MAKING

IMPRESSIONS
COUNT
M OB IL E
VIEWA B IL IT Y

A WHITE PAPER

The State of
Mobile Viewability

Viewability is taking center stage in the digital arenaand for good

reason. Consumers are spending more time on digital devices, and
advertisers are allocating larger budgets to reach them. In 2014,
marketers spent more than $145B in online advertising and $42B in
mobile per eMarketer, reflecting a 122% year-over-year growth for
mobile specifically.

Viewability and ad
fraud are closely
related topics and key
areas of investment for
Millennial Media.
Details on ad fraud will
be covered in future
white papers.

Advertisers would allocate even larger budgets if they

trusted that they were reaching the right audience at scale.
Instead, concerns about brand safety, ad fraud, and
viewability mean that digital media still doesnt command its
fair share of ad dollars.
Those concerns are grounded in reality: Google recently
estimated that fewer than half of its video ads are viewable,
and Twitter was in the news recently for running sponsored
tweets against adult content.
Brand safety, ad fraud, and viewability solutions aim to
ensure that the right, real person views an ad within
appropriate content. Meaning no bot fraud, the ad is in-view,
and the site or page where the ad was delivered was brand
appropriate.
This white paper focuses on viewability, or an opportunity for
an ad to be seen. A user may choose to ignore an ad, but he
or she should have the opportunity see it.

M A K I N G I MP RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY

The Media Rating Council (MRC) has established viewability

definitions and standards in online display advertising: at least
50% of the pixels in view for at least one second. For mobile,
the MRC issued interim guidance stating that display
measurement standards will apply, but formal standards or
measurement approach have not been published. There is no
standard for the percentage of ads that should be viewable for
a digital media buy.

Unsurprisingly, marketers are demanding reliable measurement for

viewable impressions to understand if the ads they paid for were
actually seen. According to the 2015 Millennial Media
Programmatic Survey, 70% of respondents with budgets of $5M+
plan to measure viewability against their mobile buys in the near
term. Those buyers with a budget of $5M+ are also looking to
achieve greater than the 80% viewability benchmark.
The massive shift to all-things mobile is creating pressure to make
the medium more measurable. Increasingly, there is a rallying cry
from marketers, and the agencies that represent them, for 100%
viewability in ad buys. That pressure is translating into an industry
laser-focused on mobile viewability, intent on solving for 100%
viewability even though standards have not been set yet.
As the industry converges around a standard viewability approach,
it will eventually shift how we transact in mobile advertisingfrom a
buying model based on served impressions to that of viewable
impressions. A move to guaranteeing viewability will make mobile
advertising even more accountable and establish a foundation for
greater comparability with other media.
Strong viewability standards and defined measurement
methodologies will make mobile more transparent and
accountable. That will improve trust in quality and effectiveness.
Which will, in turn, open the floodgates for ad dollars to follow
consumers into mobile.

M A K I N G I M P RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY

50%
1 SECOND

Why is Viewability
a Challenge?
The viewability of an ad is based on several factors.
Sometimes an ad isnt viewable because it is below
the fold or doesnt load fast enough to be considered
in-view. Differences among operating systems, ad
formats, and ad placements can impact viewability.
Publishers and app developers are working to improve
viewability by redesigning their sites and apps, but
without defined measurement methodologies and
standards they are working against a moving target.

Measuring Mobile Viewability

Mobile is different, and the approaches to
measure viewability in online dont necessarily
apply to mobile, especially in-app advertising.
Studies have found that mobile performs better
than display as it relates to viewability. According
to Integral Ad Science, a leading digital
measurement firm, viewability scores in display
range from 42-53%; for in-app advertising that
increases to 81%.

M A K I N G I MP RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY

Multiple factors impact how viewability is measured in mobile

and whether an ad is counted as viewable or loaded:
Devices

Operating Systems (OS)

Mobile presents a distinct viewability challenge

for publishers due to the range of screen sizes
and device types available. Not all sites have
been designed with the breadth of mobile
devices in mind.

The mobile ecosystem maintains multiple

operating systems, which is dominated by iOS
and Android. There appear to be technical
nuances with the Android OS that make ads
displayed less viewable.

App Environment

Ad Types and Placements

The app environment is unique to mobile, and it

is generally more measurable and viewable than
mobile web. A recent report from Integral Ad
Science shows overall in-app rates of 81%
viewable.

Mobile-specific ad types and placements,

including interstitials, adhesion units, rich media
and video, need to be taken into consideration
for viewability measurement. Newsfeeds and
other social and native units may be more likely
to be out of view.

Not Measurable Doesnt Mean Not Viewable

While 100% of mobile inventory is not measurable, that does not mean that non-measurable inventory is
not viewable. Marketers should continue to utilize sites and apps, placements and ad formats that have
previously performed well to achieve their goals.
Marketers have been running campaigns with non-measurable ad units to great success and are able to
quantify the impact to their business. For example, mobile video has among the highest ad engagement
rates, yet viewability cannot be measured by leading measurement vendors. It is sensible to continue to
use inventory that performs well and leverage the opportunities that work for marketers businesses.
Existing campaign data will reveal the insight needed to determine which mobile ad opportunities are
creating impact.

M A K I N G I M P RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY

The Whos Who

of Viewability
Industry organizations and governing bodies have rallied to
establish standards, guidelines, and consensus around digital
and mobile viewability. Key players include:

Media Rating
Council (MRC)

Making Mobile Measurement

Make Sense (4MS)

The MRC provides industry definition and

standards around what is a viewable
impression. The MRC issued interim guidance
on mobile viewable impression measurement
on May 4, 2015.

Groups including the Association of National

Advertisers (ANA), the American Association of
Advertising Agencies (4As) and the Interactive
Advertising Bureau (IAB) have formed a coalition
to tackle and fix mobile measurement.

Joint Industry Committee for

Web Standards (JICWEBS)

Digital Trading Standards

Group (DTSG)

In the UK, JICWEBS is made up of numerous

trade bodies and has established
industry-agreed principles, developed to
complement the work of the MRC, to test how
different viewability products work in digital
advertising. Principles to cover mobile
advertising are planned in the future.

Also in the UK, the DTSG has crafted Good

Practice principles, reviewed and approved by
JICWEBS, with the intention to give brands more
control to ensure their advertising reaches the
right audience and avoid negative association
with surrounding content that could otherwise
injure their brand. These principles ultimately
uphold brand safety and protect the integrity of
digital advertising.

These major associations and governing bodies are addressing online and mobile advertising
viewability head onin an effort to bring the industry closer to 100% viewability. As standards and
best practices are created by these groups, other regions can use them as blueprints for adoption.

M A K I N G I MP RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY

Current Definitions
& Standards
The MRC defines both what a viewable impression is and how to
measure whether an impression is viewable. A viewable
impression is recognized as an opportunity to see that an ad
exists, which may or may not be the case with a served ad
impression.
For online advertising, the MRC has defined a viewable display
impression as 50% of the pixels of the ad being in view for one
second. This is the bare minimum requirement for an impression
to be deemed viewable.
In mobile advertising, no formal standards exist, but the MRC has
released interim guidance. The interim guidance aligns mobile
in-app definitions with display measurement standards:

Display: 50% of pixels, one second

Video: 50% of pixels, two seconds
The MRC also included a new metric called a Loaded Ad. A
Loaded Ad is defined as an ad where: pixels in view are greater
than zero but time is less than one second, or pixels are less than
50%, or both time and pixels are below these thresholds. Simply
stated:

Percentage of pixels AND Time = Viewable Impression

Percentage of pixels OR Time = Loaded Ad
Find the MRCs full interim mobile guidance here:
http://mill.enni.al/1LbtDUN
The MRC expects to release mobile-specific viewability standards
in late 2015 for public comment and review. There are no
accredited measurement vendors in mobile but measurement is
possible. Companies like Integral Ad Science are developing
proprietary measurement methodologies, which will bring
accountability to the medium and help influence future guidance.

M A K I N G I M P RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY

How Publishers &

Developers Can Help
Publishers and developers play a critical role on the path to 100% viewability.
As advertisers demand a higher standard, publishers and developers must
be proactive or risk losing valuable advertising dollars.

Below are considerations and recommendations for publishers

and developers as they tackle the issue of viewability:
Use fragments rather than
activities for Android apps

Use one Placement

ID per screen

Many fragments can live inside an activity.

A single ad view can stand in front of content
more easily than it would in front of these
fragments. Apps with low viewability scores
often use activities exclusively, and generating
new banners on these activities impacts an ad's
refresh rate. By pairing ads with an activity and
putting content in fragments, the side effects of
the activity lifecycle can be minimized.

Single placements per screen allows

measurement of individual ad units, allowing
publishers to more easily optimize
performance. It will also show publishers
and developers a true CTR/CVR per page
to select the best placements for each ad.

Don't predict the user's path

Avoid below the fold banners

Only load banner ads on a screen where a

user is present. While preloading an ad on
screen may seem like a visual enhancement,
it can just as easily drag down ad viewability.

Where possible implement a persistent bottom

banner. This will ensure the ad remains visible
as the user navigates content.

Millennial Media developed these best practices after evaluating the results of a network-wide audit by
Integral Ad Science. Differences in measurement approaches may impact optimization strategies.
The shift to 100% viewability brings many benefits to publishers and the mobile ecosystem overall.
Publishers would be able to focus on providing more valuable and viewable ad placements and stay
ahead of the shift in the market to only pay for viewable impressions.

M A K I N G I MP RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY

Millennial Media's Viewability

Guarantee for Advertisers
At Millennial Media, we believe that mobile can become the most addressable, measurable, transparent,
and trustworthy medium in advertising. Thats why Millennial Media is offering clients a 100% viewability
guarantee. Its what our advertiser clients expect and we know our publisher partners can deliver.
Millennial Media is partnering with Integral Ad Science, currently the only measurement vendor that can
track in-app viewability, to certify delivery of viewable in-app impressions. Millennial Media defines a
viewable impression as 100% of the ad being in-view for at least one second. This exceeds the MRCs
interim guidance on mobile viewability, which mandates 50% of pixels be in view for at least one second.
Our guarantee means that participating clients will only be billed when their ad is verified viewable by
Integral Ad Science. The campaigns are priced on a vCPM basis.

To achieve 100% viewability, Millennial Media:

+

Limits delivery to specific static banner placements; interstitials only load if in-view

Serves the ad creative with an Integral Ad Science pixel via the Millennial Media SDK

Leverages Integral Ad Sciences technology to determine the length of time the ad is in-view using
Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions (MRAID)

Passes data back to advertisers for optimization and reporting

As a trusted partner, Millennial Medias mission is to make mobile simple and enable our partners to
focus on what they do best: engage consumers with interesting and relevant brand messages.
We continue to work with industry groups and organizations including the MRC and 4MS to establish and
shape forthcoming industry standards on mobile viewability. We will make all campaign data available to
these organizations to help establish standards and measurement methodologies. Working together, we
can create the most measurable and trustworthy medium in advertising.

M A K I N G I M P RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY

Contact us
Email sales@millennialmedia.com or reach out to
your account manager for more information on our
viewability guarantee.

M A K I N G I MP RESSI ONS COUNT - M OB I L E VI EWABILITY