Don't get too delighted

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released a "Digital Video Ad Serving Template" (VAST) to standardize communication between video players and ad servers.

The proposed protocol will ease business relations between publishers and agencies, the IAB said. Publishers will be able to "plug-and-play" third-party ad servers and networks, allowing them to make more money from ads. Agencies will benefit from the ability to track and serve video ads from one place.

The VAST document includes a definition of standard ad responses for in-stream video and specifications compatible with any video player framework. It also provides guidance for most on-demand video players and has accomodations for linear video and interactive ads (the "pre-roll") as well as non-linear ads (e.g. clickable overlays).

The document will be open for public comment until Sept. 10, after which the IAB will review the feedback and create a final copy for public release.