The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has launched a discussion paper for marketers on advertising viewability, to encourage an industry-wide discussion on moving towards a position where advertisers pay only for ads that consumers can actually view.

The paper also provides marketers with an overview of the issue and guidance on how to address any of their viewability concerns.

Currently many online ads served are not viewable because they appear below the fold on the webpage, or because it takes too long for the content to be served. Advertisers are charged for these impressions even though consumers do not have the opportunity to see them.

Viewability is about ensuring that consumers have the opportunity to see the ad i.e. the ad is loaded on the screen and visible to consumers.

The latest bi-annual Media Quality Report, published by Integral Ad Science, analyses billions of ad impressions throughout the world and shows that more than half of all ads served in Australia were not viewable, according to the US’s Media Rating Councils’ (MRC) definitions.

“Ad viewability was identified as a key issue for AANA Members, their ambition to have a clear understanding of what is driving outcomes in digital campaigns. This paper also seeks to inform marketers about viewability and to equip them to take forward a conversation with their media partners,’ said AANA chair of the Media Reference Group, Anneliese Douglass, also head of media and PR (ANZ) at Unilever.

“In an ideal world all ads would be viewable. It would provide a level playing field and point of comparison between the performance of different digital media and against other forms of media.  However, the AANA recognises that the Australian market needs to move towards this goal in line with technology developments on the publishers’ side,” said AANA CEO, Sunita  Gloster.

“We also recognise that each business will be at a different stage in this journey, with different levels of resource available to address the challenge.  It comes down to what is the right approach for their business.”