The NYC-HQ’d Interactive Advertising Bureau released guidelines for measuring rich media ads in the US yesterday. The guidelines apply to ads the user can interact with, as opposed to ads that are merely animated, including transitional and over-the-page units such as floating ads, page take-overs and tear-backs.

The guidelines determine at which point an ad impression is counted. In keeping with IAB’s global ad impression guidelines, measurement is recorded as late as possible in the delivery of creative material to the user’s browser, as close as possible to the user’s actual viewing of the material.

Brian Fitzpatrick, IAB Canada vice-chairman and managing partner and director of MindShare Interaction, tells MiC his organization released its own rich media guidelines last summer.

‘IAB Canada has done work on our own set of guidelines for Canada,’ he says. ‘[They’re] tuned to what the US is doing, but there may be some small differences. For example, we’ve got a very strong broadband environment up here, so there may be some variations in file sizes and things like that. But because we’re aware of how North America is linked together, we have similar guidelines.’

Those interested in learning more about the new guidelines are invited to a webinar hosted by the IAB Rich Media Ad Measurement Working Group on Jan. 23, from 4 to 5 pm EST. For more information and to register, click here (http://www.iab.net/rich_media_measurement).

To view the IAB Canada guidelines, click here (http://www.iabcanada.com/standards/cuap2.shtml).

To view the US guidelines, click here (www.iab.net/campaign_measurement_audit).