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Audio creative overview
Advertisers rely on audio creatives to reach on-the-go users with brief and memorable ads that play on publishers’ digital audio players. You can add audio creatives to your creative library in the IQM platform one by one or in bulk, and from the following locations:
You can also choose between uploading a standard audio file (MP3, WAV, OGG, MPEG) or embedding an audio file using a Digital Audio Ad Serving Template (DAAST) XML schema. The DAAST code communicates an audio ad’s key details between the ad server and the audio player.
Refer to Creative ad specs and requirements to confirm that your creatives follow IQM and industry requirements before you add them.
Video tutorial: Upload an audio creative
Upload an audio file
Upload an audio file from the Creatives app
Follow these steps to add audio creatives from the Creatives app:
Open the Creatives app.
Select Audio.
Click + Add New. This will open the Audio Creative pop-up window, where you can select or enter your ad details.
Choose which method you’d like to follow to add the image creatives:
Upload them from your computer’s local files.
Drag-and-drop them from your computer’s local files.
Upload them from an external Google Drive or Dropbox account.
To upload creatives from your computer’s local files, select Upload Audio, choose one or more audio files, and click Open.
To drag-and-drop creatives, open your computer’s local files, choose one or more audio files, and drag your cursor from those files to the or Drag & Drop section.
To upload a creative from an external Google Drive or Dropbox account, select the corresponding company’s icon.
A pop-up window will open and prompt you to log in, accept any applicable privacy settings, and select the desired files from your online drive.
Play the audio clip to confirm that it renders as expected.
If desired, expand the Audio Thumbnail menu to add a companion image to accompany the audio ad. Choose which method you’d like to follow to add the thumbnail image:
Upload it from your computer’s local files.
Drag-and-drop them from your computer’s local files.
Upload them from an external Google Drive or Dropbox account.
Enter a name for the creative.
The Name field will auto-populate to match the name of the file you added.
In the Click URL field, enter the full URL address where users will be directed to when they click on the creative.
To apply the same click URL to each of the creatives you’re uploading, use the Click URL field found in the Apply to all section instead.
Complete the 3rd Party ID, Custom Tracking, and/or Pixel URL fields, if desired.
Refer to Add custom tracking to an audio creative for more details and instructions.
Select Add Creative to save the audio ad(s) to the Creatives app.
Upload an audio file from the Campaigns app
Follow these steps to add an audio creative file from the Campaigns app:
Select the Campaigns app from the homepage.
Choose an insertion order (IO), then filter or search your campaigns to locate the one for which you want to add a new creative.
Locate the Campaign Name column and click the campaign’s name. This will redirect you to a landing page for the campaign, where you can add or update its details and targeting parameters.
Select + Create Campaign instead if you’d like to add the new creative to a new campaign.
Locate the Audio Creatives section.
Select + New Creative.
Follow steps 4 through 13 of the Upload an audio file from the Creatives app workflow. This process will end with an Add to Campaign button in place of the Add Creative button.
Save the creative(s) to the campaign.
If this is an existing campaign, click Save on the campaign’s landing page.
If this is a new campaign, click Save as Draft on the campaign’s landing page, or click Run if you’ve completed all other required and applicable sections for this campaign.
Embed an audio file with a DAAST XML/URL
Embed an audio file from the Creatives app
Follow these steps to embed audio creatives from the Creatives app:
Open the Creatives app.
Select Audio.
Click + Add New. This will open the Audio Creative pop-up window, where you can select or enter your ad details.
Choose which method you’d like to follow to add the DAAST code.
Manually paste the code.
Drag-and-drop a spreadsheet that contains the code from your computer’s local files.
Upload a spreadsheet that contains the code from an external Google Drive or Dropbox account.
To manually paste the code, select + Add DAAST XML/URL and enter the code into the DAAST XML/URL field. Complete this process for each additional creative, if applicable.
To drag-and-drop a spreadsheet, open your computer’s local files, choose one or more files, and drag your cursor from those files to the or Drag & Drop section.
To upload a spreadsheet from an external Google Drive or Dropbox account, select the corresponding company’s icon.
A pop-up window will open and prompt you to log in, accept any applicable privacy settings, and select the files from the online drive.
Play the audio clip to confirm that it renders as expected.
Enter a name for the creative.
Complete the 3rd Party ID and/or Pixel URL fields, if desired.
Refer to Add custom tracking to an audio creative for more details and instructions.
Select Add Creative to save the audio ad(s) to the Creatives app.
You’ll notice that, unlike audio file uploads, DAAST XML/URL embeds don’t include the option to add URLs to a Click URL or Custom Tracking field. That’s because those tracking elements can be embedded directly into the DAAST code.
Embed an audio file from the Campaigns app
Follow these steps to embed a DAAST audio creative from the Campaigns app:
Select the Campaigns app from the homepage.
Choose an insertion order (IO), then filter or search your campaigns to locate the one for which you want to add a new creative.
Locate the Campaign Name column and click the campaign’s name. We’ll redirect you to a landing page for the campaign, where you can add or update its details and targeting parameters.
Select + Create Campaign instead if you’d like to add the new creative to a new campaign.
Locate the Audio Creatives section.
Select + New Creative.
Follow steps 4 through 11 of the Embed an audio file from the Creatives app workflow. This process will end with an Add to Campaign button in place of the Add Creative button.
Save the creative(s) to the campaign.
If this is an existing campaign, click Save on the campaign’s landing page.
If this is a new campaign, click Save as Draft on the campaign’s landing page, or click Run if you’ve completed all other required and applicable sections for this campaign.
Add custom tracking to an audio creative
Custom tracking overview
If desired, you can specify external tags, pixels, or tracking URLs and add them to your audio creatives in the IQM platform to measure performance independently:
3rd Party ID: Reconcile performance data with IQM using the ID that you assigned to a creative on an external, third-party platform. This field is optional with the following use cases:
Keep track of your uploaded ads.
Reconcile data and compare delivery information.
Apply the identifier for your own reporting purposes such as for use in an external data visualization tool.
Impression Tracking URL: Calculate the number of times the ad displays, and measure post-view attribution based on a conversion time frame that you define.
Duration Tracking URLs (Start, 1st Quartile, Midpoint, 3rd Quartile, Complete): Measure how much of the audio ad was played and determine whether it was started or reached 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of its total duration.
Pixel URL: Calculate the number of times a one-pixel-by-one-pixel image loads. Advertisers typically embed the code into their website’s header to measure page visits, or in an email marketing message to measure its open rate. Up to five Pixel URLs are supported per creative.
Add a 3rd Party ID, tracking URL, or Pixel URL to an audio creative
Go to the desired third-party system to create the tracking event and obtain a URL or ID.
If desired, enter the applicable ID in the 3rd Party ID field of each creative.
If desired, add custom tracking URLs.
Include URLs directly in the code that you manually paste or upload via a spreadsheet.
Expand the Custom Tracking section to add URLs to creatives that you add via audio files.
If desired, add unique Pixel URLs to each creative.
Expand the Pixel URLs section.
Add the first Pixel URL.
Select + Add More to add up to four additional Pixel URLs.
If desired, add the same Pixel URLs to each creative.
Select Add.
Add the first Pixel URL.
Select + Add More to add up to four additional Pixel URLs.
Click Update.
Once you’ve completed all other required and applicable fields, click Add Creative to finish.
Locate additional creative resources