Viewability was one of the hottest topics in Digital over 2014, but the buzz has eased off slightly since the release of the IAB standards. Concerns around fraud rumble on, with a feeling that current regulation does quite not go far enough.

Getting measurement right is a key component of successful advertising delivery, especially in the Digital space where there is so much measurement available. Benchmarks, research and case studies are crucial, so it’s handy that Sizmek have just released their latest report into the impact of viewability measurement.

The Sizmek Research team analyzed viewable data from more than 240 billion measured impressions, 840,000 ads and 120,000 campaigns served in 74 countries to more than 22,000 publishers and 43 programmatic partners. That’s quite a lot.

The report found that ads with greater interactivity are more likely to be viewable, that mobile ads are more viewable than ads on desktop computers, and ads sold directly to publishers are more viewable than ads sold through automated or programmatic platforms.

There are some interesting comparisons looking at APAC versus other regions. Asia in general scores very high in rich media mobile ad CTRs.

In the US, the IAB minimum viewable threshold for performance, is 70% viewability. The research found this level to be a reliable indicator of performance. The report also found that choosing mobile friendly HTML5 formats and creative sizes specific to mobile devices, improves ad viewability.

Sizmek Viewability Benchmarks [2015]

“The specifics and definitions will no doubt continue to be debated, but the recent efforts at standardizing viewability terminology move the industry toward a more transparent marketplace for digital ads, and our research backs that up. Viewability just works in terms of driving campaign performance,” says Alex White, VP Product Strategy at Sizmek.

Clearly, measuring whether an ad is viewable gives the industry a great starting point for trading in true engagement.