How to create a VAST 2.0 ad item

This guide will show you how to add a VAST 2.0 ad item to a campaign, assign the campaign to a VAST ad zone zone, and get the zone tag. To learn how to create campaigns, read About campaigns. To learn how to create zones, read About zones.

Administrators can choose whether or not to enable VAST ad serving in the Settings page. Go to Settings > Features & Organization Preferences then click on the Enable VAST switch to turn it on or off.

In this guide, you will learn:

  1. What a VAST ad item is.
  2. How to add a VAST wrapper that connects to a third-party server.
  3. How to add a linear ad.
  4. How to add a companion ad to a linear ad.
  5. How to add a non-linear ad.
  6. How to assign a VAST campaign to a VAST ad zone.
  7. How to set a VAST ad item zone tag.

VAST ad items

A Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) ad item is meant to be played or displayed within a video player, such as the ads in YouTube videos. Aside from supporting various video and image files, VAST allows AdButler to track various indicators of user behavior, such as how long someone watched an ad or if they muted it. This guide is about creating and serving ads that are compatible with the VAST 2.0 specification. We also have a guide on creating and serving VAST 4.2 ad items.

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Step 1: Add a VAST ad item

When adding a VAST ad item, you can choose to add a linear ad, a non-linear ad, or to simply point to a third-party resource using a wrapper.

Creating a VAST 2 ad item in AdButler

  1. Create a VAST campaign.
  2. Go to the VAST campaign's section (Advertisers > Your Advertiser > Your Campaign).
  3. Click + Add Ad Item at the top right of the VAST Ad Items table. The Add VAST Ad Item window will appear.
  4. Click VAST 2.0. The New VAST Ad page will appear. From here, you can:

Add a VAST wrapper

Adding a VAST 2 ad wrapper in AdButler

  1. In the Summary tab, give the VAST ad item a name. The click through link is optional. If you enter a URL, you can test it by clicking Open Destination URL to the right of the field.
  2. Add one or more metadata tags to the ad item. (optional)
  3. Enter the ad item's weight. Defaults to 1.
  4. Under Assets, tick the Use a Wrapper Ad checkbox.
  5. Paste the wrapper ad URI from the third-party server into the Wrapper Ad URI field.
  6. Click Save Ad Item.

Add a linear ad

Adding a VAST 2 linear ad in AdButler

  1. In the Summary tab, give the VAST ad item a name and add a click through link. You can test the URL by clicking Open Destination URL to the right of the field.

  2. Add one or more metadata tags to the ad item. (optional)

  3. Enter the ad item's weight. Defaults to 1.

  4. Click on the Linear Media tab.

Adding VAST 2 linear media in AdButler

  1. Under Linear Media Files, enter the URL of the online media source, select a file in the Media Library, or upload a file from your computer.
Be sure to upload multiple compatible versions of the file, and check that their filenames are valid. Uploading multiple files ensures that there will always be a file compatible with a user's browser. For more information, read VAST File Recommendations.
  1. Click Advanced Options if you need to specify other settings, such as enabling scalability, maintaining the aspect ratio, or adding the parameters for executable media files or interactive files.

  2. Click on the Tracking Events tab then select one or more events to track alongside their parameters. You can send the same event to multiple URLs, but you have to make a separate entry for each URL. (optional)

  3. Click Save Ad Item once you've finished configuring all the components of the ad item.


Add a non-linear ad

Adding a VAST 2 non-linear ad in AdButler

  1. In the Summary tab, give the VAST ad item a name and add a click through link. You can test the URL by clicking Open Destination URL to the right of the field.

  2. Add one or more metadata tags to the ad item. (optional)

  3. Enter the ad item's weight. Defaults to 1.

  4. Click on the Non Linear Media tab.

Adding VAST 2 non-linear media in AdButler

  1. Under Non Linear Media Ads, enter the URL of the online media source, select a file in the Media Library, or upload a file from your computer.
Externally hosted files can have compatibility issues with certain video players. Add the files to the Media Library or upload them from your computer to ensure that your non-linear ad will be properly served.
  1. If the image is from an online source, select its file type and enter its dimensions in the appropriate fields.

  2. Click Advanced Options if you need to specify other settings, such as the bitrate, the codec, or the required API for interactive files.

  3. Click on the Tracking Events tab then select one or more events to track alongside their parameters. You can send the same event to multiple URLs, but you have to make a separate entry for each URL. (optional)

  4. Click Save Ad Item once you've finished configuring all the components of the ad item.


Add a companion ad

Adding a VAST 2 companion ad in AdButler

You can add up to five companion ads to a linear ad. For tracking events, the ads will be identified as Companion 1, Companion 2, and so on up to Companion 5, based on the order that they were created.

  1. Click on the Companions tab.
  2. Select the display requirement for the companion ad.
    • Any - the video player must atttempt to display at least one of the companion ads alongside the linear ad.
    • All - the video player must attempt to display all of the companion ads alongside the linear ad.
    • None - let the video player decide whether or not to display any companion ad.
  3. Select the resource type of the companion ad's creative.

  4. Select the creative from the Media Library, or upload the file from your computer.

Externally hosted files can have compatibility issues with certain video players. Add the files to the Media Library or upload them from your computer to ensure that your non-linear ad will be properly served.
  1. If the image is from an online source, select its file type and enter its dimensions in the appropriate fields.

  2. Click Advanced Options if you need to specify other settings, such as alternative text, ad slot ID, or the ID of any required API.

  3. Click on the Tracking Events tab then select one or more events to track alongside their parameters. You can send the same event to multiple URLs, but you have to make a separate entry for each URL. (optional)

  4. Click Save Ad Item once you've finished configuring all the components of the ad item.

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Step 2: Assign the VAST campaign to a VAST ad zone

The Assign to Zone button in a VAST Campaign section

  1. If you already have a VAST ad zone, skip to step 2. Otherwise, create a VAST zone.
  2. Go to the VAST campaign's section (Advertisers > Your Advertiser > Your Campaign).
  3. Click Assign to Zone under the Zone Assignments table. A list of eligible VAST zones will appear.
  4. Select the VAST zone to which you want the campaign to be assigned.
  5. Choose a serve method. The New Placement page will appear.

The New VAST Placement page in AdButler

  1. Configure the settings as needed. For more information, read Pacing & Schedule, Targeting, and Frequency Capping.
  2. Click Save.

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Step 3: Set the VAST ad item zone tag

How to get a VAST zone tag in AdButler

  1. Go to the relevant publisher's section (Publishers > Your Publisher).
  2. Click on the Get Tags button on the far right of the relevant VAST zone. The Zone Tags window will appear.

The VAST Zone Tags window in AdButler

  1. Ensure that the Protocol is set to https (Default).
  2. Copy the link and paste it into your video player.
We highly recommend that you test if your VAST ad is configured as needed before putting it in your video player. Read How to test a VAST zone tag for more information.

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