For advertisers looking to optimize the value of every impression, viewability benchmarks are simply not enough.
Viewability metrics provide but a glimpse into one indicator of ad placement quality, but that glimpse is not enough. While an ad that is never in-view has no chance of having an impact on a viewer, an ad that is in-view for only a brief moment doesn’t have much better odds.
Thus, advertisers looking to maximize the value of every impression must look beyond simplistic viewability metrics and seek placements that maximize their time in-view.
Understanding this need, today Integral Ad Science published their latest Media Quality Report, including time-in-view metrics for the first time. As described by IAS:
“Time-in-view goes beyond binary viewability measurement to show just how long impressions are actually in view. As advertisers continue to look toward increasing campaign outcomes and ROI as the primary optimization objective, the industry will need to focus attention on metrics that connect exposure to the likelihood of driving outcomes.”
So how much time-in-view should an advertiser expect? According to the report, the answer depends on both the format and the buying method. For programmatic buys, typical time-in-view metrics are as follows:
- 10.55 seconds in-view for desktop display
- 14.40 seconds in-view for desktop video
- 7.36 seconds in-view for mobile web display
- 13.63 seconds in-view for mobile web video
Based on this, it would behoove performance marketers to deprioritize bids on any inventory that cannot offer at least 5 seconds of in-view time for display ad units and 10 seconds of in-view time for video ad units. Conversely, inventory that can offer these benchmarks should be prioritized.
Granted, as time-in-view inherently affects ad performance, intelligent DSPs will typically handle this prioritization with dynamic bidding. However, even the most powerful AI-driven platforms will take some time to optimize bidding for a given ad creative. Thus, for marketers looking to optimize their spend in the first 72 hours or week of their campaign, selectively targeting inventory with both verifiable viewability & in-view benchmarks may be recommended.
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