Old news, maybe, but I’m just digging into Google’s support for mobile image ads now. It’s ruffled some feathers – see here for an example – because Google’s standards don’t mesh with the Mobile Marketing Association’s own recently-announced standards.
In particular, Google’s decided not to go with a standard aspect ratio, which the MMA is promoting heavily. Due to the variation in mobile handset screen size, a lot of mobile image ads are automatically resized so they can display correctly on whatever handset makes the call to the ad server – the MMA recommends an aspect ratio of either 6:1 or 4:1, so the largest ads (300×50, 300×75) can be resized to the smallest (120×20, 120×30). Google’s sizes (305×64, 215×34, 192×53, and 167×30) have no constant aspect ratio – instead, the dimensions seem to be chosen to support popular handsets.
Looks like a misstep to me, since I don’t think mobile advertising is mature enough to compel advertisers and ad agencies to make multiple banners, even for Google. Especially when the banners can’t be used broadly elsewhere because they’re not to the 6:1 or 4:1 standard.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting. I’m compelled to believe that google has a reason for going the direction they have….they’re typically cognizant of existing standards because they realize it’s in their own interest to do so…… this sounds like a calculated move as opposed to a misstep….but we’ll see….
Personally, I suspect Google’s just picked heights (and therefore aspect ratios) that match the height of its text ads for certain popular screen wdiths, so they can serve text and image ads interchangeably.
In this case, what’s best for display ads is subordinated to what already exists for text ads. And therefore the mistake.
I never really thought Google ‘got’ display although obviously the DoubleClick acquisition changes that.
While I do agree with your suggestions in regards to Google Ads on the mobile device, perhaps Android will change things.
I would love to hear your thoughts on what admob.com is doing.