Step by Step: Atlas In-Stream Video Companion Banners
Adding Atlas In-Stream Video Companion Banners
In-Stream Video can be used to deliver in-player video ads, such as conventional pre-rolls, mid-rolls, and also in-banner video ads.
In the past, if your video ad was combined with a companion banner, you had two distinct ads. A video ad and two companion banners meant three distinct ads, and so forth.
With the advent of Atlas In-Stream (AIS) Video technology, however, companion banners—JPEGs and .swf files—are no longer considered separate ads. In effect, AIS now treats your video ads and companion banners as one single ad. Accordingly, Atlas serves and tracks this combination as if it were one single ad.
The following steps show you how to add companion banners. You can add up to, and including, nine companion banners to your video ad.
Before you add companion banners, however, your videos must be in digital format. If your videos are already in digital format, you can upload them and create an ad as easily as with any other creative. If you have tapes that are not yet encoded into digital format, Atlas can encode the tapes and upload the files for you. Refer to the "Tape Requirements" section in the Source Video Guide for more information.
Adding Companion Banners
Upload digital video files
A) Access the Upload Video File screen by using the steps below.
- Select the advertiser with which you want to work.
The Advertiser screen displays. - From the Creative Management menu, select Search Creative.
The Search Creative screen displays. - From the Management menu, select Create In-Stream Video Ad.
The Upload Video File screen displays.
B.) Prepare the digital files for uploading by using the steps below.
- Click Browse to the right of one of the blank fields listed. Check the list of accepted files to ensure that your video uploads correctly.
- Select an aspect ratio of either 4:3 or 16:9.
Note: The standard, most-often-used ratio is 4:3. The ratio 16:9 is for widescreen format.
C.) Click Upload.
AIS transcodes your files into several formats suitable for serving. This might take a few seconds or a few minutes. You can perform other tasks in Media Console while your files are being transcoded. Once your files are transcoded, you can continue creating your AIS video ad.
Once a video file is completely transcoded, you are ready to add companion banners. Follow the steps below.
- From the Upload Video File screen, click View Uploaded Videos.
- Select an uploaded video.
A List Transcoded Video screen displays.
- Click Change Companion Banners.
A Companion Banners screen displays.
You can add up to, and including, twelve companion banners to your video ad:
- 300x250 JPEG
- 728x90 JPEG
- 234x60 JPEG
- 88x31 JPEG
- 180x150 JPEG
- 160x600 JPEG
- 300x240 JPEG
- 300x100 JPEG
- 300x60 JPEG
- 468x60 JPEG
- Custom 1 (JPEG format)
- Custom 2 (.swf format)
Important: You must ensure that you have the correct specifications regarding the size of your ad and regarding the size of your companion banners for a given publisher’s Web site. Refer to the publisher’s advertising specifications and standards, accordingly.
If the size companion banner that you choose does not match your choice—say, you choose a 160x600 JPEG for the 300x250 JPEG option—the following Generic Error Message displays:
Note: The Custom 2 (.swf) companion-banner option can include any SWF file, subject to publisher restrictions and the file-size limits in your contract. However, this SWF option does not provide any special tracking capabilities (that is, it does not use the Atlas Rich Media tracking toolkit). If you want to track events in this SWF, you must insert your own stand-alone tracking code into the SWF prior to uploading it into Atlas.
- Choose one, or a combination, of the companion-banner options by using Browse.
- When you are finished selecting your companion banners, click Upload at the top of the screen.
