DPAA Standard Advertising Units for Digital Place-based Media

Activating the DPAA Standard Advertising Units in your network

A network will need to do two things to activate the DPAA’s Standard Advertising Units:

1. Update all terminology on your networks’ creative spec sheet to reflect the Common Nomenclature in the Standard Advertising Units document.
2. Update your creative spec sheet with the DPAA Standard Advertising Unit Logo (to come) to show that you accept the DPAA Standard Advertising Units. State specifically which of the three suggested formats your network will utilize.

Common Nomenclature:  

Landscape HD Sixteen by Nine (16:9) refers to the advertising unit in High Definition formatted for landscape presentation with a ratio of width of 16 to a height of 9.

Landscape HD Four by Three (4:3) refers to the advertising unit formatted in High Definition for landscape presentation with ratios of width of 4 to a height of 3.

Portrait HD Nine by Sixteen (9:16) refers to the advertising unit formatted for portrait presentation in High Definition with ratios of width of 9 to a height of 16. 

Consumer Experience is the way the Primary Ad unit is experienced by a person watching the screen.

Primary Ad unit orientation should be referred to as either Landscape or Portrait.

Primary Ad unit – refers to the dominant area of advertising displayed on the screen. The Primary Ad unit should be described as either Full screen or Partial screen.

• ‘Full Screen’ means the ad unit is the only visible asset running on the screen.  
• ‘Partial Screen’ means the Primary Ad unit is accompanied by content and/or a companion ad unit or some other visual enhancement (such as ticker, clock, or logo).
  • Companion Ads may be text, static display ads or rich media. A Companion Ad will run adjacent to an ad unit and/or programmed content.
    • Companion Ad unit orientation should be referred to as either Companion Landscapeor Companion Portrait

• ‘Audio’ means consumers will be able to both see and hear the advertisement.
• Playback Format’ means the final format that the ad unit will be played across the network. Networks shall disclose the playback format.

Standard Ad Unit formats for primary ad units: 

 Other accepted file types: Each network should also provide additional file types that they readily accept.

Below are suggested specifications to include on a network spec sheet:

• Describe the Consumer Experience
• State which ad formats are accepted by the network
• State what the playback format will be

Consumer Experience:

Describe the consumer experience of the ad unit.

• Primary Ad unit – describe the unit as either Full Screen ads or Partial Screen ads.
• If the Primary Ad unit is a ‘Partial Screen’, explain the ad unit orientation as either Portrait or Landscape along with the aspect ratio.
• Companion Ads – describe the companion ad as either Companion Portrait or Companion Landscape and either text, static display ads or rich media.
• Full screen ads run as a Landscape HD 16:9 ad unit.
• Partial screen ads run with the primary ad unit in landscape, 16:9, along with a companion ad and/or preprogrammed content.
• Companion ads are portrait oriented. Companion ads may be submitted as text, static display ads or rich media. Companion ads should be submitted in their highest quality format. We accept these formats listed below and we will down convert to _____ (give optimum dimensions, codec, file type and/or bitrate).

Example: Sample Network* offers full screen and partial screen ad opportunities. We accept the following DPAA Standard Advertising Units.

Additional network specific needs (should be listed below):

Example: Sample Network additional network specifics:

• Traffic contact personnel
• File delivery method
• Example creative
• Tips for effective custom creative
• Production deadlines

• File naming for proper trafficking
• Ad-ID / ISCI code requirements

 * Example only. Not a currently known name of a digital place-based network 

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Q. What is the DPAA Creative Standardized Advertising Unit document?

A. An introduction of common nomenclature and three Standard Advertising Unit shapes in a single file format to make it easy for creatives to produce works that most Digital Place-based networks accept and can play. The document also introduces common nomenclature for agency creatives, planners, buyers, network creatives and sales and marketing executives.

Q. What are the Standard Advertising Unit formats?

A. High Definition (HD) format that all networks can accept from an agency or advertiser. (see grid above for the list of formats)

Q. What is a Codec?

A. A codec is software that is used to compress or decompress a digital media file, such as a song or video.  Providing ad creative that uses a standard codec ensures that most DPAA networks can easily run digitally-trafficked spots. [Source: Microsoft FAQ’s - Codec]

Q. Why did DPAA create Standard Advertising Units?

A. It was found that there is a misconception that the variety of networks makes it difficult to execute creative for the medium. Standard Advertising Units demonstrate that advertising can easily be placed on the overwhelming majority of digital place-based networks with very little, if any, extra work from a creative.

Q. What kind of software converts file formats?

A. There are a wide variety of file conversion software solutions ranging from “freeware” to professional versions that offer greater file control.

Network Specific Questions

Q. What does a network need to do to state the network’s acceptance and compliance with the Standard Advertising Units recommendation?

A. A network will need to do two things to utilize the Standard Advertising Units:

1. Update all terminology on your networks’ creative spec sheet to reflect the Common Nomenclature in the Standard Advertising Units document.
2. Update your creative spec sheet with the DPAA Standard Advertising Unit Logo (Coming soon) to show that you accept the DPAA Standard Advertising Units. State which of the three suggested formats the network will utilize.

Q. What about all the other advertising opportunities a network offers?

A. It will be up to each network to convey the benefits of additional advertising opportunities they offer in addition to the Standard Advertising Units.

Q. What other information should networks provide?

A. An agency should be able to place a multi network buy and know that if the creative is provided in the three Standard Advertising Unit formats that the ad would be able to run efficiently across most networks in the buy. However there are a variety of additional variables that may be taken into consideration for network specific execution. Additional specifications that may be provided:

1. Additional, non conforming ad specs
2. Traffic contact personnel
3. File delivery method
4. Example creative
5. Tips for effective custom creative
6. Production deadlines
7. File naming for proper trafficking
8. Ad-ID / ISCI code requirements

Q. What about networks that offer “L” bar advertisements?

A. The DPAA Standard Advertising Units focus on primary ad units in context of what is on the screen. Therefore “L” bar advertisements will need to be addressed on a network by network basis.  Following the Common Nomenclature in the Standard Advertising Units recommendation, “L” bar advertisements should be referred to as “Companion Ads.”

Advertiser Specific Questions

Q. Does the network play the ad exactly as submitted?

A. Each network has the ability to accept the Standard Advertising Unit. If necessary, networks will convert the file to perform at optimum quality across their network, but in no case will a network operator make changes to the provided creative.

Q. Do all networks accept the Standard Advertising Units?

A. Most networks offer a method of screening the ad in one of the three Standard Advertising Unit formats. There are some exceptions not covered by the Standard Advertising Units such as networks that offer Companion Ads that that do not match the 16:9, 4:3 or 9:16 formats. In such cases the network should have a suggested ad unit format and associated creative specs.

Q. Will the quality of the ad change if the file format is converted?

A. The purpose of asking for a high definition file is so that, even if file conversion is required, the network will be able to run the file at the optimum quality.