook

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