Everything You Need To Know About VAST in OTT Advertising
Blog Post
Ever wondered how those targeted video ads appear so smoothly before, during, or after your favorite online videos? The answer lies in VAST, the Video Ad Serving Template. Acting as the behind-the-scenes universal translator, VAST dictates how video ads are delivered and displayed, ensuring a smooth and standardized experience across various platforms.
In this blog post, we’ll delve deeper into the world of VAST, exploring:
And more… So, let’s get started!
A VAST tag is a piece of code (an XML markup schema) that is placed on a publisher’s website to display ads. It is an XML-based format that defines a standard method for delivering and displaying ads across multiple platforms and devices.
This protocol is developed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), that enables the delivery of ads on websites and mobile applications. This is essentially a set of rules that determine how ads should be grouped and delivered to end users.
A VAST tag is a URL that points to a Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) XML document. It is used in the context of online video advertising to facilitate the delivery of ads from ad servers to players.
In simple words, VAST tag is essentially a link provided by the ad server that allows the player to request information about the ad to be displayed. VAST primarily focuses on video ads, but it can also be used for audio ads.
A typical VAST tag looks something like this ?
Click here to check out a sample VAST tag to understand it better.
VAST is most commonly associated with video ads. It supports various video ad formats, including linear ads (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll), non-linear ads (overlay ads, banners, text), and companion ads (display ads that accompany video content).
VAST allows the inclusion of multiple creative files (different resolutions, bitrates) to ensure compatibility with different devices and network conditions.
While VAST is designed for video ads, it can also be customized for audio ads. The VAST specification supports audio-only creative files and allows advertisers to serve audio ads through the same framework. Audio ads can be delivered as part of the linear ad experience.
VAST supports wrappers that allow multiple VAST documents to be concatenated. This can be used to serve a sequence of ads, including video and audio ads, with a single VAST tag.
While companion ads are most commonly associated with video ads, VAST allows you to include companion ads in the context of audio ads. These accompanying ads can be static banners or other display elements that accompany the audio content.
VPAID (Video Player and Ad Interface Definition) is a companion specification to VAST and enables the delivery of interactive ads. While VPAID is most commonly associated with video ads, it can also be used for interactive elements in audio ads.
There are multiple Ad Formats in OTT Advertising. The most common ones are Linear Ads, which include the traditional Pre-roll, Mid-roll, and Post-