The lightning-quick pace of innovation in digital video ad platforms and tools has resulted in divergent technologies and systems that impact the successful deployment of advertising campaigns. To resolve this friction point and continue its leadership role in standardizing digital video the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), today released “VAST 2.0”, an update to the Digital Video Ad Serving Template that it created in July 2008 to standardize the communication protocol between video players and servers. The announcement was made at the IAB’s annual Ad Ops Summit in New York City.

VAST 2.0 includes critical updates that:

* Permit optional tracking of companion ads and other ad elements
* Provide support for multi-part creatives
* Allow for a broader range of digital video ad products
* Clarify many technical requirements to ease implementation

“As more and more marketers embrace digital video for its ability to engage consumers and showcase brands, standardization is critical,” said Jeremy Fain, vice president of Industry Services, IAB. “VAST 2.0 will allow publishers who use it to be able to plug into multiple third-party digital video ad servers and networks without additional development, making it easier for marketers to reach large audiences through digital video.”

“By standardizing ad serving on VAST we can open the floodgates of agency media spend and allow publishers to maximize their yield per video view,” said Ari Paparo, Group Product Manager, Advertiser Products of Google.

“Vast 2.0” is the latest addition to the IAB’s work over the past year dedicated to creating a common infrastructure across the digital video ecosystem. The IAB’s efforts have addressed specific concerns around technology, metrics and consistent terminology. This ongoing initiative has included the release of the following documents:

* Video Player-Ad Interface Definitions Guidelines (VPAID)
* Digital Video Overview Document
* Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines and Best Practices
* Digital Video In-Stream Ad Metrics Definitions