IAB Releases In-Image Advertising Primer

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and its Image-Based Advertising Working Group have released the In-Image Advertising Primer, which they say offers a “comprehensive overview of this burgeoning ad type, often leveraged in native advertising campaigns.”

According to the IAB, in-image ads allow relevant ads to be inserted within digital images and can take several forms – from display and product information overlaid on photos to videos or rich media that appear when users hover or click on the ad.

The paper illustrates in-image advertising’s effectiveness through case studies with advertisers including Activision, Cat’s Pride, Garnier, Mazda and the Northwest Dealer Group. Each demonstrates increases in key areas, such as brand lift, click-through rates, engagement and time spent, the IAB says.

The IAB says the paper also includes research that shows in-image campaigns focused on driving brand lift for awareness generate an average rise of 37 percent, which is nearly three times the industry average, according to Nielsen Online Brand Effect norms.

In addition, the primer stresses that all stakeholders in the in-image advertising value chain need to put safeguards in place to ensure ads do not appear on inappropriate photos, the IAB says.

“This paper is an essential first step toward informing brands about how they can harness the power of images,” said Tony Winders, senior vice president of marketing at GumGum and chair of the IAB Image-Based Advertising Working Group, in a statement. “Consumers are clearly drawn to visual content and research shows they are more likely to view and engage with ads when they are overlaid on that content. In-image advertising has proven its ability to capitalize on these facts – in turn benefitting marketers that incorporate it into their campaign strategies.”

The IAB says it is comprised of more than 600 media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86 percent of online advertising in the U.S.