Are you curious about how video ads make their way onto your screen while you enjoy online content? Dive into the world of video advertising, where ads seamlessly integrate with videos, popping up before, during, or after your favorite clips. 

From the technical jargon of VAST to the retirement of VPAID, this article breaks down the complexities of video ad serving, shedding light on the mechanisms that drive modern digital advertising. Explore the journey of video ads from servers to screens and discover the significance of embracing industry standards like VAST. 

Read on for a closer look at the fascinating realm of video advertising.

Key Points

• Video advertising seamlessly integrates adverts into online videos, appearing before, during, or after the content. These ads can be seen across various platforms, including web browsers, mobile apps, and OTT devices.

• The IAB outlines three primary formats for video ads: linear, non-linear, and companion ads. Embracing industry standards like VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) ensures smoother ad delivery and better compatibility across different devices and platforms.

• The process of serving video ads involves communication between the video player, publisher's web server, ad server, and advertiser's server. VAST requests play a crucial role in fetching ad information and tracking performance metrics, contributing to more efficient ad delivery.

• The retirement of VPAID in favour of newer standards like SIMID and OMID marks a positive shift in the video advertising landscape. Embracing VAST brings benefits such as standardised ad requests, improved compatibility with mobile and OTT platforms, and enhanced measurement and interactivity features.

What Is Video Advertising?

Video advertising involves showcasing adverts within online videos, appearing before, during, or after the video content, known respectively as pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads. These ads can also be displayed independently. Many video ads are bought, sold, and shown programmatically, utilising different targeting methods and often featuring interactive components.

Where Are Video Ads Shown?

Video ads can appear on various advertising platforms and channels, such as:

• In web browsers on laptops and mobile devices;

• Within mobile applications (known as in-app video adverts);

• On over-the-top (OTT) devices.

Different Video Ad Formats

The IAB outlines three primary formats for video ads:

Linear video ads appear before, during, or after the video content, similar to TV commercials.

A linear video ad example on YouTube

Non-linear video ads run alongside the video content, allowing users to view the ad while watching the content.

Companion ads incorporate text, images, or rich media without disrupting the video experience.

In the video, a non-linear video ad overlays the video content, and there is a companion ad next to the video content on the right.

The Video Ad Serving Process

When it comes to advertising technologies in action, video advertising isn't all that different from display advertising, except for what shows up on the screen.

The process of serving video ads can get quite complicated, depending on how many AdTech platforms are involved. Each platform has to exchange requests for ads and bids.

Here's a simple overview of how video ads get served.

We're calling it a 'video player,' but really, it's any device that can show videos with ads.

The process:

• When a user visits a website featuring a video player, the player communicates with the publisher's web server to fetch the video content. This server then provides instructions to the browser on where to find the main video content and how to display it in the player window, ensuring compatibility with HTML5 video and VAST tags for ad server communication.

• Once the video content is retrieved, the video player reaches out to the publisher's ad server to fetch a video ad, or at least the ad markup from the advertiser. This involves sending a VAST request and the ad server tracks an impression. The ad server then selects which ad to display and sends back the chosen ad markup.

• The ad markup loads into the video player, which then contacts the advertiser's ad server to get the video ad. The advertiser's server tracks an impression and provides a link to the video ad location, often hosted on a content delivery network (CDN).

• Finally, the video player sends a request to the CDN, which returns the video ad file, allowing it to be shown to the user.

In many cases, additional AdTech platforms play a role in serving ads, which varies depending on how the video ad space is sold, such as through RTB or direct agreements.

The Player

In the process of displaying video ads, the key component is the player, acting as a bridge between the video content and the viewer.

For video ads to appear, the player needs to communicate effectively with both ad servers and the viewing platform, like the webpage or device being used.

However, various devices such as OTT streaming devices or Advanced TVs may use different technical protocols, creating a need for a unified system.

This is where a standardised framework becomes crucial, ensuring seamless delivery of ads from video ad servers to video players across diverse websites (publishers) and devices (e.g. desktop, mobile, connected TV, tablet, etc.).

This is where standards like VAST come in.

Video Ad Serving Template (VAST)

VAST, created by the IAB, is a widely used template for video ad serving.

After several updates and revisions, the IAB has recently launched VAST 4.3.

This new version addresses long-standing issues in video advertising, such as measurement, verification, and interactivity.

However, many video players are not up to date. The IAB reports that some device manufacturers and advertising technology developers are still using older versions of VAST, like 3 and 2.

The Significance of Embracing VAST in the Ad Industry

Just as your phone regularly gets updates to stay secure, the advertising world needs VAST updates to fight ad fraud, which is a big problem online.

The main benefits of everyone in the industry using VAST are:

• Speedier implementation thanks to standardised ad requests using macros, making it easier for all video players to show video ads efficiently.

• Better compatibility with mobile and OTT platforms.

• Unified standards for audio and video, including Digital Audio Ad Serving Template (DAAST)

The arrival of VAST 4.2 marked the end of VPAID, a format that didn't gain much favour initially and may have hindered the adoption of a common framework.

VPAID lacked transparency and led to various issues in the industry related to trust, security vulnerabilities, poor user experiences, and low fill rates.

What Does VAST Do?

The different video ad protocols, like VAST, VPAID, VMAP, and MRAID, used to cause a lot of confusion and problems. This made it tough for vendors to follow a standard.

Thanks to the efforts of the IAB and many updates, VAST has become more reliable. It now includes OMID and SIMID, which are crucial for measuring ads and adding interactivity.

Here's what each one does:

• VAST makes sure video ads are delivered properly. It describes the ad, tracks its performance, and organises its parts like media files and scripts.

• OMID measures how many people see the ad and for how long. It's made easier to use with the Open Measurement SDK.

• SIMID adds interactive features to ads.

How Does a VAST Request Work?

In order to play a video ad, the video player must send a VAST request to an ad server for information about:

• The ad that should be played

• How the ad should be played

• What should be tracked as the ad is played

The VAST request is a web link in the form of an HTTP address along with a query string, resembling this:

http://www.example.com/?LR_PUBLISHER_ID=1331&LR_CAMPAIGN_ID=229&LR_SCHEMA=vast2-vpaid

The VAST inline response holds essential details such as: 

Type of creative

Creative ID

Dimensions of the creative

Asset locations

Tracking URLs

Actions taken when the creative is clicked

To understand the distinction between VAST wrappers and VAST inline requests/responses, check out this post.Once specific actions occur, such as clicks, the video player sends tracking pixels to monitor impressions and other important metrics.

Here's an example of a VAST 4.0 response showcasing the mentioned parameters (provided IAB Tech Lab):

<VAST version="4.0" xmlns="http://www.iab.com/VAST">

<Ad id="20011" sequence="1" conditionalAd="false">

<Wrapper followAdditionalWrappers="0" allowMultipleAds="1" fallbackOnNoAd="0">

<AdSystem version="4.0">iabtechlab</AdSystem>

<Error>http://example.com/error</Error>

<Impression id="Impression-ID">http://example.com/track/impression</Impression>

<Creatives>

<Creative id="5480" sequence="1" adId="2447226">

<CompanionAds>

<Companion id="1232" width="100" height="150" assetWidth="250" assetHeight="200" expandedWidth="350" expandedHeight="250" apiFramework="VPAID" adSlotID="3214" pxratio="1400">

<StaticResource creativeType="image/png">

<![CDATA[https://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/iab-tech-lab-6-644x290.png]]>

</StaticResource>

<CompanionClickThrough>

<![CDATA[https://iabtechlab.com]]>

</CompanionClickThrough>

</Companion>

</CompanionAds>

</Creative>

</Creatives>

<VASTAdTagURI>

<![CDATA[https://raw.githubusercontent.com/InteractiveAdvertisingBureau/VAST_Samples/master/VAST%204.0%20Samples/Inline_Companion_Tag-test.xml]]>

</VASTAdTagURI>

</Wrapper>

</Ad>

</VAST>

Video Player Ad Interface Definition (VPAID)

VPAID enables advertisers to deliver engaging ads to viewers and gather insights on their interactions. It allows tracking if users click on various tabs or engage with different elements like forms, surveys, or games within video ads.

In 2017, the IAB Tech Lab announced plans to retire VPAID and introduce two new standards: Secure Interactive Media Interface Definition (SIMID) for interactivity, and Open Measurement Interface Definition (OMID) for tracking performance.

Let's explore how these standards benefit video advertising:

Video Multiple Ad Playlist (VMAP)

VMAP empowers creators of content – such as videos – to designate where advertisements should appear. This feature proves particularly beneficial for creators who want to manage the viewing experience but lack control over the video player itself.

Through VMAP, creators can specify the following:

Placement of advertisement breaks within their content

Timing for each break

Number of breaks available.

The maximum number of ads allowed in each break