At STN Video, high-quality, contextually relevant content has always reigned supreme. For years our publishers have reaped the benefits by using our expansive catalog of premium content to boost user engagement by matching their articles with the most relevant piece of content utilizing STN’s Smart Match™ AI-powered technology.
This is now more important than ever as we are seeing widespread adoption of the IAB’s video formats. The new video.plcmt classification goes into full effect in 2024 and is already being broadly adopted across SSPs, with Google making the official announcement earlier this week. Previously all video inventory on the web was more or less classified as in-stream inventory, garnering high CPMs regardless of the type or quality of the content in the video player. As we are sure you’re well aware, the guidelines require a more granular approach to this classification, requiring publishers and supply partners (such as STN Video) to classify their inventory accordingly.
The new IAB classifications include the following:
In-stream: Video content must be the primary focus of the page or explicitly requested by users, such as with a click-to-play player.
Accompanying content: Video content starts in the body of the page and/or is not the primary focus. It must be muted.
As with past large industry shifts, adoption across major players has been slow, and a general concern from publishers about the potential impact on CPMs and overall revenue. To limit the impact on publishers, STN is compliant with the new IAB classifications and is here to strategically support our partners with our rich content catalog and SSP to prevent diminishing returns. The STN platform is configurable to adopt to different environments and we create as much premium inventory for our publishers as possible to enrich the users’ experience.
STN generates, every year, a significant level of premium demand with CPMs significantly higher than open programmatic demand. The new IAB classification reinforces what we’ve known for years. Brands will pay a premium CPM to reach their audience in a premium contextually relevant environment.
If you require guidance on how to navigate through the new IAB classifications, please contact us for support.
