The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), in conjunction with the Media Rating Council (MRC) have issued updated "Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines" for public comment. The guidelines are a framework for governing measurement of mobile web-based ads across mobile ecosystem.

While the guidelines are principally applicable to mobile marketers, wireless operators, mobile publishers and ad serving organizations, the groups advise that mobile ad planners and buyers will use the guidelines to determine measurement quality.
In particular, the guidelines now require client-side counting for mobile web ad impressions, with a goal of improving consistency in computer-based ad measurement, which in turn should make impression counts more robust and reliable.

The document also covers "viewable impressions," which are expected to be established soon by the Making Measurement Make Sense (3Ms) initiative. While the revised "Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines" do not require measuring viewable impressions in the mobile web as yet, it affirms that mobile media needs to prepare to make viewable impressions a key part of the currency, as soon as it is technically feasible.

Other relevant topics covered, include:

• Measurement definitions.
• Ad measurement guidelines.
• Enhancing ad impression tracking accuracy.
• Click measurement considerations.
• General reporting parameters.
• Disclosure guidance.
• Auditing recommendations.

SafeFrame Vs. iFrame

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) also released for public comment its SafeFrame 1.0 specifications, aimed at providing advertisers with the ability to measure viewability and more accurately assess an ad campaign’s success. Developed by a working group of digital technology experts from 21 IAB member companies belonging to the IAB Technology Council, SafeFrame 1.0 includes mechanisms to measure whether or not impressions are viewable. Viewable impressions are the foundational element of 3MS, a cross-ecosystem initiative with the ANA, 4A’s, and IAB to propose new industry standard metrics and advertising "currency" that will enhance evaluation of digital media and facilitate cross-platform comparison for brand marketing. The IAB argues that adoption of the SafeFrame specifications will be critical for implementation of these 3MS standards.

"The growing demand from advertisers and publishers for delivering and measuring 'viewable impressions' required the creation of these specifications," said Steve Sullivan, Vice President, Ad Technology, IAB. "Powered by SafeFrame 1.0, 3MS will be able to deliver that important metric. In addition, SafeFrame enables a myriad of other advances that will produce increased revenue opportunities for publishers and vendors alike."

Public comment on the "Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines" opens today and closes on December 21, 2012. The guidelines are available for review online.

SafeFrame 1.0 was unveiled at the IAB Advertising Operations Summit in New York City, and are online at www.iab.net/safeframe.