Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada Announces Online Rich Media Standards

Industry-leading specs help advertisers maximize benefits of engaging ad formats

Toronto, ON, April 4, 2006 - The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) today released version 2.0 of its Canadian Universal Ad Package (CUAP). The standards, which were developed by an IAB committee made up of both IAB Publisher and Agency representatives, are industry-leading, and reflective of the higher penetration of broadband Internet connections in Canada.

"Version 1.0 of the IAB's Canadian Universal Ad Package removed substantial roadblocks to using the Internet as a marketing tool, by promoting a set of three, larger-sized Online ad units (leaderboard, skyscraper and big box formats), that could be produced once and served across almost all Canadian Websites," says Frank Duyvelshoff, VP of the IAB's 2006 Publisher Council, and head of the IAB's CUAP/Standards Committee. "Version 2.0 of the CUAP goes a step further, by allowing advertisers to showcase their brands on the larger canvases that the expanding, floating and between-page ads allow," says Peter Vaz, VP of the IAB's 2006 Emerging Platforms Council, and Agency representative on the CUAP Committee.

Rich Media ads allow users to view detailed product animations and video, hear product descriptions and "calls to action" and even play games within the units. Not surprisingly, they have been shown to promote longer engagement time with advertiser brands, and according to leading Online research firm Dynamic Logic, are twice as effective as traditional static (.gif or .jpg) formats in their ability to lift the key branding metric of Message Association.

The CUAP 2.0 standards apply only to sites whose sales model is based on display advertising, and do not apply those who rely exclusively on advertorial integration to build revenue, or to those who exclusively employ text-based advertising as their business model (such as search engine sites).

Future versions of the CUAP (due later in 2006), will address Online video ad standards.

Download the CUAP 2.0 Rich Media specifications: Part 1  //  Part 2

For more information contact:

President, IAB Canada
iabcanada.com

The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada is the national voice of the Canadian interactive marketing and advertising industry, and is a not-for-profit association representing a membership composed of publishers, agencies, advertisers and interactive service associates.

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