Dear Advertising Industry,
We’ll just say it: It’s time to improve our mobile advertising.
In a medium that’s all about movement, our ads are inert. With consumers accustomed to content tailored to their time, place and interests, most mobile ads are peculiarly one-dimensional.
To guarantee the ads paid for actually appear and look great on all screens, we insist that advertising creative be developed in a mobile-compatible format. And the one open, industry-standard, universal format for building mobile-ready creative is HTML5.
The opportunity has never been greater. Over half of the Canadian population has a mobile phone with internet access*, and more than one out of five pageviews on the web happen on a mobile device – a number that is growing every month**.
HTML5 will enable all of us, marketers, agencies and publishers to make creative ideas captivating on every screen, elevate brand image, and lower creative costs. We know this may mean a change in how we develop ad creative. But there are many tools to augment work with HTML5, such as responsive design, and a multitude of suppliers available to assist.
If you’re not familiar with HTML5, IAB offers guidance on optimizing HTML5 ad code for better performance across platforms: HTML5 for Digital Advertising 1.0: Guidance for Ad Designers & Creative Technologists. In addition, IAB, in partnership with technology leaders in the space, will be producing a series of webinars focused on HTML5 and other mobile advertising solutions. To learn more, read through our Mobile Checklist for Marketers.
No doubt that there is work to be done and challenges ahead with HTML5. Nonetheless the advantages are significant enough that we must move forward.
Sincerely,
IAB Canada
* Source: comScore Inc., MobiLens Canada, December 2013, Persons Aged 13+
** Source: http://gs.statcounter.com/#desktop+mobile+tablet-comparison-CA-daily-20140201-20140207