VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) tags are lean and reliable, but do not support interactivity. VPAID (Video Player-Ad Interface Definition) tags do support interactivity, more detailed tracking, and advanced analytics.
The VAST Service is where you manage your ad creatives (the video files that will be served as ads) and generate the tags that ad servers use to request and display them.
To get started, head over to Ad Services and click VAST Service on the left side menu, as highlighted below.
1.0 | Upload creative
There are several ways to upload a creative:
- Drag and drop a video file into the area beneath “Local Upload”.
- Click “Select Files” and select the desired video file.
- Import a video using a direct video file URL.
2.0 | Manage your creatives
Select an item to edit metadata, set up an endscreen for your campaign, access the Interactive Ads Studio, generate tags and access reporting.
2.1 | Edit metadata
To edit your creative’s metadata, either double click or click the Edit button here:
On the detail page, you can configure the following fields:
General
- Title: the name of the creative (required).
- Description: an optional description.
- Click-through URL: the URL a viewer is taken to when clicking the ad.
- Third-party tracking URLs: add one or more event trackers to fire tracking pixels to external ad servers or analytics platforms when specific playback events occur. Each tracker consists of an event type and a URL. Supported event types are: start, click tracking, first quartile, midpoint, third quartile, complete, skip, mute, unmute, rewind, pause, resume, fullscreen, and exit fullscreen.
- Project: the selected project’s interactivity will be loaded together with the creative’s interactivity for SIMID and VPAID tags.
VPAID Settings
Also on this page, the VPAID Settings section controls playback behaviour for your creative:
- Clickable end-screen: tick this if you want the endscreen to be clickable at the end of the ad.
- Should replay: if enabled, the creative will play once more after it finishes.
- Should loop: if enabled, the creative will restart and play indefinitely after it finishes.
OMID Settings
Open Measurement (OMID) allows third-party vendors to independently verify ad viewability and measurement. You can add one or more Ad Verification entries, each consisting of:
- Vendor: the verification vendor identifier.
- Script URL: the URL of the verification script to load.
- Parameters: optional parameters to pass to the verification script.
2.2 | Endscreen
An endscreen is a static image or frame displayed to the viewer after the ad finishes playing. It typically contains a call-to-action or branding element.
2.3 | React
Create a React page to share your VAST item with internal stakeholders. Learn more about React pages.
2.4 | Tags
Click on the Tags tab to generate a VAST, VPAID or SIMID tag.
You can preview the clip in the current window, or open the VAST Inspector to test your VAST/VPAID/SIMID tag in a live environment.
2.5 | Add or edit interactivity
Click the Add Interactivity or Edit Interactivity to access the Interactive Studio.
Learn more about adding interactivity to your creative.
2.6 | Show engagement
Click Show Engagement to access the creative’s statistics.
4.0 | VAST Inspector
Using the VAST Inspector tool, you can test how your VAST tag will behave in the Blue Billywig Player in various positions. The player will log both its own events and those reported by the IMA (Google’s Interactive Media Ads SDK, which handles VAST parsing and ad rendering). It will also attempt to hit any tracking URLs specified in the VAST tag. Enter a VAST URL or XML into the inspector, configure your position and test your ad.
Access the VAST Inspector here.