Rich Media
Rich Media Ads are a form of digital advertising users can interact and engage with.
This type of advertisement can include functionalities such as sound, video, games, expansions as well as multiple exits and social buttons, among others.
It is important to note that the following guidelines are intended to provide a lowest common denominator for creative specifications and are not meant to place a limit on what can be accepted.
All creatives should be received 24 hours before launch date in order to run quality tests. If creatives are received after this period we cannot guarantee campaigns being launched in a timely manner.
Independent News and Media runs quality tests on all ads and reserves the right of rejection.
Graphical Layout and Content
- Ad images must be clear and recognizable with legible text. Blurry or unclear images should be avoided.
- Strobing or flashing backgrounds are not permitted.
- Strong bright colours shouldn’t cover more than 30-50% of the creative surface (depending on design) in order to minimize intrusiveness.
Certified Rich Media Vendors
Adform, AdGenie, AdKeeper, AdMotion, Adrime, Advolution, Adriver, Bluestreak, DoubleClick, EyeWonder, Flashtalking, MediaMind / Eyeblaster, Mediaplex, Pointroll, Spongecell, Teracent.
Standard Formats
The below information shows specifications for creating Standard ad formats.
| Creative Name | Initial Dimensions (WxH in pixels) |
Maximum Expanded Dimensions (WxH in pixels) |
Max Initial File Load Size | Host-Initiated Subload | Animation / Video Guidelines | Z-index Range | Unit-Specific Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Rectangle | 300×250 | None | 200 KB | n/a | 15 sec max animation length. Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | – |
| Skyscraper | 120×600 | None | 200 KB | n/a | 15 sec max animation length. Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | – |
| Wide Skyscraper | 160×600 | None | 200 KB | n/a | 15 sec max animation length. Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | – |
| Leaderboard | 728×90 | None | 200 KB | n/a | 15 sec max animation length. Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | – |
| Super Leaderboard | 970×90 | None | 200 KB | n/a | 15 sec max animation length. Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | – |
| Billboard | 970×250 | None | 200 KB | n/a | 15 sec max animation length. Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | – |
| Half Page | 300×600 | None | 200 KB | n/a | 15 sec max animation length. Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | – |
| Expandable/ Retractable Formats | 300×250 – 600×250, 970×250 – 970×500, 300×600 to 600×600 | Expansion must be user‑initiated | 200 KB | 300 KB | Minimum 24 fps for video; 15 sec max length (unlimited user-initiated); 1.1 MB additional file size allowed for host-initiated video; unlimited file size for user-initiated video | 5,000 – 1,999,999 (for entire ad unit) |
Retract Feature = Either Click to close/expand or Enable Mouse-Off Retraction |
| Pushdown | 970×90 | 970 x 415 | 200 KB | 300 KB | Minimum 24 fps for video; 15 sec max length (unlimited user-initiated); 1.1 MB additional file size allowed for host-initiated video; unlimited file size for user-initiated video | 0 – 4,999 | Expanding Pushdown ad units “push” page content down rather than expanding over page content. Please see style guide for details on labeling and required controls. Example & Style Guide: www.iab.com/risingstars |
| Sidekick | 300×250, 300×600 | 850×550 (or optional 970×550) |
200 KB | 300 KB | Minimum 24 fps for video; 15 sec max length (unlimited user-initiated); 1.1 MB additional file size allowed for host-initiated video; unlimited file size for user-initiated video | 5000 – 1,999,999 | Unit extends to side of page. Please see style guide for details on labeling and required controls. Example & Style Guide: www.iab.com/risingstars |
| Slider | Width of publisher page by height of 90px. Active ad content centered in 970×90 | 970×550 behind slider bar |
200 KB | 300 KB | Minimum 24 fps for video; 15 sec max length (unlimited user-initiated); 1.1 MB additional file size allowed for host-initiated video; unlimited file size for user-initiated video | 5000 – 1,999,999 Note: Make sure the z-index of the Slider Bar is higher than those of the page and the Slider Content |
Use a branding color for the gutter areas while keeping active ad elements in the center 950px. In the Slider Content, use a branding color for the bottom 90px while keeping active ad elements in the top 460px.The Slider Bar is anchored to the bottom and will be pushed up by any horizontal scroll bars. Click or rollover initiates slider content. Must contain “Close X” in expanded slider bar and in slider content. Example & Style Guide: www.iab.com/risingstars |
| Floating | 400×400 | Expansion not allowed | 200 KB | 300 KB | Minimum 24 fps for video; 15 sec max length (unlimited user-initiated); 1.1 MB additional file size allowed for host-initiated video; unlimited file size for user-initiated video | 2,000,000 – 2,999,999 | Label = “Advertisement” Font = 8pt (11px) by 16pt (21px). “Close X” control required on expanded content, font = 8pt (11px) by 16 pt (21 px). The overlay must close automatically after 10 seconds. Positioning should be 270 pixels from the top of the page and centrally positioned horizontally. Overlay’s are served on the home page of each channel and are frequency capped. Must be hosted via a Rich Media vendor. |
Abbreviations: px = pixel, sec = seconds
Standard Homepage Takeover and Section Takeover
Standard homepage takeovers and section takeovers are special sections and can be filled with a combination of standard formats:
- 2 Skins: 170×1086 gif, png or jpeg images (max. file size 200KB)
- 1 Half Page 300×600 and 1 MPU 300×250 or 2 MPUs
- 1 Billboard 970×250 or 1 Leaderboard 728×90 or 1 Super Leaderboard 970×90
Homepage Wallpaper or Clickable Skin
Homepage wallpapers or clickable skins consist of a main creative covering the page background together with 2 standard formats:
- 1 x Wallpaper or Clickable Skin:
- Width: Approx. 1900px (recommended)
- Height: Approx. 1000px (recommended)
- The wallpaper should have a 970px white space in the middle for the content
- The wallpaper can also cover the whole surface behind the content and have a pushdown functionality available on click that retracts after view, bringing back the content to its original position
- The maximum file size is 200 KB
- This type of creative can contain animations as well as video and other Rich Media functionalities
- Half Page 300×600 and 1 MPU 300×250 or 2 MPUs
Screen resolution
The below information shows statistics of Independent.ie users and their screen resolution. When creating Skins, please optimise the creative to take these into account.
| Screen Resolution | % Sessions |
|---|---|
| 1366×768 | 26% |
| 1920×1080 | 14% |
| 1440×900 | 10% |
| 1280×1024 | 9% |
| 1280×800 | 9% |
Mobile Web Specs
| Creative Name | Initial Dimensions (WxH in pixels) |
Maximum Expanded Dimensions (WxH in pixels) |
Max Initial File Load Size | Host-Initiated Subload | Animation / Video Guidelines | Z-index Range | Unit-Specific Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Rectangle | 300×250 | None | 200 KB | n/a | 15 sec max animation length. Video not allowed. See “In-Banner Video” & Rich Media units below |
0 – 4,999 | – |
| Adhesion Mobile Banner | 300×50, 320×50 | None | 50 KB | 200 KB | 15 sec max animation length. (unlimited user-initiated) Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | Close button on Upper Right Hand Corner; Must be compatible with MRAID 1.0 and MRAID 2.0 |
In-App Specs
| Creative Name | Initial Dimensions (WxH in pixels) |
Maximum Expanded Dimensions (WxH in pixels) |
Max Initial File Load Size | Host-Initiated Subload | Animation / Video Guidelines | Z-index Range | Unit-Specific Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adhesion Mobile Banner | 300×50, 320×50 | None | 50 KB | 200 KB | 15 sec max animation length. (unlimited user-initiated) Video not allowed. |
0 – 4,999 | Close button on Upper Right Hand Corner; Must be compatible with MRAID 1.0 and MRAID 2.0 |
| Smartphone Rich Interstitial | 320×480 | None | 200 KB | 300 KB | Minimum 24 fps for video. 15 sec max length for animation. 30 sec max length for video (unlimited user-initiated). 2.2 MB additional file size for host-initiated video (unlimited user-initiated) | 0 – 4,999 | Landing pages must be mobile optimized; include dimensions in file name; use MRAID specifications when appropriate. |
Video Specs
The below information shows specifications for creating Video ad formats
| Max. video length | 30 seconds for Pre-roll, 60 seconds for In-Article video |
|---|---|
| Format | H.264 (MP4) and WebM video file types must all be included within each video creative (other formats may be included but may not be used) |
| Aspect Ratio / Sample Resolution | 720p or below is required, the optional inclusion of 1080p is recommended – either 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios are acceptable. Examples of each are 16:9 – 854×480; 1280×720; 1920×1080 and 4:3 – 480×360; 720×540; 960×720 |
| Audio Format | MP3 or AAC preferred |
| Frames per second | Up to 30fps |
| Maximum file size | 10 MB |