RICHMEDIAMOBILEADVERTISING
WHITEPAPER        MARCH8,2010

Contributors:

WiththesupportoftheMMA’’sMobileAdvertisingcommitteethefollowingcompaniesprovided
contributiontothiswhitepaper:

    

      

      

This White Paper has been created by members of the Mobile Marketing Association and intended to
provideinsightintoanewemergingareaoffocus.ItshouldnotbeconsideredMMApolicynoristherea
guaranteethatanyideascontainedherewillbeincludedinfutureMMAGuidelines,BestPracticesand
Standards.

TocontributetothecreationoffutureWhitepapersorMMAGuidelinesandBestPracticespleaseemail
committees@mmaglobal.com.
INTRODUCTION
ThepurposeofthiswhitepaperistoeducatetheindustryabouttheRichMediaMobileAdunitsthatare
availableforuseinmobileadvertising.Thiswhitepaperincludesdefinitions,attributesandexamplesof
Rich Media Mobile Advertising that are currently being used in the marketplace.  The scope of this
whitepaperdoesnotincludebrandedRichMediaApplicationsandGames.

ThiswhitepaperisintendedtoencourageexperimentationwithRichMediaMobileAdUnits,andinvites
companies to share best practices with the MMA’’s Mobile Advertising Committee to influence future
RichMediaMobileAdvertisingGuidelines.


MARKETSIZEANDGROWTHTRENDS
TheMMA’’s2009USMobileMarketingIndustrySurveyestimatedthatadvertiserswillspendabout$1.7
billiononMobileMarketingin2009,growingto$2.16billionin2010.















In the U.S., in the fourth quarter of 2009, an average of 19% of mobile advertisers used Rich Media
MobileAdUnits 1 .Ashighlyinteractiveandfeaturerichsmartphonescontinuetodominatenewmobile
device sales, Rich Media Mobile Ad Units will comprise an everͲgrowing portion of the Mobile
AdvertisementdisplaymarketintheU.S.andaroundtheworld.


1
InformationsitedfromMillennialMedia’’sS.M.A.R.Treport,December2009.



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RICHMEDIAMOBILEADVERTISING 


a. Definition(MMA):ARichMediaMobileAdUnitisaninteractiveand/ornonͲinteractiveadunit
displayedonamobilewebpageand/orinamobileapplicationthatoffersoneormoreofthefollowing:

i. inclusionofstreamingvideocontentoranimatedGIF 1 withintheadunit
ii. inclusionofsound
iii. aricherinteractivefeaturesetthanbasicmobileclickͲthrough.Thisinteractivefeatureset
includesuserinteractionthatoccursthroughinputotherthana““click””or““tap””(i.e.useof
thegyroscope,accelerometer,camera,microphone,GPS,etc.)

b. TypesofRichMediaMobileAds

i. Expandable: An interactive formatwhich allows for the mobile ad unit to expand from the
traditional mobile banner size to a larger size. This format is inͲline with content in the
unexpanded state and then placed on top of existing content when expanded. Expanded
formatsincludebothexpansionupandexpansiondownfromtheinitialclosedposition.
ii. Interactive:Anadunitthatrequiresuseractiontoinitiate/activate/executetheadunit.
iii. Sound:  An ad unit that outputs a sound with or without user interaction. Note that an ad
unitrequiringsoundinputisconsideredanInteractiveadunit.
iv. Animated: An ad unit that displays changing graphical content through the use of
technologiesincludingvideooranimatedfileformats(i.e.Flash,Java,GIF,etc……)
v. Floating: An interactive or nonͲinteractive ad unit that anchors to the screen as the user
scrollsthroughthemobileapplicationormobilewebpage.

c. MobileRichMediaAdUnitInitialPlacements


Table1:MMARichMediaMobileAdUnitClassificationMatrix 2
 Placement
Integrated Banner Interstitial 3 /Prestitial
Interactive X X X
MobileRich

Floating X 
Typesof

X
Media

Expandable X X 
Video/Animated X X X
Sound X X X
Thematrixabove(Table1)describesthetypesofMobileRichMediaAdunitsandthepossibleplacementonthemobiledevice’’sscreen.

1
TheguidelinesforRichMediaMobileAdUnitscontaininganimatedGIFareincludedasasupplementaladunitintheMMA’’sMobileAdvertisingGuidelines.
Theguidelinescanbefoundhere:http://mmaglobal.com/mobileadvertising.pdf

2
NotethatTypesofRichMediaMobileAdscanbecombinedintoplacements.(i.e.Expandablebannerwithvideo,Interactivefloatingbanner,oran
InterstitialInteractivewithsoundadunit)Placementscannotbecombinedinthematrix.

3
AccordingtotheMMAAdGuidelines,aninterstitial(fullpage)adshouldonlyoccurwithinanApplication,MobileVideoorMMS.



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 d. MobileRichMediaExamples
Table2:RichMediaMobileAdExamples
FloatingBannerAdUnit ExpandableBannerAdUnit ExpandableBannerAdUnitwithVideo
(CourtesyofCrispWireless) (CourtesyofTheWeatherChannel) (CourtesyofEyewonder)
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
This banner ad unit utilizes fixed Thisbanneradunitutilizestheexpansion This banner ad unit expands from 300x50 to
ad placement technology. feature. The ad unit starts out preͲ 300x300. Once the user engages the ad unit to
Characteristics include having a expanded and automatically collapses view the video, the ad unit directs the user to
fixed position on the screen, after5seconds.Expandedsizeis300x250. thenativevideoplayeronthemobiledevice.
disappears when the user is Collapsed size is 300x50. Collapse and
scrolling and reappears when expand controls are made available via
stopped. It engages theconsumer the textͲlink located under the unit.
withoutdisruptingbrowsing. Frequency capping is employed to limit
exposure.
InterstitialInteractiveAdUnit(CourtesyofGreystripe)



Thisinterstitialadunitcanbeseeninmobileapplications.Theuserisencouragedtointeractwiththeadunitthroughplayinga
game.Theadunitwillthengivetheusertheoptiontoclickouttovideo,orvisittheadvertisementslandingpage.
Prestitial(PreRoll)InteractiveAdExample(CourtesyofRhythmNewMedia)









Inthisfullscreenadunit,thePreͲrolladplaysbeforetheprofessionalcontent.Theicon‘‘i’’leadsviewerto‘‘tap’’orinteractwith
thevideo.Oncetheuserengagestheadunit,optionswillappeartowatchadditionalvideoswithintheadunitorvisitthe
website.



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 Expandable/Interactive/Video/SoundBannerAdUnit(CourtesyofMedialets)


ThisInteractiveVideoAdUnitsstartsoffasastandardbannersize.Onetheuseractivatesthebanner,theadunitexpandstoafull
pagevideo.Theusercantheninteractwiththevideobyutilizingthegyroscope(motion)feature,therebychangingthevideo
content.Atanytime,theusercanviewtheoptionsto““ViewAlbumInfo””,““CloseAd””,or““ShaketoEditVideo””.

TECHNICALCONSIDERATIONS
a. BannerAdUnitSizes

The recommended universal Mobile Web Banner Ad widths are 120, 168, 216 and 300 pixels.
DetailedstandardadunitsizescanbefoundintheMMA’’sMobileAdvertisingGuidelinesdocument
(http://mmaglobal.com/mobileadvertising.pdf)andarelistedbelowforeasyreference:

MobileWebBannerAdUnitsin6:1AspectRatio:
o 300x50|216x36|168x28|120x20

MobileWebBannerAdUnitsin4:1AspectRatio:
o 300x75|216x54|168x42|120x30

b. Interstitial/PrestitialAdUnitSizes

TherecommendedInterstitialAdwidthsarealso120,168,216and300pixels.Detailedstandardad
unit sizes can be found in the MMA’’s Mobile Advertising Guidelines document
(http://mmaglobal.com/mobileadvertising.pdf)andarelistedbelowforeasyreference:

x XͲLargeMobileApplicationImage(width300pixels)
x LargeMobileApplicationImage(width216pixels)
x MediumMobileApplicationImage(width168pixels)
x SmallMobileApplicationImage(width120pixels)

Respective heights are according to the aspect ratio selected. The recommended aspect ratios
include16:9and4:3ratios,andalsoa1:1(square)ratio.


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 c. FileSizes

Suggestedinitialloadfilesizesare20KB.50KBMaxLoad.

d. ProgrammingLanguages

RichMediaAdUnitsmayincludethefollowingtechnologies:Java,JavaScript,DHTML,andFlash.

e. DeviceDetection

Devicedetectionisavailabletorecognizethescreensizeandcapabilitiesofahandsetincludinghigh
speeddataandWiͲFi.Thisprovidesabetteruserexperience.

DESIGNCONSIDERATIONS
a. UserTermination

Toimprovetheuserexperience,theusershouldbeabletoterminatetheRichMediaMobileAdUnit
afterinitiatinginteractioneitherthroughaterminationorclosebutton.Theterminationorclosebutton
shouldbeclearlydisplayedwithintheAdUnit.

i. CloseButton:Onceaclosebuttonisselectedonanexpanded,floatingorinterstitialad,the
adunitshouldreturntoitsoriginaldimensionssoastonotcauseanobstructedviewofthe
mobilewebpageand/ormobileapplication.

ii. Skipbutton:InthecaseofRichMediaMobileInterstitialAdUnits,theskipbuttonwill““skip””
theadunitandcontinuetothenextpageordestination.

b. AssetRendering

Forthebestenduserexperience,assetsinanypartoftheRichMediaadunitshouldnotrenderuntilall
ofitscomponentassetsareloaded.

c. ClickͲThrough/MobileAnalytics

The ad unit may contain click through (i.e. Click to locate, click to purchase, etc.) ClickͲthrough is an
interactionwhichleadstheusertoaseparatemicrosite.Example:Ifausermakesapurchasefromthe
adunitdirectly,itisnotgenerallyconsideredaclickͲthroughbutauniquetypeofinteraction.Iftheuser
clickstogotoamicrositetomakeapurchase,thenaclickͲthroughmayberecorded.



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