On January 11, 2001, Macromedia (now known as Adobe) announced a method to track clicks on Flash ads with the use of variables. Previously, the click tracking string had to be embedded into the Flash movie (swf file).
The method shown at, http://www.macromedia.com/resources/richmedia/tracking/adserving_guide/, illustrates using variables to pass the click tracking string into Flash movies. If the files adhere to the method shown on the site, the same set of files can be reused for multiple campaigns, different sites, and different ad serving networks.
Please note that some sites have specific Flash requirements. In these instances, the site's requirements should be followed instead of the DART requirements. If you have questions as to whether to follow a site's requirements or DARTs requirements, please contact your Technical Account Manager.
This document describes the method in general and also provides information specific to implementing this method with DoubleClick DART ad serving technology (ie Flash Rich Media templates).
Please note that for some sites, the site's specifications may be more stringent and should be followed instead of the below information.
For the most part, the movie is made just like any other Flash movie. Any SWF file specifications provided by the site still apply. Any animation or ActionScript that you would normally use can be used with this method. The main difference is in the settings for click through (getURL) actions.
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Flash version |
6 or higher is highly recommended |
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filenames |
All lower case characters without ampersands, asterisks, slashes, spaces, or question marks. |
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maximum file size |
39,000 bytes (However sites might restrict the file to a smaller size. DART may also restrict the filesize. Check with your Technical Account Manager.) For additional options, such as Motif or allowing larger filesizes, contact your Technical Account Manager or Account Management team as there are associated costs and setup involved with these options. |
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getURL actions |
In general:
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There are some special situations that have different requirements. Some examples of these situations are:
DART swf file requirements (details):
Due to recent newer versions being released and the need to support variables, it is highly recommended that you use Flash 6. Older versions can be used (Flash 4 and Flash 5) but they are no longer recommended as most users have the Flash 6 or higher plugin installed.
Because the creatives are served over the Internet, certain characters should not be in the filename. These characters cause problems when the creative is served over the Internet. These characters include:
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ampersands |
& |
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asterisks |
* |
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slashes |
\ or / |
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spaces |
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question marks |
? |
| pound | # |
Additionally, to be safe, all the characters in the filename should be in lower case.
DART for Advertisers has a file limit of 39,000 bytes (39KB), unless the Network limit has been increased. Each file should be less than 39,000 bytes. A large movie can be split into multiple 39,000 byte files. However, the ActionScript code in the movies needs to pass on click tracking variables. Please contact DART Support for more information. Additionally, DART may impose file size upload restrictions. If you need to confirm your filesize upload limit or need to modify it, check with your Technical Account Manager. This includes increasing your filesize limit or requesting that your Network be Motif enabled. One last thing to consider is that a publisher/site may have additional requirements and those may take precedence to the DART Network settings (i.e. the site may require filesizes of no more than 15,000 bytes)
As mentioned previously, DART uses the variable clickTag and it should be placed in the ActionScript code exactly as listed for the URL in a getURL action. As recommended in Macromedia's Rich media Tracking Kit, clickTag can be used for both the click tracking string and the URL together. The HTML and sniffer code will have both clickTag and the URL. As a result, this variable will be used in place of an actual URL in Flash and should be listed as either "_root.clickTag" (without the quotes) or "_level0.clickTag" (without the quotes). The _root or _level0 part is included for 'pathing' purposes - to ensure that Flash can properly locate the variable. To learn more about variables and their paths refer to:
http://www.macromedia.com/support/flash/ts/documents/varpath.htm
There are a few ways to define the clickable action. One is to use as a function inside a Frame, another is to use the getURL in a Button action directly. Below are a couple of rough examples of this coding.
Defined as a Button Action, assigned to a Button Object in Flash -
on (release) {
getURL (_level0.clickTag, "_blank");
}
Defined as a Function call in a Frame Action, assigned to a named Object/Button (buttonClip) inside the Flash -
buttonClip.onRelease = function () {
getURL (_level0.clickTag, "_blank");
};
Most rich media advertising is served through a separate frame, an iframe, or via JavaScript, allowing a site to rotate ads. Because of this, it is recommended that you define a target window for the click through URL - usually set to be "_blank". This will open a new browser window. If you define this a "_top" or something else, the landing page may load inside the current browser window or one of the Frames/IFrames defined in the current view. If the target window is set incorrectly, the advertiser's site might appear in the wrong window. Please note that if you leave the target statement undeclared, the landing page will open in the current frame or browser window, by default.
When the click through occurs, the browser will first contact the ad server to count the click and then go to the advertiser's site. If you need to passing variables to the advertiser's site, it is recommended to use the GET method, which essentially appends these variables and values as a query string to the end of the click thru URL. If the advertiser's servers cannot use the GET method for variables, please see KB 1692 for the POST method workaround for Flash (also listed in the Related Articles section at right).
Implementing the ad in DART (for the DART trafficker)
DoubleClick recommends using the predefined Rich Media Templates whenever possible. These have been extensively tested and remove the 'human error' element from the trafficking process. In addition, most of the Templates include additional code that handles items such as the EOLAS patch for Internet Explorer, as well as allowing for items such as Survey tag code. The Templates most used are:
Banner Creative (Flash)
This template is the most used template and generally considered for simple Flash banners with GIF backup.
Banner Creative (Flash) - In Page Multiples - BETA
This is a newer template, that allows for passing multiple click throughs as well as multiple child movies. It uses FlashVars to pass these values as variables so that character limits are not a consideration.
If there is a situation where one of the standard Templates cannot be used or if there is a particular business reason for not using a Template, you can certainly use HTML sniffer code. It is highly recommended that this be created by your creative team and tested fully before being placed inside DART. Once the code has been tested, you copy and paste the HTML code into the Rich Media Code window inside the Creative Load section. There will likely need to be some adjustments made to make sure the code works with DART. Items to be considered:
- make sure the variable clickTag is being used and passed to the Flash file
- the location of any filenames will have to be adjusted to refer to the location on the DART Media Servers, the macro for our Media Servers is %h and this will automatically call the most appropriate server for the user. For example:
before:
var myswf = "myfile.swf"
after:
var myswf = "%h/123456/myfile.swf" (where 123456 would represent your Advertiser ID)
- the click string macro (%c) is appended before the URL and the URL is encoded
before:
clickTag = http://www.myurl.com/;
after:
clickTag = "%chttp%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emyurl%2Ecom%2F
If you need further assistance with uploading and modifying your own sniffer code in DART, please consult with your Technical Account Manager.