Creative Specifications

Table of Contents

Specifications by Creative Type .............................................................................................. 1

Display .......................................................................................................................... 1

General Recommendations .................................................................................... 1

Supported Display Ad Sizes ................................................................................... 2

DOOH ........................................................................................................................... 7

Broadsign .............................................................................................................. 7

Ströer ................................................................................................................... 8

SSP1 .................................................................................................................... 8

Hivestack .............................................................................................................. 8

Expandables ................................................................................................................. 9

Recommended Optimal Ad Sizes and Expansion Directions ................................... 10

App-Install Ads ............................................................................................................ 10

HTML5 ........................................................................................................................ 12

File Sizes ............................................................................................................ 12

File Packaging ..................................................................................................... 13

Click Tag Parameters ........................................................................................... 14

Audio .......................................................................................................................... 15

Publisher-Specific Specifications .......................................................................... 15

Companion Banner Specifications ........................................................................ 17

Audio Creatives Best Practices ............................................................................. 17

CTV ............................................................................................................................ 18

General Requirements and Guidelines .................................................................. 18

Publisher-Specific CTV Creative Specifications ..................................................... 19

Media File Requirements ...................................................................................... 19

Troubleshooting and Go-Live Check ..................................................................... 20

CTV Creatives Best Practices ............................................................................... 22

Mobile Rich Media ....................................................................................................... 22

Generating MRAID Tags ...................................................................................... 23

Caveats to Using MRAID Creatives ....................................................................... 23

Mobile ......................................................................................................................... 24

Video .......................................................................................................................... 24

By Channel ......................................................................................................... 25

By Resolution ...................................................................................................... 26

Video Creatives Hosted by The Trade Desk .......................................................... 26

Third-Party Hosted Video ..................................................................................... 28

Vertical Video ...................................................................................................... 29

Video Guidelines for the United Kingdom .............................................................. 31

Native ......................................................................................................................... 31

The Trade Desk Guidelines .................................................................................. 32

Guidelines by SSP ............................................................................................... 34

Creative Specifications

Proprietary and Confidential Published on Fri, Dec 8, 2023

Specifications by Creative Type

IMPORTANT

To ensure that your creative works properly and is accepted by supply-side platforms

(SSPs), make sure your creative meets the following creative specifications based on its

type.

Specifications for Display Creatives

Display ads can include any of the following creative types:

• Image files

• Third-party HTML or JavaScript ad tags (from supported ad servers)

• HTML5 creatives (through third-party ad servers or hosted by The Trade Desk)

IMPORTANT

When using the PG Publisher-Hosted Creative Solution, you must upload a 1x2 fully

transparent static PNG creative pixel.

The following sections list general and optimal recommendations as well as ad size specifications that

apply to display ads in The Trade Desk platform.

General Recommendations

Scale across multiple inventory sources using the following display creative recommendations.

NOTE

While the following requirements enable you to serve across most inventory sources,

specifications may still vary by publisher and SSP.

Requirement Description

File type GIF, JPEG, or PNG

File size 150 KB or smaller (for both first-party ads and third-party ads)

Images Creative images must be clear, recognizable, and relevant and must occupy the

entire space of the image size you've chosen.

IMPORTANT

According to the Coalition for Better Ads (CBA) guidelines, in the

United Kingdom, display ads with static or animated ad messages

or images must not take up more than 20% of the video player or

appear in the middle third of the video player.

Text Text appearing in the ad must be legible.

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Requirement Description

Orientation Creatives cannot appear sideways or upside down.

Segmentation Creatives cannot be segmented, contain multiple copies of themselves within the

ad, or otherwise appear to be more than one ad.

Background

color

Creatives with partially black or white backgrounds must include a visible border of

a contrasting color to the majority background color of the ad.

Click action When the user clicks a creative, it must open a new page.

Animation lim-

Animated ads are restricted to a maximum of 15 seconds of looping, after which

they must remain static.

In-banner Video ads must include play, pause, mute, and unmute controls.

Click-to-start

video

No length limit, but must navigate to a landing page upon completion.

Auto-start vid-

A 15-second limit applies, with no audio heard unless initiated by mouse-over;

should be backstopped by static 300x250 that clicks through to landing page.

Supported Display Ad Sizes

The Trade Desk supports the following display ad sizes.

NOTE

Available inventory varies widely by ad exchange and region, so all supported formats

may not be available in every case. If you have questions about ad sizes available in

your region, contact your Account Manager.

Top Display

The following table lists the supported (optimal) top-display sizes for display creatives.

Type Size

Wide skyscraper 160x600

Medium rectangle 300x250

Leaderboard 728x90

Half-page ad 300x600

Top Mobile

The following table lists the supported (optimal) top-display sizes for display creatives.

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Type Size

Tablet Interstitial Landscape 1024x768

Tablet Interstitial Portrait 768x1024

Large rectangle 336x280

Mobile Leaderboard 300x50, 320x50

GumGum

The following table lists the supported GumGum sizes for display creatives and indicates which are

considered optimal.

Type Size Opti-

mal?

GumGum display 160x600 6x6

GumGum display 728x90 7x7

GumGum display 300x250 8x8

GumGum display 320x50 9x9

GumGum in-image ad unit

728x90

10x10 Optimal

GumGum broadway ad

unit

11x11 Optimal

GumGum in-image anima-

ted ad unit

12x12 Optimal

GumGum in-image ad unit 13x13 Optimal

GumGum pencil ad unit 14x14 Optimal

GumGum in-image can-

vas ad unit

16x16 Optimal

GumGum in-screen ad

unit

17x17 Optimal

GumGum in-image em-

bedded video ad unit

18x18

GumGum in-screen em-

bedded video ad unit

19x19

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Type Size Opti-

mal?

GumGum in-screen half

takeover ad unit

21x12

GumGum in-image frame

ad unit

22x22

GumGum in-screen frame

ad unit

23x23

GumGum in-content video

ad unit

24x24

Other Formats

The following table lists other supported (optimal) sizes for display creatives.

Type Size

Custom 1000x90

Custom 1020x250

Vertical banner 120x240

Button 2 120x60

Skyscraper 120x600

Button 1 120x90

Square button 125x125

Button 125x83

Custom 1280x100

Rectangle 180x150

Custom 180x500

Custom 226x850

230x230 square 230x230

Custom 230x600

Half banner 234x60

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Type Size

Vertical rectangle 240x400

Square pop-up 250x250

Custom 250x360

3:1 rectangle 300x100

Custom 300x1050

Custom 300x240

Video companion 300x60

Mobile custom 320x160

Custom 320x240

Custom 320x250

Mobile custom 320x320

Custom 320x480

Mobile custom 320x80

Custom 400x400

Custom 440x220

Custom 450x250

Custom 468x400

Full banner 468x60

Custom 480x250

Custom 480x280

Custom 480x320

Custom 480x80

Custom 519x225

Custom 544x225

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Type Size

Custom 550x340

Large Banner 551x289

Letvertise custom 555x111, 555x333

600x75 banner 600x75

Custom 640x480

Pop-under 720x300

Custom 720x480

Custom 750x200

Custom 800x250

Micro bar 88x31

Custom 930x180

Huge banner 960x325

Custom 960x60

Custom 970x250

Custom 970x66

Custom 970x90

Custom 975x300

Custom 980x120

Custom 980x150

Custom 980x240

Custom 980x250

Custom 980x400

Custom 980x90

Custom 994x250

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Specifications for DOOH Creatives

Digital out of home (DOOH) is the term used for the ad environment made up of (primarily) outdoor

digital ad placements. These include digital billboards and signs in a variety of locations including gas

stations, airports, freeways, the sides of buildings, and so on. To request access, contact your Account

Manager.

Here's what you need to know about the creative requirements and specifications for DOOH creatives:

• To learn about requirements and specifications, work with your Account Manager and SSP or

publisher contact.

• Ensure that your creatives meet The Trade Desk Ad Content Guidelines and the guidelines of the

media owners (publishers).

• Creatives can be hosted display, hosted video, third-party display, or third-party video. For details,

see Uploading Individual Creatives by Type.

If creatives are not hosted by The Trade Desk, available impression tracking depends on SSP or

publisher support for your particular ad server.

• To help achieve reach, consider using the D6 ad format (1080x1920), which is consistently used

across all DOOH SSPs.

The following sections provide information on the specifications for various SSPs. Many specifications

vary by publisher. For more information, contact the publisher directly. Be sure to review specifications

from each media owner for more specific recommendations, because they vary across different screen

types.

See also Native.

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Specifications for HTML5 Creatives

HTML5 creatives are a type of display creative with their own specific recommendations, sourced from

the IAB Display Advertising Guidelines. HTML5 creatives are displayed as a full HTML page in an

iFrame.

Here's what you need to know about HTML5 creatives:

• You may not use dynamic or expandable creatives as HTML5 creatives.

• Different browsers have different subsets of HTML5 features enabled. Your creative might fail on a

browser if it attempts to use a feature that is not enabled in the browser. It is your responsibility to

ensure that your creative “gracefully degrades" in case the browser it is viewed on doesn’t support

the features it uses.

• The IAB recommends adding the dimensions of your creative to your primary HTML document in

a meta tag inside of the <head> section of your document. Here's an example, in which you'd

replace the width and height values with the actual dimensions of your creative:

If an ad.size meta tag is not provided in the primary HTML document, you are prompted to enter

dimensions when you submit the creative.

• The Trade Desk Hosted HTML5 system requires that you upload a static backup image. This

image is used to display the ad if a user has JavaScript disabled.

• Commonly used JavaScript and CSS libraries (such as jQuery) do not need to be included with the

creative.

• Including image sprites instead of multiple images decreases the number of file requests made by

your creative and increases its performance.

• Avoid the use of video tags in HTML5.

• Audio tags should play only if a user intentionally starts the audio.

For details on this creative type, see HTML5 For Digital Advertising: Guidance for Ad Designers and

Creative Technologists.

File Sizes

The following table lists the supported file sizes for HTML5 creatives. For additional requirements, see

File Packaging.

Requirement Maximum Specification

Initial load 300 KB (200 KB recommended)

Subload 600 KB

Initial file load count 10 files

Subload file count 100 files

File size 5 MB

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Requirement Maximum Specification

User-initiated load 2.2 MB (recommended)

File Packaging

You can use one of the following packaging options:

• A single HTML file.

All information for serving the creative (with the exception of commonly used JavaScript and CSS

libraries) should be included in the HTML file. The maximum HTML file size is 200 KB.

• A single root/main HTML file with supporting images.

• A single root/main HTML file with supporting images and additional supporting JS and CSS files.

Here's what you need to know about using compressed (ZIP) files:

• All files for displaying the creative (with the exception of commonly used JavaScript and CSS

libraries) should be included in the ZIP file.

• The primary HTML file should be located in the root of the ZIP file.

• ZIP files must contain no more than 100 files, including at least one HTML file for use as the

initiating file for display. Keep the file count low to minimize browser performance impact.

• You can include only HTML, JS, CSS, MP4, JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and SVG files in a ZIP file.

• When packaging HTML5 creatives, include the asset files, not the folder containing them, in the

ZIP file:

The following table lists the maximum file size requirements for compressed files. See also File Sizes.

Requirement Maximum Size

Automatically-started video Less than 1.1 MB

Any individual file 2.2 MB

Primary HTML file 100 KB

ZIP file compressed Less than 10 MB

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Requirement Maximum Size

ZIP file uncompressed Less than 12 MB

Click Tag Parameters

A click tag is a parameter used in HTML5 banner ads. The parameter is a variable that defines the

destination URL and is provided in the primary HTML file as a URL parameter.

Here's what you need to know about click tag parameters:

• You can customize the name of the URL parameter when uploading or editing the creative.

• Click tag names are case-sensitive. Be sure to use uniform capitalization throughout the creative

and any supporting files. For example, clickTag and clickTAG are not interchangeable. The

Trade Desk Platform defaults to clickTAG.

• When the user clicks the ad, the creative must direct the user to the correct click tag page in a new

window.

• If you want to also use that clickthrough URL in your HTML5 creative, you can configure the

creative to use the backup clickthrough URL as the default clickthrough URL.

To call the clickthrough page through the backup ad image correctly, you must supply a click-

through parameter.

• You can use multiple click-through URLs and define different landing pages for different actions.

If you append a URL-escaped landing page to the click tag URL, the platform tracks the click and

redirects the request to the given landing page.

var clickTAG = getParameterByName("clickTAG") +

encodeURIComponent("http://www.thetradedesk.com");

TIP

Use JavaScript to read the parameter from the document location URL and use it to set

up the landing page for your clicks. You can use either all single quotes (') or all double

quotes (") in your code, but you cannot mix them.

Example 1. A Click Tag Parameter Example

The following code block shows one way to retrieve and implement a creative with a clickthrough URL

that has been specified in The Trade Desk platform. In this example, a single image is wrapped with an

anchor tag, which, when clicked, opens a new window with the address stored in the clickTAG URL

parameter of the creative.

<html>

<head>

function getParameterByName(name) {

name = name.replace(/[\[]/, "\\[").replace(/[\]]/, "\\]");

var regex = new RegExp("[\\?&]" + name + "=([^&#]*)"),

results = regex.exec(location.search);

return results === null ? "" :

decodeURIComponent(results[1].replace(/\+/g, " "));

}

var clickTAG = getParameterByName("clickTAG");

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</script>

</head>

<body>

</a>

</body>

</html>

This function retrieves the clickTAG parameter.

The location where the value for the clickthrough URL should be stored in the window.click-

TAG variable.

Specifications for Audio Creatives

The Trade Desk stores audio creatives in a Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) tag or Digital Audio

Ad Serving Template (DAAST) tag. When you upload audio creatives, supported audio file formats are

automatically converted to VAST or DAAST.

While publisher-specific specifications take priority, The Trade Desk generally recommends that audio

creatives meet the following specifications.

Specification General recommendation

Device type Refer to publisher-specific specifications.

File type MP3, M4A, OGG, WAV

File size Refer to publisher-specific specifications.

Spot length 15, 30 or 60 seconds

Bitrate 160 kbps

Hosted MP3 files must have a constant bitrate.

Script word count Refer to publisher-specific specifications.

VAST version (for third-party tags) VAST 2.0 is most widely supported across all audio publishers.

Publisher-Specific Specifications

The following table provides publisher-specific specifications for audio creatives.

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Pub-

lisher

Mar-

kets

Device

type

File

type

File

size

Spot

length

Bitrate Script

word

count

VAST

ver-

sion

(for

third-

party

tags)

Spotify Glob-

Mobile,

tablet,

desktop,

Spotify

web

player

Select

gaming

console,

CTV,

connec-

ted car,

connec-

ted

speaker

(vary by

market)

Mobile:

MP4,

MOV,

OGG

Desk-

top:

WebM

and

MP4

(include

both)

PMP

MP4,

OGG

All

Google

deals

require

an MP4

in the

crea-

tive.

500MB Up to

30 sec-

onds

Ideal range:

600-640kbps

Min: 192kbps

Max:

1000kbps

Up to

words

VAST

2.0

SXM

Media

(Pan-

dora/

Sound-

cloud/

Stitch-

er)

US Mobile

(in-app),

tablet,

desktop,

connec-

ted car

(in-app),

connec-

ted

home

(in-app)

MP3 Max:

2.2MB

15 or

30 sec-

onds

(non-

skippa-

ble)

Min: N/A

Max:

320kbps

N/A Up to

VAST

4.0

iHeart

Media

Glob-

Mobile,

desktop

MP3,

WAV,

WMA,

OGG

N/A 5, 15,

30, or

60 sec-

onds

Min: 128kbps

Max: N/A

N/A Up to

VAST

4.0

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Companion Banner Specifications

Some audio publishers allow a companion banner that is served alongside the audio ad while it plays.

Here's what you need to know about companion banners:

• The publisher may charge an additional fee to serve a companion banner.

• Companion banners are separate creatives hosted on The Trade Desk platform.

• To append a companion banner to an audio creative in either the Add Creative wizard or on the

audio creative's page, be sure to first add the banner to the platform.

The following table outlines general recommendations as well as publisher-specific specifications. Pub-

lisher-specific specifications take priority.

Publisher File type File size Display size

General recom-

mendation

JPEG, PNG Refer to publish-

er-specific speci-

fications.

Refer to publisher-specific speci-

fications.

Spotify PG Desktop and

PMP

Static JPEG

PG Mobile

N/A (video is full

screen)

500MB

PMP

200KB

PG Desktop and PMP

DV360 - 301x301, other DSPs -

300x250

PG Mobile

N/A (video is full screen)

SXM Media (Pan-

dora/Soundcloud/

Stitcher)

Static JPEG, GIF 100KB 15 or 30 seconds (non-skippa-

ble)

iHeart Media JPEG, GIF, PNG,

HTML

50KB 5, 15, 30, or 60 seconds

Audio Creatives Best Practices

Here are some best practices for audio creatives:

• Make sure your ad length is ideal. For music streaming, the ideal length is 15 or 30 seconds. For

podcasts, longer ads with lengths of more than 35 seconds have been found to drive better results.

• Repeat the brand name within the first five seconds. When you say the brand name early and

often, you help the listener remember the brand.

• Repeat the call-to-action. Repeating the CTA two times or more helps drive engagement.

• State any URLs clearly. Make sure any URLs you mention are easy to read aloud without special

characters like slashes or dashes and be sure to spell it out if needed.

• Incorporate sonic branding. Include a sound that listeners can immediately recognize and con-

nect to the brand. This can be the same intro used at the opening of all your ads, a jingle or a

character voice.

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• Make sure speech mirrors natural conversation. Use relatable language with a conversational

tone.

• Focus on one memorable message. Share information clearly and directly and be cautious about

including multiple messages in a single ad.

• Avoid crammed or rushed ads. Aim to have a script with 60 to 65 words for a 30 second spot.

Use a deliberate cadence with well-time pauses.

CTV Creative Specifications

Here's what you need to know about Connected TV (CTV) creatives:

• CTV creatives can be hosted by The Trade Desk or by a third party, which you decide when

uploading your creatives.

• CTV creatives hosted by The Trade Desk are automatically served in an SSL-compliant format.

• To reach the most CTV inventory using third-party creatives, include a media file from each spec

type.

• CTV devices do not support the ability to click through to a landing page.

When uploading your video creative, you can set up a click-through URL only if you are running

on full-episode player inventory (on desktop or mobile), but not when running exclusively on CTV

device inventory.

• Most CTV inventory accepts only the VAST 2.0 standard for VAST bid responses.

• The Trade Desk does not upscale, upsample, or stretch uploaded video assets, so be sure to

upload the highest-quality file you have available.

• Certain requirements (such as bitrates) vary drastically by publisher. Before submitting a CTV

creative, be sure to refer to individual publisher specifications or work with publishers directly.

• Brightline (SpotX) and TripleLift supports interactive video units, and Roku has an in-house team

available to help with these types of CTV creatives.

General Requirements and Guidelines

Regardless of the publisher, all creatives must meet the following requirements:

Require-

ment

Description

File format • Only MP4 files are allowed for CTV ad placements.

• FLV and WebM files are not supported for CTV.

File tags • Third-party creatives must be VAST tags only.

• VPAID tags are not supported on CTV.

• While there is not a specific version of VAST that should be used with CTV

creatives, keep in mind that VAST 3.0 and VAST 4.0 are typically less scalable.

If you're using a standard VAST tag that includes a VPAID component (for

example, as part of an API framework), then this cannot cause any issues for

your CTV creative. A VAST wrapper with VPAID functionality is not the same as

a VPAID wrapper.

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Require-

ment

Description

Creative file • It is a best practice to assign one tag to each creative media asset.

• Creative file rotation through one tag is not recommended.

SSL compli-

ance

All creatives must be SSL compliant.

Publisher

verification

Be sure to share the creative with the publisher before activation. This ensures that

your creative meets their specifications.

CTV creatives running via FreeWheel require publisher verification. Publisher Audit

Status appears on the creative page under Supply Vendor Audit Status for these

creatives.

Publisher-Specific CTV Creative Specifications

The following are third-party CTV creative specifications:

• CBS Interactive

• Disney Hulu

• Fox

• NBCUniversal

• Warner HBO Max

• Sky

• Sling

• Third-Party Vendors

Media File Requirements

Here's what you need to know about media file requirements for CTV creatives:

• A constant frame rate is required.

Frame rate is the number of frames played per second (FPS).

• No telecine, interlacing, or duplicate frames are allowed.

Telecine refers to footage that has been converted from its native or source rate (for example, 24

frames per second) to broadcast or another rate by inserting a duplicate frame every fourth frame,

or by blending or interlacing every third frame together.

• Bitrates vary drastically by publisher. Typically, a minimum of 1200 kbps to 1500 kbps is required.

A bitrate of 1.6 mbps to 3.2 mbps is preferred.

For example, Hulu-hosted videos must have a minimum bitrate of 15,025 kbps.

• The maximum file size is determined by multiplying the duration of the media by its bitrate. For

example, 30 seconds x 15,000 kbps = 450 MB or 0.45 GB.

• A mezzanine is a compressed video file that is visually indistinguishable from the full-resolution

master exported from your editing program, but significantly smaller in size. It’s not a specific

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file type, but rather a description of a general set of parameters used to create a file that looks

great—without the information that’s only useful to a video editor.

IMPORTANT

The mezzanine file requires a 1920 × 1080 resolution with a video bitrate of at least

15,000 kbps or higher.

TIP

For best results, work directly with publishers to understand media file requirements.

Type Mezzanine High-Quality Medium-Quali-

Low-Quality

File type MP4 MP4 MP4 MP4

Resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080 1280x720 1280x720

Bitrate range 15,000 kbps to

30,000 kbps

4,000 kbps to

6,500 kbps

1,200 kbps to

3,500 kbps

500 kbps to

1,200 kbps

Maximum file

size

10 GB N/A N/A N/A

Frame rate (FPS) 23.98 or 29.97 23.98 or 29.97 23.98 or 29.97 23.98 or 29.97

Audio sample

rate

48 kHz 48 kHz 48 kHz 48 kHz

Audio bit

rate minimum

threshold

192 kbps 192 kbps 192 kbps 192 kbps

Troubleshooting and Go-Live Check

If your creative does not meet a requirement, a recommendation for how to meet the requirements will

appear in the Cross Channel Verification section of the creative details page. In the following example,

the uploaded creative is not 1080p. You will see a recommendation to upload a 1080p MP4 media type

to maximize the reach for CTV ad groups.

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If your CTV ad group includes at least one private contract, an additional creative check called the

Go-Live Check is performed when you turn on or activate your ad group. This check verifies that the ad

group's creative format meets the private contract publisher's requirements.

TIP

More information on this topic and other best practices, novel solutions, and trouble-

shooting tips are available in The Trade Desk Edge Academy Trader's Toolkit video

series.

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CTV Creatives Best Practices

Here are some best practices for CTV creatives:

• Ensure that the video asset meets the bitrate, duration, and file size or other specifications outlined

in the CTV contract.

TIP

Publishers have different bitrate requirements. We recommend enabling multiple

bitrates within your creatives to account for these variations.

• Review the publisher's creative specifications and ensure that your video asset is compliant with

what the publisher has outlined.

• Use hosted video ads with the highest quality. This helps ensure that you can run via most CTV

publishers.

• Ensure that the loudness of audio averages -24 LKFS.

• Run a thorough check of your creative details in your ad group settings before making the ad

group go live.

• Ensure that your creative is an MP4 file because other file types are not supported for CTV

creatives.

• Ensure that third-party creatives are Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) tags only. VPAID tags are

not supported for CTV.

• Ensure that there is only one tag for each creative media asset as opposed to doing creative file

rotation through one tag.

• Ensure that you share the creative with publishers before activation to verify that the creative

meets their specifications.

Specifications for Mobile Rich Media Creatives

Mobile rich media ad interface definitions (MRAID) is an industry standard set by the IAB for rich media

ads running in mobile apps. MRAID provides a common language that allows mobile banner creatives

to perform expansion and other advanced actions across diverse SDK vendors.

The Trade Desk is certified as an ad server with Celtra, Flashtalking, and InMobi. These certifications

mean that The Trade Desk is able to successfully render MRAID creatives on supported inventories.

This also means that The Trade Desk is an available option in both Celtra and InMobi's tag gener-

ation platforms, which automatically fill the ad tags with all applicable The Trade Desk macros for

hassle-free third-party tag creation.

IMPORTANT

Regardless of the vendor, be sure to select the correct environment when generating

the ad tag. For example, web browser creatives do not work in in-app environments,

because a web browser is for creatives that serve in the mobile web ad environment

and MRAID is specific to in-app creatives.

Here's what you need to know about using MRAID creatives:

• The Trade Desk supports versions 1.0 and 2.0 of third-party MRAID creatives.

• If you select The Trade Desk as the ad server/DSP, all applicable The Trade Desk macros are

automatically entered into the ad tag.

Creative Specifications Mobile Rich Media

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• MRAID tags might render better on some apps than others, depending on whether a publisher has

SDK integrations with MRAID vendors.

• While MRAID provides the option for creatives to perform advanced functions (for example, the

ability to "Shake your phone to learn more about this product"), the action might not work on some

apps.

To ensure that you serve on the best inventory, set up a private deal for these types of creatives.

For details, contact your Account Manager.

• If an MRAID creative is an expandable creative, do not declare it as expandable. If you do, this

prevents the MRAID creative from spending.

• The Trade Desk has no visibility into whether an MRAID creative renders correctly and whether a

click is performed and tracked at the intended click action. This is because The Trade Desk does

not have direct SDK integrations with the publishers.

Only MRAID vendors and publishers can provide reporting for these metrics.

See also Mobile Rich Media.

Specifications for Video Creatives

There are different aspects to consider when submitting video creatives in order for them to work prop-

erly and be accepted by supply-side platforms (SSPs). Some of the common errors while submitting

video creatives include using an unsupported file type or a Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) version

that an SSP does not support.

Your video creatives must comply with ad content guidelines and meet the requirements of The Trade

Desk platform and the SSP on which it will be served.

The following sections provide additional information on the video creative specifications.

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By Channel

Here's what you need to know:

• For the greatest scale across mobile, desktop, and CTV, use MP4 files for your video creatives.

If you would like to use a different file format, request additional formats for devices where viewa-

bility is innate (such as CTV devices).

• Hosted video creatives are uploaded directly into the platform and served by The Trade Desk.

• VAST creatives are standard for in-stream video and specify an XML file.

• Video Player-Ad Interface Definition (VPAID) creatives are the common interface between video

players and ad units (commonly used for ad measurement and verification).

• Mobile rich media ad interface (MRAID) creatives are part of a software development kit (SDK) for

ads and apps that allow for interaction between a user and a rich media ad.

Creative

Type

Mobile Video Desktop Video Connected TV

Hosted

video

Accepted across both mobile

web and mobile in-app environ-

ments.

Accepted across

the desktop environ-

ment.

Accepted across

the CTV environment.

VAST Accepted across both mobile

web and mobile in-app environ-

ments. In mobile in-app envi-

ronments, use VAST instead of

VPAID.

Accepted across

the desktop environ-

ment.

Accepted across

the desktop environ-

ment, but you must

have a high-quality MP4

assigned to the tem-

plate.

VPAID Accepted across both mobile

web and mobile in-app environ-

ments. In mobile in-app envi-

ronments, use VAST instead of

VPAID.

Accepted across

the desktop environ-

ment, but you must en-

sure that the publish-

er's specific video play-

er accepts VPAID (ei-

ther JavaScript or HTML

formats are recommen-

ded).

Not accepted in the

CTV environment.

MRAID Accepted in mobile in-app en-

vironments and only as intersti-

tial ads.

Not accepted in the

desktop environment.

Not accepted in the

CTV environment.

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By Resolution

Require-

ment

Low Resolution Medium Resolution

(Standard Definition)

High Resolution (High Defi-

nition)

16:9 as-

pect ratio

• 360p or less

• Typically,

640x360

• Greater than 360p, up

to 576p

• Typically, 854x480 or

1024x576

• Greater than 576p, up to

1080p

• Typically, 1280x720 (for

720p) or 1920x1080 (for

1080p)

4:3 aspect

ratio

• 480p or less

• Typically,

640x480

• Greater than 480p, up

to 576p

• Typically, 640x480 or

768x576

Not available for high resolu-

tion

Target bi-

trate

500 kbps to 700

kbps

700 kbps to 1500 kbps • 720p: 1500 kbps to 2500

kbps

• 1080p: 2500 kbps to

3500 kbps

Video Creatives Hosted by The Trade Desk

Here's what you need to know about video creatives hosted by The Trade Desk:

• After you upload a video creative, The Trade Desk automatically creates VAST 2.0 or VAST 3.0 bid

responses containing your video asset encoded as MP4, WEBM, and FLV media types in various

ad formats and bitrates for serving across the greatest scale of video placements (desktop, mobile

web, and in-app).

• The Trade Desk does not upscale, upsample, or stretch uploaded video assets, so be sure to

upload the highest-quality file you have available.

• When you upload your hosted video creative, you also have the option to add third-party tracking

pixels to track various events that occur when an impression is served.

• The Trade Desk supports the ability to track video viewability on first-party hosted video creatives

through Moat, IAS, and DoubleVerify. With integrated reporting enabled, you do not need to add a

VPAID asset or have your VAST wrapped by the third-party viewability vendor.

The Trade Desk supports first-party video creatives that meet the following specifications.

Require-

ment

Description

File types MP4, FLV, WEBM, MOV, MPG, MPEG

IMPORTANT

When submitting WEBM assets, to avoid encoding errors, make

sure your video codec is VP8.

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Require-

ment

Description

File size 200 MB (recommended maximum)

Ad formats • 16:9: 640x360 (minimum); 1920x1080 (recommended)

• 4:3: 480x360 (minimum); 640x480 (recommended)

Bitrate Greater than or equal to 2500 kbps. Lower quality is supported, but not recommen-

ded due to limited demand.

Companion Banner Specifications

The following table lists the companion banner specifications.

NOTE

To append a companion banner to a video creative in either the Add Creative wizard or

on the video creative's page, be sure to first add the banner to the platform.

Require-

ment

Description

File types JPG, GIF, PNG

Ad formats Listed in order of popularity:

300x250

728x90

320x50

160x600

300x600

300x50

320x480

468x60

970x250

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Require-

ment

Description

Length

(Duration)

Minimum: 5 seconds or longer

Maximum: 300 seconds (5 minutes) or shorter

Bid requests usually fall into standard buckets (5 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds,

60 seconds, and so on) of maximum duration (or minimum duration). It is possible for

any video length to be sent to fulfill the request as long as it falls below that maximum

duration (and above the minimum duration, if provided).

For example, a 25-second ad could be sent to fulfill a request with a maximum

duration of 30 seconds, or a 6-second ad could be sent for 15 seconds. The player

adapts to a shorter video length than the maximum duration, so there is no dead

space between the end of the ad and the beginning of the publisher's video content.

Third-Party Hosted Video Creatives

Here's what you need to know about third-party video creatives:

• The Trade Desk requires at least one of the following media types for third-party VAST: MP4, FLV,

VPAID 1.0, or VPAID 2.0 Flash.

• When uploading third-party VAST, be sure to include MP4, WEBM, and FLV media assets in

addition to any required VPAID assets.

This provides access to the largest video inventory scale, as publishers and video players in

different environments (desktop, mobile web, and in-app) require specific video media types to

render the video ad.

• If your third-party VAST contains only a VPAID 1.0 media asset, scale is limited to bid requests that

support VPAID 1.0. See also Media and Inventory Types.

• VPAID support varies by publisher and SSP. Not all video bid requests support VPAID assets.

Specifications

The following table lists specifications for third-party video creatives.

Requirement Description

VAST specifica-

tions

VAST 2.0

VAST 2.0 with VPAID 2.0 JS

VAST 3.0

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Requirement Description

Media types MP4

FLV

MPG

WEBM

OGG

HLS

3GP

VPAID 1.0

VPAID 2.0 JS

IMPORTANT

When submitting WEBM assets, to avoid encoding errors, make

sure your video codec is VP8.

Video length (du-

ration)

Minimum: 5 seconds or longer

Maximum: 300 seconds (5 minutes) or shorter

Media and Inventory Types

The following table summarizes supported media types across various inventory types.

Inventory Type MP4 Media Asset VPAID 1.0 VPAID 2.0 JS

Desktop video Supported Supported Supported

Mobile web video Supported Not supported Supported

In-app video Supported Not supported Limited inventory

Vertical Video Creatives

The vertical video refers to any video that is served in a vertical orientation (taller than it is wide) rather

than in a horizontal (landscape) orientation.

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Here's what you need to know about vertical video creatives:

• Vertical video is supported for both hosted and third-party creatives.

If you are using a third-party video, ensure that your ad server displays the correct dimensions in

VAST after you have uploaded our video. See also specifications for third-party video creatives.

• Vertical video creatives that are correctly encoded and assigned are given the 360x640 ad format.

This is also the format used for vertical video creatives in reporting.

On the Creative Details page, you'll see a vertical preview player rather than the normal 16:9

player.

• Any creatives that have been correctly encoded and assigned are eligible to bid on vertical bid

requests (where the player height is greater than the player width).

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• If your creatives are specific to a device type, break each out into a separate ad group so that you

can properly target your desired device types with your device-specific creatives.

Vertical video creatives must meet the same specifications as other video creatives, with a few recom-

mendations listed in the following table.

Requirement Description

Resolution 1080x1920

Aspect ratio 9:16

Minimum height 400 px

Height must be greater than width to classify as a vertical video.

Video Guidelines for the United Kingdom

For short-form video content in the UK, the Coalition for Better Ads (CBA) guidelines state the following:

• Pre-roll ad experiences that include one or more ads with a combined view length of over 31

seconds must be skippable within the first six seconds.

• Mid-roll ads may not be run.

• Display ads with static or animated ad messages and/or images must not take up more than 20%

of the video player or appear in the middle third of the video player.

Specifications for Native Creatives

Native creatives are comprised of assets of multiple types (including images and text). Because of the

diversity of contexts where native ads are displayed, provide multiple assets to ensure that the best one

is picked to match each impression.

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Here's what you need to know about native creatives:

• Third-party JavaScript pixels are currently supported for native creatives except with AdX and

Taboola.

• All native providers support third-party image trackers, but only three can be appended to a single

creative.

• Quality Alliance viewability is supported for native providers where Moat measurement is suppor-

ted.

• If your ad group is targeting categories, keep in mind that native creatives are not compatible with

Tier 2 and Tier 3 contextual categories. They are compatible only with Tier 1 or custom categories.

• All character count limits include spaces and punctuation marks.

For example, the phrase "Water.org brings fresh water to thirsty people" contains 39 letters, one

punctuation mark, and six spaces (a total of 46 characters).

For details on viewability measurement for native creatives, see Native Viewability Reporting Availabili-

ty. See also Native Creatives.

The Trade Desk Guidelines

The following table lists The Trade Desk optimal specifications for native creatives.

Creative Specifications Native

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Require-

ment

Description Specification

Main image The large main image to be used in

the advertisement.

1200x627, (1.91:1 aspect ratio)

The main image must be less than

2000x2000 pixels.

The main image file must be smaller than 2

MB.

Main video When included, the creative bids on-

ly on impressions that support vid-

eo.

5 minutes (300 seconds) maximum

The main video must have a file size of less

than 2 GB.

NOTE

For aspect ratio recommen-

dations, see Guidelines by

SSP or work with your SSP.

The most common aspect ra-

tios are 16:9, 4:3, and 1:1.

Icon The app icon or brand logo to be

displayed in the ad.

200x200 (1:1 aspect ratio)

Logo The advertiser's logo to included in

the ad, either overlaid over the main

image or shown separately from the

main image.

200x200 (1:1 aspect ratio)

Short title The title or headline for the native

ad—should be optimized for mobile.

25 characters maximum

Long title The title or headline for the native

ad—should be optimized for desk-

top.

90 characters maximum

Short de-

scription

Additional text typically displayed

below the title—should be optimized

for mobile.

90 characters maximum

Long de-

scription

Additional text typically displayed

below the title—should be optimized

for desktop.

140 characters maximum

Sponsor

(Brand)

The name of the advertiser running

the native ad.

Recommended 25 characters maximum;

otherwise, 100 characters maximum

Call to ac-

tion

Text, such as Learn More or Buy

Now, that likely appears in a button

near the image assets.

15 characters maximum

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Guidelines by SSP

NOTE

For maximum reach, follow The Trade Desk guidelines. Individual supplier requirements

have been provided for reference, but you may limit your reach if you use only supplier-

specific formats.

See also the following SSP-specific specifications for native creatives:

• AdYouLike

• Google AdX

• Nativo

• Outbrain

• Sharethrough

• Taboola

• TripleLift

• Xandr (login required)

• Yieldmo

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