Digital Video Ads, VAST, and VPAID

Linear Video Ads

Experienced In-Stream, which is presented before, between, or after the video content is consumed by the user. One of the key characteristics of Linear video ads is the ad takes over the full view of the video.

Replays

Refers to the number of times a user requested to see the video ad again (where available)

Quartile reporting

Refers to whether the video played to its 25% and 75% points.

Contextual Ads

Existing contextual ad engines deliver text and image ads to non-video content pages. Ads are matched to keywords extracted from content. Advertisers can leverage existing keyword-based paid search campaigns and gain access to a larger audience. 3rd party publishers receive a share of the revenue collected from the advertisers.

Companion Ad

--> Both Linear and Non-linear Video ad products have the option of pairing their core video ad product with what is commonly referred to as companion ads. Commonly text, display ads, rich media, or skins that wrap around the video experience, can run alongside either or both the video or ad content. The primary purpose of the Companion Ad product is to offer sustained visibility of the sponsor throughout the video content experience. Companion Ads may offer click-through interactivity and rich media experiences such as expansion of the ad for further engagement opportunities.

VMAP is recommended when

--> The ad server generally has first right to all ad inventory within the video program. Often this party is the producer of, or owns rights to the video content --> The ad server has the right to control the structure of the video ad inventory within the video content, including the number and placements of ad breaks and the use of each ad break (i.e. number of ads allowed within the ad break, the allocation of video ad inventory to advertisers or other parties for resale, etc.). --> The ad server does not have the right to control the inventory within the video content, but does have the right to prescribe how the video ad inventory is used (again, number of ads allowed in each ad break, allocation of ad breaks to advertisers or other parties, etc.) NOTE: VMAP is not a replacement for VAST. --> VMAP is used to express the structure the ad inventory as a set of timed ad breaks within a publisher's video content. --> VAST (either contained within the VMAP response or by referencing another source) is used to express the ad or ads that are to fill a particular ad break.

Bumper Ad

--> Usually refers to a linear video ad with clickable call-to-action; format is usually shorter than full linear ads (i.e. 3-10 seconds) and call-to-action usually can load another video or can bring up a new site while pausing the content.

Bug

A persistent, graphical element that appears in the video environment. Clicking on it will take the user to a website.

Post-roll

A Linear video spot that appears after the video content completes.

Pre-roll

A Linear video spot that appears before the video content plays

Mid-roll

A Linear video spot that appears in the middle of the video content.

VAST Tag

A URI that returns a VAST response when called.

In-Line Ad

A VAST ad response that contains all the information needed to display the video ad. No additional calls to other ad servers are needed after a VAST InLine ad response is received.

VAST Redirect

A VAST ad response that points to another VAST response (sometimes referred to as the downstream VAST response)

Overlay ad

A banner ad that appears in the bottom 20% of the video window. Click action initiates a Linear video spot or takes the user to a website. Sold on a CPM and CPC basis.

Overlay Ad

A nonlinear ad format in which an image or text displays on top of video content. Overlay ads are commonly referred to as simply "nonlinear ads;" however nonlinear ads may also include non-overlay formats that are served within the video player but without covering any video content.

Invitation unit

A smallish still or animated graphic often overlays directly onto video content. Typically used as a less-intrusive initial call-to-action. Normally when a viewer clicks or interacts with the invitation graphic, they expand into the ad's full expression, which might be a simple auto-play video or an interactive experience.

Playlist

A structured list of ad breaks within video content

Ad Stitching

Ad stitching refers to a server-side ad insertion technology by which video ads are stitched to the video file before delivering the video content. In this way, video ads are fully integrated into the content video stream.

Rich media

Advertisements with which users can interact (as opposed to solely animation) in a web-page format. They may appear in ad formats such as banners and buttons, as well as transitionals (interstitials) and various over-the-page units such as fl oating ads, page take-overs, and tear backs.

Ready-to-serve files

Along with support for including the mezzanine file, VAST 4.0 provides guidance on providing three ready-to-serve video files, each at different quality levels, to ensure that a linear video ad can always play. The IAB Digital Video Ad Format Guidelines offers guidance on video file specifications for linear ads.

Non-linear Video Ads

An Non-linear Video ad product runs parallel to the video content so the user still has the option of viewing the content. Common Non-linear ad products include overlays which are shown directly over the content video itself, and product placements which are ads placed within the video content itself. Non-linear video ads can be delivered as text, graphical banners or buttons, or as video overlays.

Ad Pod

An ad Pod is sequence of Linear ads played back-to-back, like a commercial break with multiple ad spots on TV.

Hot Spot

An ad unit that is sold within the video content experience. Mouse action over the video highlights objects that can be clicked. The click action initiates a Linear video commercial or takes the user to a website.

Video Ad

Any ad displayed in the context of a video experience. A video experience may include in-banner video, in-text video, in-stream video and other formats. VAST applies only to in-stream video where a video player is used to manage the video experience independent of any other content. For example, video served within an ad banner is considered rich media and is NOT addressed in the VAST guideline.

Metadata

Business-critical data such as advertiser name, eCPM goal, format and version information.

Full screen views

Refers to the number of impressions where the video was played in full screen mode (where available)

Completes

Completes refer to whether the video played to completion.

Sponsorship graphics

Components that are displayed as very persistent graphics such as with a player surrounding skin. Sponsorship graphics are generally displayed throughout the entirety of the content play. Sometimes the sponsorship graphic remains interactive and will behave like an invitation unit allowing viewers to explore deeper ad units such as the embedded interactive.

User-Generated Video (UGV)

Content created by the public at large and directly loaded to a site like YouTube or MySpace

Sourced Video

Content generated by a third party (typically professional) and will denote the source. An example may be a new car review provided by General Motors but hosted on CarTV.com.

Syndicated Video

Content sourced from a professional third party, examples may include syndicated television shows, news footage from AP or Reuters, etc.

Journalistic Video

Content that was shot and used by the actual publisher. MSNBC journalist shooting a video and using the video for their own purposes.

In-Text Video Ads

Delivered from highlighted words and phrases within the text of web content. The ads are user activated and delivered only when a user chooses to move their mouse over a relevant word or phrase.

In-Page Video Ads

Delivered most often as a stand alone video ad and do not generally have other content associated with them. This format is typically home page or channel based and depends on real estate within the page dedicated for the video player.

<AdBreak> element

Each <AdBreak> element represents a single ad break, but may allow for multiple ads. Each <AdBreak> includes the following attributes: --> timeOffset: required to represent the timing for the ad break. Values for this attribute can be represented in one of four ways: -----> time: in the format hh:mm:ss or hh:mm:ss.mmm where .mmm is milliseconds and is optional. The time value is offset from the start of the video content to the placement of the ad break in the video content timeline. -----> percentage: if the duration of the video content is unknown, a percentage (in the format n% where "n" is a value from 0-100) can be entered and represents a percentage of the total video content duration from the start up to the point where the ad break should be entered. -----> start/end: for ad breaks that are inserted at the very start or end of the video content. -----> position: In cases where the timing of ad breaks is unknown (such as with live content), positional values can be entered in the format #m where "m" is an integer of 1 or greater and represents the ad break opportunity. --> breakType: required to identify whether the ad break allows "linear", "nonlinear"or "display" ads. Display break types map to VAST companion ads. This attribute ensures that only intended ad types are accepted, that the video player displays ad breaks appropriate for viewer controls, and that the video player can optimize video content playback dependent on the ad types being displayed (such as pausing content at the start of a linear ad to ensure precise timing). -->breakId: An optional string identifier for the ad break. --> repeatAfter: An option used to distribute ad breaks equally spaced apart from one another along a linear timeline. If used, the value is time in the format hh:mm:ss or HH:MM:SS.mmm and indicates that the video player should repeat the same <AdBreak> break (using the same <AdSource>) at time offsets equal to the duration value of this attribute. Should a conflict occur where the duration of an ad break overlaps with a repeating ad break, the ad break scheduled to play first should take precedence while the overlapping ad break is ignored. Since an <AdSource> can be a VAST Wrapper to an ad server or ad network, the ads played in a repeated ad break may not be the same at each point. Each <adBreak> element may contain any of the following elements: --> <AdSource>: Identifies the ads to be displayed in an ad break, either with an ad response inline or by referencing an ad response in another system. --> <TrackingEvents>: Provides the tracking URIs for events specific to VMAP. --> <Extensions>: Can be used to express additional information not supported in the VMAP specification.

Master Ad

For video ad campaigns that include an in-stream ad plus one or more Companion ads, the in-stream portion of the ad unit is referred to as the master ad. In this master-companion relationship, the master ad must always be shown.

IPTV

Generally refers to video programming offered by telecom companies over copper wire. Often misused to refer to PC-based video.

Premier Programming

Gives users professionally produced content, generally, re-purposed from Broadcast Video and Cable Networks. There is a large amount of professionally produced video that has not been digitized but is quickly working its way online.

VAST (Video Ad Serving Template)

IAB-defined XML document format describing an ad unit to be displayed in, over, or around a Video Player. Layering VPAID onto VAST offers an enhanced solution. VPAID establishes a common communication protocol between video players and ad units that allows a single "executable ad" (one that requires software logic to be executed as part of ad playback) to be displayed in-stream with the publisher's video content, in any compliant video player. Furthermore, it enables the executable ad unit to expect and rely upon a common set of functionality from the video player. VPAID enables the video player to expect and rely upon a common set of functionality from the executable ad unit. The significance is that advertisers using VPAID ads can provide rich ad experiences for viewers and collect ad playback and interaction details that are just as rich as the ad experience.

Wrapper

In the context of VAST, a Wrapper is a response that provides a URI that the video player uses to call a secondary VAST response. The secondary response may be either another Wrapper or a VAST InLine response.

In-Banner Video Ads

Leverage the banner space to deliver a video experience as opposed to another static or rich media format. The format relies on the existence of display ad inventory on the page for its delivery.

Macro

Macros are strings of text that the ad server replaces with other strings of text according to a set of rules. They can be included in any code that's processed by the ad server during the delivery process. Sometimes ad servers would like to collect metadata from the video player when tracking event URIs are accessed. For example, the position of the video player playhead at the time a tracking event URI is accessed is useful to the ad server and is data that can only be known at the time of the prescribed tracking event. This data cannot be built into the URI at the time the VAST response is built and served. The following macros enable the video player to provide certain details to the ad server at the time tracking URIs are accessed. [ERRORCODE]: replaced with the corresponding error code when the associated error occurs; reserved for error tracking URIs. For example, 304 = InLine response returned ad unit that failed to result in ad display within defined time limit. [CONTENTPLAYHEAD]: replaced with the current time offset "HH:MM:SS.mmm" of the video content. [CACHEBUSTING]: replaced with a random 8-digit number. [ASSETURI]: replaced with the URI of the ad asset being played. [TIMESTAMP]: the date and time at which the URI using this macro is accessed. Used where ever a time stamp is needed, the macro is replaced with the date and time using the formatting conventions of ISO 8601. However, ISO 8601 does not provide a convention for adding milliseconds. To add milliseconds, use the convention .mmm at the end of the time provided and before any time zone indicator. For example, January 17, 2016 at 8:15:07 and 127 milleseconds, Eastern Time would be formatted as follows: 2016-01-17T8:15:07.127-05

In-Stream Video Ads

Played before, during or after the streaming video content that the consumer has requested. These ads cannot typically be stopped from being played (particularly with pre-roll). This format is frequently used to monetize the video content that the publisher is delivering. In-Stream ads can be played inside short or long form video and rely on video content for their delivery. There are four different types of video content where in-stream may play: -->UGC (User Generated Content/Video) -->Syndicated -->Sourced -->Journalistic.

Event trackers

Primarily used for click-through tracking today, but also for companion banner interactions and video session tracking (e.g. 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%).

UniversalAdId

The <UniversalAdId> is used to provide a unique creative identifier that is maintained across systems.

AdChoices icon

The DAA sets forth principles that endeavor to give consumers a better understanding of and greater control over ads that are customized based on the consumer's online behavior. This control is made available to the consumer in the form of the AdChoices icon, which is displayed in a prominent location in or around the Ad creative. When a consumer clicks the icon, they may be offered: information about the ad server and data providers used to select the Ad, options to learn more about OBA (Online Behavioral Advertising), and the ability for consumers to opt out from receiving OBA ads in the future.

VAST

The Video Ad Serving Template is an IAB guideline and XML schema that describes the XML structure for a video ad response. VAST enables ad responses to come from any ad server.

Secondary Ad Server

The ad server that the video player calls after receiving a VAST redirect (wrapper ad) from the primary ad server. Secondary ad servers may include agency or ad network ad servers. Also, secondary ad servers may redirect the video player to a third ad server and the third ad server may redirect to a fourth, and so on. Eventually, an ad server must provide a VAST response that includes all the creative elements needed to display the ad.

Core ad video

The essential video asset, often repurposed from offline. Can be displayed directly in the player, or in a more customized presentation.

Primary Ad Server

The first ad server that the video player calls to for ad content. The primary ad server is usually the ad server used by the publisher.

Aggregator/Distributors

The multitude of vendors and publishers in the market make it unfeasible for all but the largest Portals to deal with a large enough number of videos to offer a wide variety of content to their consumers. Aggregator/Distributors provide a solution by handling distribution agreements with a large number of content publishers and providing a "one stop shop" catalog of video content for Web Sites/Portals

Multiple impression URIs

The use of multiple impression URIs enables the ad server to share impression-tracking information with other ad serving systems, such as a vendor or partner ad server employed by the advertiser. When multiple impression elements are included in a VAST response, the video player is required to request all impressions at the same time or as close as possible to the same time. Any significant delay between impression requests may result in count discrepancies between ad serving systems.

Mezzanine file

To support advertising across video platforms that include long-form content and high-resolution screens, VAST 4.0 features include support for the raw, high-quality mezzanine file. The mezzanine file is very large and cannot be used for ad display, but ad-stitching services and other ad vendor use it to generate files at appropriate quality levels for the environment in which they play.

VAMG

Video Ad Measurement Guidelines is an IAB guideline that defines the set of events that should be tracked when a video ad is played.

VMAP

Video Multi Ads Playlist is an IAB guideline that describes the XML structure for a playlist of video ads sent from an ad server to a video player.

VPAID

Video Player Ad Interface Definition is an IAB guideline that defines the communication protocols between an interactive ad and the video player that is rendering it.

The <Icons> Element

VAST 3.0 introduced the <Icons> element, which is offered under the <Linear> creative element for both Inline and Wrapper ads. The Icon Provider Server may be the same server that serves the VAST response, but more commonly is a vendor that serves the icon from its own systems. When the <Icons> element is included in the VAST response, the video player must display the object as an overlay on top of the Linear Ad with which the icon is served and after the ad video has started (i.e. first frame of video is displayed in the player).

Professionally-Generated Specialty Programming

Video content professionally but generally created for a specific subset of online video consumers. Whether it is original content for the web or content from traditional media like local news or community events, consumers are searching for and consuming video content relevant to their micro interests.

Wrapper Conflict

When Companion creative are included directly in the wrapper response, conflict may occur. In a VAST ad, whether served with multiple wrappers or in one Inline response, all creative offered is intended to be part of the same creative concept, and the video player should attempt to display all creative presented in the response (or in a chain of responses). However, when conflict occurs, the video player should favor creative offered closest to the inline response.

Infinite Loops and Dead Ends

When serving an ad involves a chain of wrappers, an infinite loop is possible where a chain of Wrappers never results in a final inline VAST response. Another case involves a finite number of wrappers in which the resulting inline response is used as a decisioning mechanism to find an ad instead of delivering the ad as required. In these cases, the decisioning mechanism may never return an ad or may take too long to return the ad. In general, wrappers should be limited to five (5) before resulting in an inline response (delivering an ad). VPAID 4.0 offers timeout settings to prevent an ad from taking too long to load. When an inline response fails to produce an ad within the time frame identified in VPAID or other ad framework, the player may reject the ad, send error code 304 to indicate that no ad was produced in the given time frame, and move on to the next option for an ad. Error codes should also be sent to any wrappers preceding the inline response.