WebProNews

The Online Publishers Association (OPA) announced Tuesday a new initiative aimed at boosting creative advertising on the Internet that meets the needs of marketers by better integrating their messages.

Starting in July, online publishers including ESPN, Forbes.com, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, will start using one of three new ad units that are larger in size than traditional online ads.

Pam Horan
OPA President

"Agencies are looking for new ways to integrate their clients' brand experiences with more interactivity on the page, and these new units provide a way for them to accomplish this while capitalizing on the halo effect of the high-quality media brands," said Pam Horan, president of OPA.

The proposed new advertising units are:

•  The Fixed Panel (recommended dimension is 336 wide x 860 tall), which looks naturally embedded into the page layout and scrolls to the top and bottom of the page as a user scrolls.
•  The XXL Box (recommended dimension is 468 wide x 648 tall), which has page-turn functionality with video capability.
•  The Pushdown (recommended dimension is 970 wide x 418 tall), which opens to display the advertisement and then rolls up to the top of the page.

The OPA also outlined three other key objectives related to the new ad types. The objectives include providing a greater share of voice for the advertiser, introduce a measurement to capture impact and increase engagement with the ads.