IAB, Explained

If you’ve never heard of the IAB, I don’t blame you. Unless you’re keeping an eye out for them, they act relatively behind-the-scenes. But don’t mistaken their movement in the shadows for irrelevance, their impact within the advertising realm cannot be understated.

First things first…

What is the IAB?

The IAB, or the Interactive Advertising Bureau, is an organisation concerned with online advertising affairs. According to their website, they seek to conduct research, provide legal support, and develop industry standards that ensure responsible digital ad marketing.

Currently, they have almost 700 members, including all the big social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, Snapchat), as well as Audible, SoundStack, and more.

While the IAB concerns itself over an array of issues—data privacy, measurement metric recommendations, future-proofing, brand safety, just to name a few, what you as a PR agent should care about is what this organisation is saying about podcasting and advertising.

So, what are IAB standard ads?

IAB has laid out a series of General Ad Requirements that all ads are expected to follow; this includes sponsored ads on podcasts too.

In general, ads should:

• Make use of interest-based advertising

Interest-based ads, also known as personalised or targeted ads, are uniquely curated towards each user based on their online browsing activity. Although privacy and security are definitely concerns that many users have when it comes to this area, the truth is that interest-based ads have become the industry norm because their customised nature helps to ensure actual conversions for advertisers.

• Be clearly distinguished from non-ad content

Tangentially related to concerns over ad disclosure, this guideline ensures that users are not confusing ads from organic content they’re consuming.

• 30% CPU load per active ad

This ensures that when an ad plays, it does not interfere with regular usage and performance for users.

• Not more than 10 file requests during initial file load

This is another guideline aimed to ensure user experience is not compromised when the ad is playing.

Why should you care about the IAB’s standards?

Playing by industry standard rules reaps several benefits for you as a potential sponsor.

1.    Improved user experience  

Many of the IAB’s standards have to do with how the ad is perceived on the consumer end, and ensuring that the quality of their experience is maintained. This is extremely important; the more satisfied users are with their experience, the more likely they are to return and continue consuming content from that content creator or platform.

This links to the next point…  

2.    Increased conversions

Ads that look better and sound better are bound to translate to higher click-through rates and conversions.

3.    Better reach

With interest-based advertising, you as a sponsor and advertiser are able to reach the audiences that care the most about what you have to say. Podcast advertising, when done right, is the epitome of this. When you have the knowledge and tools to find a podcast that audience directly aligns with yours, this allows you to maximise how targeted your ad can be.

For instance, using PodSeeker’s filters to narrow down the audience you’re chasing according to their gender, where they’re located, and the genre of podcasts they listen to is one such way to optimise your reach via interest-based advertising.

4.    More accurate measurements

Maintaining consistent ad designs across platforms allows you as an advertiser to harness more data about the ads you’re putting out. This makes it easier for you to observe ad performance, and to make data-driven changes and improvements where necessary.  

All things considered, abiding by the IAB's guidelines helps you as an advertiser, and also improves the overall experience for your audience.

In Conclusion

It’s definitely worthwhile to keep tabs on what groups like this are saying or doing with regards to podcasting. Now that you're armed with a better understanding of who the IAB is and what they do, I hope you’re empowered to make better decisions about the ads you produce!