The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has announced the release of its Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines.

The guidelines focus on the most widely used current in-stream ad products, including linear video ads, non-linear video ads and companion ads.

They were created in order to meet the following needs:

• Simplifying digital video ad buying across multiple sites through minimum common ad specifications for video, overlay and companion ads.
• Achieving more efficient operations through a common set of creative submission guidelines.
• Increasing consumer understanding of ad interactions and environments through best practice recommendations for creative development and player environments.

“Consumers have been swift to embrace the digital video experience online, and marketers have incorporated it just as rapidly into their advertising plans,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB. “With the creation and adoption of these formats and guidelines, we see no end in sight to its potential for growth.”