The definition, and its edges
There is no single governing definition of rich media, which is why the term is used so loosely. What exists instead is a set of standards for the things rich media does.
The useful working definition: a rich media ad contains its own code, so it can change state and measure engagement rather than only impressions and clicks. A banner that animates a GIF is not rich media. A banner that expands to a video player is.
In apps, the standard that governs it is MRAID, the mobile rich media interface definition, maintained by IAB Tech Lab. It is what lets an ad inside an app expand, resize, check viewability and open the store. Version 3.0 is the newest, with 2.0 and 1.0 kept as previous versions, and networks sit on different ones.
For interactive video the standard is SIMID, delivered alongside VAST and paired with OMID for measurement. It replaced VPAID, which is deprecated. If a spec sheet still asks for VPAID, it predates 2020.
So "rich media" is a commercial word and MRAID, VAST, SIMID and OMID are the technical ones. When a publisher quotes a rich media rate card, ask which of those it actually means.
The units people mean by it
Four shapes cover nearly all rich media inventory.
Expandable
Starts at banner size and opens over the page on tap. The original rich media unit and still the most common on display.
In-banner video
A video player inside a display slot. Bought as display, measured as video, which is why its reporting is usually a mess.
Interstitial and full-screen
Takes the whole screen between states of an app. The slot playables run in, which is why MRAID governs both.
Carousel and interactive end card
Multiple products or frames the viewer moves through. The end card version is the highest-converting part of most video buys.
Rich media against a playable
A playable is a rich media unit, which is the source of most of the confusion. The difference is what the code does.
Rich media code manages the ad: it expands the unit, plays the video, tracks the engagement. Playable code runs a game. Both ship as HTML inside an MRAID container, and both are capped around 5MB by the networks that take them.
That shared container is why the two formats keep appearing on the same spec sheets, and why a playable built for one network fails on another over the same single line of click handling. The per-network caps and calls are on playable ad specs.
The practical difference is who builds it. A rich media unit comes out of a display tool or an ad server template, often in hours. A playable is an engineering job measured in days, which is the gap what a playable ad costs sets out.
If you want the format that demos a product rather than decorates a slot, you want a playable. If you want reach on display inventory with better reporting than a static banner, rich media is the answer.
Rich media at its most committed
A playable is the fullest form of a rich media unit. These are real ones, mirrored whole and running here.
PlayableFarkle“Board, published by FunCraft, Inc”A whole dice game inside an MRAID container
PlayableHexago“Match / merge, published by Tripledot Studios”One mechanic, inlined into a single file
PlayableBest Friends“Match / merge, published by Playtika LTD”Match, built to the same 5MB ceiling
PlayableFlambe“Match / merge, published by Microfun Limited”Merge, with the end card doing the asking
The video inside the unit
Most rich media is a frame around a video, and the video is the part that has to keep changing.
Director by Sprites is a full creative team for your startup, in private beta. Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human.
Strategy, hooks, scripts, shooting and editing, end to end. You never write a prompt. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.
Every video is checked by a person before it reaches your inbox. No endless revisions.
Questions
What is rich media in advertising?
An ad unit that contains its own code, so it can change state and report engagement rather than only impressions and clicks. An expandable banner is rich media; an animated GIF banner is not.
What is the difference between rich media and a standard banner?
The code. A standard banner is an image or an animation with a click. A rich media unit can expand, play video, hold a carousel and measure what the viewer did inside it.
Which standard governs rich media ads?
In apps it is MRAID, maintained by IAB Tech Lab, whose newest version is 3.0. For interactive video it is SIMID alongside VAST, with OMID for measurement, which replaced the deprecated VPAID.
Is a playable ad rich media?
Yes. A playable ships as HTML inside the same MRAID container, under the same roughly 5MB cap. The difference is that its code runs a game rather than managing the ad.
Keep going
Want the video inside your units made?
Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human. You never write a prompt. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.