Mumbai: IAB Tech Lab, the global digital advertising standards body, unveils its latest initiative, "Ad Format Idol," to define and standardise emerging Connected TV (CTV) ad formats. As the CTV landscape experiences rapid growth, the project targets the adoption of consistent ad formats across platforms, enabling ‘build once, serve everywhere’ solutions for the industry.

IAB Tech Lab CEO, Anthony Katsur stated, "CTV is experiencing explosive growth, but we’re still in the early innings of figuring out how to make it work at scale. The industry is full of new ad formats that show promise but lack the technical standards to take off. ‘Ad Format Idol’ is about cutting through the noise, finding what works, and giving it the structure needed to thrive. As we have done for early web advertising and with digital video, we want to set up the whole CTV ecosystem to succeed."

The ‘Ad Format Idol’ initiative invites digital advertising stakeholders to submit successful CTV ad formats from 22 October to 22 January 2025. A task force from the Advanced TV Commit Group will evaluate the entries, while the advanced TV and programmatic supply chain working groups will then update specifications to reflect the winning formats. The aim is to address key challenges identified in IAB's latest report on CTV ad format growth and standardisation.

IAB, VP, media center, Cintia Gabilan added, "With 75 per cent of CTV spend being transacted in programmatic already, advertisers need standardisation to scale investments and buying efficiency, and ‘Ad Format Idol’ is set to address that. This initiative will help overcome fragmentation and ensure these formats can thrive across the CTV ecosystem."

The selected formats will debut at upcoming industry events, starting with Tech Lab's International Summit in London on 5 November 2024, and ‘I Want My CTV’ in New York on 5 December 2024. The initiative will also feature prominently at IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting, NewFronts, and Video Leadership Summit in 2025, providing insights into the evolution of CTV advertising.

IAB Tech Lab board director & GumGum chief technology officer, Ken Weiner emphasised, "We’re looking for ad formats that have real potential to scale across different channels and streaming services and change consumers’ advertising experience on CTV."