MRC rules mobile and desktop viewability are equal
As part of its  mobile viewability study, the US Media Rating Council (MRC) has found that, on average, mobile ads take five seconds to load. It opines that mobile viewability must be measured equally to desktop viewability, a decision that has ramifications for digital marketers looking to maximise customer engagement. In real terms this means ensuring half of all mobile ads are visible to the user for one second and video ads for at least two seconds. Data shows that users interact with a mobile ad a second and half after it appears and two to three seconds for a video ad; this is considered to be near the goal load times set by marketers. There is also the challenge of deciding whether a mobile ad has loaded or been served to the user.

A week after issuing its first set of guidelines about mobile viewability, George Ivie, CEO and executive director of the Media Rating Council, explained what the changes mean for marketers during a presentation at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Mobile Marketplace conference today.

Per the MRC's draft (which is open for public feedback until April 30), mobile viewability should be measured the same as desktop viewability. That means that 50 percent of mobile display needs to be in view for one second, and video ads need to be in view for two seconds.