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Flight Control Help Center

Native Campaign Workflow

  • Updated

General

In the Campaign Logic step of native campaigns, you create logic to serve native (image) ads that integrate directly with your partnering native SSPs. Native ads typically contain the following creative elements:

  • image
  • title
  • description
  • sponsorship ("Sponsored")
  • call to action (CTA; optional)
  • logo (square image; always located in the native ad's top-left portion)

Native campaign ad-tag URL responses use a JSON structure to contain the mentioned creative elements, ad trackers, and a click-through URL. The ad-tag response follows the Interactive Advertising Bureau's OpenRTB Dynamic Native Ads Specification 1.2.

Flight Control supports third-party native ad serving, though many DSPs don't. To overcome this, certain native-ready SSPs provide a workaround. The process works as follows:

  1. A native display campaign is configured in the DSP to run on specific native-ready SSP inventory. Placeholder creatives are connected to this campaign.
  2. The Flight Control native ad tag is sent to the specified native-ready SSP. The SSP connects these ad tags to the respective DSP campaign ID.
  3. When RTB occurs and the DSP campaign wins the impression, the SSP replaces the placeholder creative in the DSP ad response with the Flight Control-provided ad tag and puts it on the publisher's site.

Block Diagram.png

Note:

  • Currently, only TripleLift and Kargo (Native) SSPs support the above workaround.
  • If you're buying through other vendors outside of these two, ad serving isn't supported. However, a 1x1 Clinch tracker can be leveraged for tracking purposes.
  • For discrepancy measurements, Flight Control numbers need to be compared to the SSP number, not the DSP.

Serving Native Ads

Native campaign ad-serving works as follows for TripleLift:

  1. For TripleLift, an ad size is requested in real time through a macro.
  2. Your campaign's most applicable ad sizes are identified.
    • For TripleLift, the following ad sizes are needed to serve ad formats ranging from 0.416 to 2.4: 600×690, 600×850, 600×1440, 600×1190, 600×1000, 750×600, 900×600, 1050×600, 1190×600, and 1440×600. The final creative would get resolved to the actual ad unit format.
    • For Kargo, the native integration workflow only works for a single ad format: 640x640.
  3. The creative is resized and cropped to the campaign's most suitable ad size.

Limitations

  • Only image ads are supported for native campaigns at this time.
  • Measurement and verification partners cannot be appended to Clinch native tags; they must be implemented within the partnering DSP.
  • The Trade Desk and DV360 integrations can't be used.

image2.png User Permissions 

  • You need the Campaigns user permission to create and edit campaigns.

image.png Prerequisites 

  • Open a support ticket to have TripleLift or Kargo ("Kargo Native") enabled in your account as a DSP/publisher to select in campaign placement.
  • When setting up campaign placements in Flight Control, select the SSP as the publisher (The Trade Desk and DV360 integrations can't be used).
  • If you are using the Kargo SSP and need location-based decisioning, enable location services in Flight Control since Kargo doesn't provide geo macros (This is a premium service.)

Native Campaign Workflow

Step 1: Handle Campaign Card Settings

Configure the following within the campaign's homepage:

  • CPM - used for reporting purposes.
  • Landing Page URL - the campaign's default landing page.
  • Creative Format Selection Method - determines how the native campaign chooses a creative according to the size required in the ad request. Two options exist: 
    • Exact Size: The ad server selects a campaign ad format with dimensions that exactly match the requested size, with no scaling or cropping applied. This option is applicable for Kargo or LG Home screen campaigns.
    • Adaptive Selection with Crop/Resize: The ad server selects the creative ad format with the closest aspect ratio to the requested size, then crops and resizes it to fit perfectly. This option is applicable for native campaigns with TripleLift (and DOOH campaigns).
      • Note: For Adaptive Selection with Crop/Resize, creatives must be built with multiple size variants across aspect ratios and include dedicated margins for cropping (as defined by each platform's required ad sizes).

Step 2: Add Decision Cards to the Campaign

Add and connect decision cards to your campaign as needed for your strategy:

  • Product Selection Card
    • This card selects a product from a product feed to display in an ad using a specified selection strategy.
  • Location Card
    • This card selects a location from a location feed to display in an ad using a specified location targeting method.
  • Condition Card
    • This card conditions by one or more attributes and selects which card output and creative to use for an impression.
  • Schedule Card
    • This card lets you perform campaign actions like dayparting and other date/time ad-serving specifications.
  • Weighted Card
    • This card determines how often its outputs should be used relative to other outputs in the same pool of impression opportunities.
  • Optimization Card
    • This card optimizes its outputs (and connected creatives) according to your chosen metric.
  • Sequence Card
    • This card determines how often to show each output outcome for a specific user.

Step 3: Add Native Creatives to the Campaign

Native campaign creatives come from your account's Creative Library. Use creative cards to include them in your campaign:

  1. Add and connect creative cards to unconnected card outputs.
    1. Choose an image to use for the native ad.
    2. Optional. Enter a landing page URL for the creative.
      • If a creative-specific landing page URL is omitted, then the placement or campaign landing page URL will be used (in that order).
    3. Enter a title.
    4. Enter a description
    5. Enter the name of the sponsor (advertiser).
    6. If needed, enter a call to action (CTA).
    7. If needed, include native ad logo details.
      1. Enter the URL where your logo is hosted.
      2. Enter your logo's pixel dimensions.
  2. Add a fallback creative card.
    1. Repeat the steps used to add creative cards to your campaign (listed above).

Native Ad Specifications by Media Partner

Adhere to the following ad specifications for your media partner:

Media Partner Creative Type Ad Sizes Title Description Sponsorship/Advertiser Name ("Sponsored") Call to Action (CTA) Logo
TripleLift Image

The following ad sizes are needed to serve ad formats ranging from 0.416 to 2.4.:

  • 600×690
  • 600×850
  • 600×1440
  • 600×1190
  • 600×1000
  • 750×600
  • 900×600
  • 1050×600
  • 1190×600
  • 1440×600
 30 characters max. 140 characters max. 30 characters max. 22 characters max. (optional) 300x300 pixels (optional)
Kargo

Image

Note: Only the Kargo scroll unit ad type is supported currently.

 640x640 25 characters max. 25 characters max. Not supported currently Not supported currently 80x80 pixels

 

Step 4: Preview and QA the Campaign

Before saving and activating your campaign, be sure to test your campaign map configuration and its possible outcomes:

  1. Click the Preview mode (eyeball) icon to view your campaign's creatives.
  2. Click the Preview pane's arrow icon (Preview Drawer Icon.png) to open the extended Preview drawer.
    • Using the extended Preview drawer, you can simulate impression variables to see how they would affect the preview. To learn more about campaign previewing, see Campaign Previews.

Step 5: Save the Campaign Version

  1. Click the Current Campaign Version > Save Version.

Step 6: Activate the Campaign

Once your native campaign and creatives are finalized, you can activate the campaign:

  1. Click the Current Campaign Version > Activate Version.

Step 7: Download & Send Ad Tags to your Media Partner

After your Flight Control native campaign is final, you must send your ad tags and fallback creative information (as a precaution).

TripleLift Instructions

  1. Download the campaign's ad tags.
    1. Locate your native campaign in the Campaigns table.
    2. Click the Download Tags quicklink.
      • The XLSX file containing your campaign ad tags will download to your local device as a ZIP file.
  2. Email TripleLift (dco@triplelift.com) the ad tag(s) and include the following fallback creative info:
    • A single-size fallback creative (1280x720, 1.78:1 aspect ratio).
    • A 300x300 logo.
    • The JSON campaign script tag (with the DCO tag extension included).
    • A link to preview your campaign setup.

TripleLift will then assist you in setting up a native-ready campaign and creative(s) in its platform.

Kargo Instructions

  1. Download the campaign's ad tags.
    1. Locate your native campaign in the Campaigns table.
    2. Click the Download Tags quicklink.
      • The XLSX file containing your campaign ad tags will download to your local device as a ZIP file.
  2. Within the downloaded XLSX file's ad-tag URLs, set the dsp_screen_height and dsp_screen_width fields to "640" (instead of "a").
  3. Email Kargo (composer@kargo.com) the ad tag(s) and include the following fallback creative info:
    • A single-size fallback creative measuring 320x250.
    • An 80x80 logo.
    • A title with a 25-character limit.
    • A call to action with a 25-character limit.
    • A landing page URL beginning with "https://www."

Kargo will then assist you in setting up a native-ready campaign and creative(s) in its platform.