According to a story on Digiday, advertisers can now buy ads across the Guardian’s various properties in guaranteed time slots of 10 to 30 seconds. The news brand claims the slots will remain 100% in-view; the overarching aim of the approach is to deliver more effective ads. 

The Guardian has followed the Financial Time and the Economist in taking this approach to bill ads by time, the theory being that buying ads based on number of impressions doesn't necessarily translate to an effective campaign and can lead to clients paying for ads that are never seen. 

The Economist is the first advertiser to take advantage of the offer, running a digital display ad campaign until September. 

“It’s part of our fewer, better ads strategy, and it develops our thinking that not all ad impressions are the same,” Nick Hewat, commercial director at the Guardian was quoted as saying.

“This isn’t a one-off problem solver; it’s part of an ongoing objective to deliver more tangible results for our clients.”