The IAB Tech Lab in the U.S. published the Digital Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) 4.0 in 2016 with the aim of helping publishers monetize long-form video content through improved delivery and measurement of digital video advertising. (See the webinar and learn more here.)
DOWNLOAD VAST 4.0 BELOW
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DOWNLOAD THE DIGITAL VIDEO IN-STREAM AD FORMAT GUIDELINES BELOW
LEARN MORE ABOUT VAST 4.0, ITS HISTORY AND ITS ADVANTAGES AND WATCH THE EXPERTS DISCUSS IT IN A RECENT WEBINAR HERE.
VAST 4.0
The proliferation of devices and screen sizes has resulted in a new set of challenges to provide users the best possible video experience. Many devices are not capable of running advanced scripts and have limitations on supporting good tracking and measurement. Bandwidth issues result in suboptimal experiences when switching between content and ads. To improve this experience, the use of ad-stitching services has grown where ads are dynamically inserted into the stream of content sent to the player. VAST 4.0 includes support for server-side ad-stitching features around tracking, viewability, verification and performance.
VAST 4.0 has been developed to address these problems, and has undergone analysis by the IAB Australia’s Technology Council and the VAST 4.0 Working Group consisting of IAB Australia Member companies.
Whilst the VAST 4.0 documentation covers in-depth all aspects of the delivery mechanism for digital video, ad format guidelines are covered in the accompanying Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines (October 2016). Together these documents represent the latest updates for digital video in the Australian market.
Some of the highlights of VAST 4.0 are:
- Server-side Support – VAST 4.0 supports “ad-stitching” or providing linear video ads in a stream to players with limited capabilities using server-to-server methods.
- Mezzanine File and Creative ID – Enabling advertising across video platforms that include long-form content, high-resolution screens, and advertiser requirements for tracking ad creative, VAST 4.0 includes support for raw, high-quality mezzanine files, and international creative ID programs.
- Ad Verification and Viewability Execution – VAST 4.0 contains a light-script object to simplify ad verification using VAST instead of complicating VPAID use and interfering with the video viewing experience.
- Category Support – The introduction of ad categories will allow video publishers to separate competing ad creatives and to improve brand safety.
- Conditional Ad Declaration – A declaration in VAST for a conditional ad helps publishers prevent and reclaim any potentially lost inventory revenue in programmatic ad delivery.
These advancements are advantageous a for publishers and partners throughout the online video landscape and are intended to provide a better consumer experience.
LEARN MORE ABOUT VAST 40, ITS HISTORY AND ITS ADVANTAGES AND WATCH THE EXPERTS DISCUSS IT IN A RECENT WEBINAR HERE.
