Advertising inextricably links art and data. One can’t stand without the other, presenting a house-of-cards if one is out of synch.

While digital advertising is on the rise, viewability issues threatened to discredit the medium. Marketers have spent upwards of $10 billion annually -- about a third of total paid content -- on ads that never saw the light of a pupil, unviewable because the content didn’t load properly and other structural problems.

As the Media Rating Council (MRC) readied to launch a new, more rigorous set of viewability measurement standards, it needed to scale the mountain of industry acceptance and adoption. Talking measurement is mundane so it had to be done in a way that would compel advertisers to take notice and more importantly, take action.

Using quirky 30-second video PSAs shared through social, 3MS and the MRC changed the conversation around viewability. The films used simple allegories about failed message delivery – a graffiti artist using white-on-white, a banner ad over a winter beach – then directed viewers to a new website to learn more about adopting the standards. PSAs and earned articles – bylines, interviews and features – were amplified through social channels to spark conversation, using #viewability and #measurementnow.

With no paid media, the campaign secured 1.1 billion impressions, reaching 3.7 million ad professionals through social and 882 articles, and interviews and bylines in publications such as Ad Week, Advertising Age, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Media Post, Forbes, and Digiday.

Creatively packaging this dry topic was critical to conveying that the new standards had arrived and should be taken seriously.

Video PSAs provided a simple, yet powerful, message: One-third of digital ads can’t be seen. The spots used metaphors like spray-painting white messages on a white wall and flying a banner over a beach in winter, and directed viewers to http://measurementnow.net as the go-to resource for understanding the new standards.

Videos were amplified through 3MS member organizations’ social channels, and the hashtags #viewability and #measurementnow were leveraged to extend reach. The spots were also featured at major industry events and conferences. Tremor Video, a large ad platform, donated inventory to run video on its network of premium sites (including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times) for three weeks.

Earned media appeared in business and trade publications featuring leaders from MRC as well as 4A’s, ANA, and IAB.

The campaign catapulted the issue of viewability to the front of the industry’s consciousness.

Starting in February 2014, with only five conversations related to viewability, a steady cadence of interviews, bylines and Q&A built momentum, peaking in June with 119 viewability articles that month alone.

With no budget for paid media, the program secured 1.1 billion impressions, reaching 3.7 million advertising people and leading to 18 ad-tech companies – from Google and Microsoft to comScore, Integral Ad Science and Yahoo – accredited to date.

We achieved 882 articles and bylines, including 30+ executive interviews in publications like Ad Week, Advertising Age, Agency Post, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Media Post, Forbes, and Digiday. Content underscored the importance and technical details of the standards while also positioning MRC as a leader and clear advocate.

PSA views totaled 3,796. The campaign website drew 137,599 page views, with 320 social posts.