IAB Tech Lab, the global digital advertising technical standards-setting body, announced today the Ad Creative ID Framework (ACIF). This framework supports the use of registered creative IDs that persist in cross-platform digital video delivery, in particular Connected TV (CTV) environments. IAB Tech Lab invites industry stakeholders to participate in public comments, which will remain open for 30 days until July 12, 2024. You can read the full press release here.
The framework will improve:
- Frequency Capping: Today, the same video ad often has different sources, identifiers, and labels. The framework calls for a unique ID that will make it easier for ad-decisioning algorithms to manage ad frequency.
- Competitive Separation: The unique ID will make it easier to ensure that competitive ads are appropriately separated.
- Cross-platform reporting: The current lack of unique creative IDs generates data inconsistencies that make accurate media reporting difficult. This is compounded by the inability to easily compare log data from one ad platform to another. Unique creative IDs will simplify reporting.
- Campaign Reconciliation: The current reconciliation process is costly, clumsy, and ineffective. Unique IDs would greatly simplify advertisers’ understanding of where ads were placed and how they were served, enabling advertisers to more easily tie performance to ad creative.
- Campaign ROI: Understanding campaign performance for specific ad creatives enables advertisers to take action and vastly improve the overall campaign ROI
ACIF is a comprehensive approach to derive full benefits from the use of registered creative IDs. One vital component of this framework is IAB Tech Lab’s development of a common specification for an Ad Registry Metadata API. This will standardize the metadata that supply chain participants can obtain about each creative ID from the different Ad Registry organizations. IAB Tech Lab will also maintain a directory in their Tools Portal to enable companies to easily identify which registries support ACIF and how to validate a given creative ID with the respective registry.
In addition to ACIF, IAB Tech Lab has published a VAST Addendum that standardizes universal creative IDs in all versions of the VAST protocol, including 2.0, bringing standardized support to the most widely adopted versions. This update ensures the benefits of registered creative IDs are accessible to the broadest range of users and systems.
These updates and tools are vital to standardizing the use of registered creative IDs in the entire video supply chain, ensuring both the Buy and Sell sides can realize the benefits of uniquely identifying a piece of creative.
IAB Tech Lab encourages industry participants to contribute feedback and insights for public comment until July 12, 2024. To review and comment on the Ad Creative ID Framework please visit the IAB Tech Lab ACIF Standards page.
Sr Product Manager, Ad Experiences
IAB Tech Lab