The Digital Video Committee (DVC) at the IAB released VAST 2.0 in November 2009, wishing it would take the video advertising market a vast step forward. At first glance, the list of VAST 2.0 compliant companies might seem a bit slim so to set the record straight on adoption rate and where VAST really stands, here’s the latest lowdown.


Does today’s momentum reflect a good adoption rate for VAST? The list of VAST 2.0 ready companies seems a bit short, but when you consider the amount of players in the digital community, it’s important to remember that this list only includes companies that already implemented VAST 2.0 and overlooks those that are committed to incorporating VAST 2.0 by the end of 2010. Based on conversations with different parties in the video advertising market, we expect this list to look completely different within the next 9 months. From an adoption cycle perspective, it’s not surprising that a majority of the companies are technology vendors and ad networks as we expect them to be the early adopters of the VAST standards. The next step in the adoption chain will be for publishers. Just a few days ago, ADTECH – AOL advertising’s ad serving platform, announced it implemented both VAST and VPAID standards. Moreover, although the list is short we see that some key companies already implemented VAST 2.0. – Hopefully this will lead everyone else to follow.


Can we afford to take our time? Not really. As ad spending for in-stream video is expected to grow and more dollars are shifted from TV to digital channels, VAST and VPAID will play a critical role and the adoption of these standards will increase momentum.


With VAST and VPAID now published, there’s a small window of opportunity to build momentum and reach an adoption level that can open up the online video space. It is in our hands now…


What’s the word outside the US? Historically, the IABs in Europe adopted the IAB US standards. Just last month, the IAB’s video council in the UK, announced it had received the backing of publishers and broadcaster members to enforce the VAST 2.0. More specifically, UK publishers including BSkyB, Channel 4, Microsoft and Telegraph TV have already committed to incorporating the VAST 2.0 standards into their video players in 2010. The adoption from these publishers will result in increased investment from advertisers running campaigns across multiple sites as well as greater efficiency with online video advertising being trafficked and tracked like traditional online display. Get the skinny on the full list of companies in the UK committed to the initiative here. Furthermore, we suspect that global publishers (and technology vendors) like Yahoo will implement the VAST across different operating countries where in addition to the local IABs efforts in Europe, they will set the tone for standards.

Why should one bother to move from VAST 1.0 to 2.0? VAST 2.0 is a major upgrade and includes some significant changes in comparison to VAST 1.0. In a nut shell, the new standard provides enough flexibility to support the future and current business needs of the industry, while still providing a clear framework from a technical perspective. To learn more about the vast difference between the two standards versions click here.


Is there chance VAST 2.0 will not be adopted? The adoption of VAST 2.0 is a win-win for all parties in the video advertising ecosystem. With VAST, publishers can increase yield by using ad networks to sell unsold inventory and also reduce friction with buyers by allowing third-party ad tags within video players. For Ad Networks, they can more easily work with with new publishers without need for technical integration. For Agencies and Advertisers, this is a way to utilize existing investment in ad serving, reporting, and optimization tools. This also enables advertisers to gain deeper insights with metrics such as video completion rate, Dwell, sales leads s compared to clicks and impressions. Lastly, technology vendors can work towards building a single technical format vs. multiple proprietary standards.


Standardization is the best way to accelerate online video advertising and build a foundation that works for all industry partners. By 2011, the list of VAST 2.0 companies will tap into many players in the industry and reach partners all over the world.


Hava Kelman Eisenstein | Director of Product Planning