Digital Advertising Specifications

Website - life.spectator.co.uk

Click here to download a PDF version of these specifications

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CAMPAIGN GUIDELINES

CREATIVE DEADLINES

(receipt of all final assets – sent as a zip file/online transfer)

Simple image (gif, jpg, png) Standard/simple rich media creative Complex rich media creative

2 business days prior to launch 5 business days prior to launch 10 business days prior to launch

All display advertising on life.spectator.co.uk is served through Google Ad Manager

The Spectator reserves the right to remove any advertising that does not comply with our specifications, contravenes any of these guidelines or adversely affects the rendering of our site, other ad placements or user experience

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HTML5 GUIDELINES

AD COMPONENTS

All assets need to be loaded from the same domain name and host. This includes any JS,CSS or any other assets.

Cross domain file loading is not permitted.

Only one .html file should be used at the root of the file structure to start the advert i.e. index.html

Backup image should now be used for any browser which has either no Flash player plug-in installed or doesn’t support HTML 5 web standard.

THIRD PARTY

All assets must be third party hosted.

Tags must be SSL (HTTPS) & SafeFrame compliant.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To avoid/remove unnecessary jQuery calls; consider using Web API & Vanilla Javascript. Instead of providing a massive font file containing hundreds of icons/glyphs that you may or may not use, please consider loading only the characters required.

Minifying files makes a huge difference & can help improve performance. Please consider minifying HTML, CSS & JS using a suitable minifier of your choice.

Avoid animation effects that are CPU intensive.

Please follow HTML5 requirements for Ad Manager and ensure a valid click tag has been inserted in your HTML5 creative.

API restrictions We do not permit access to the following features of HTML5:

No use of Web-SQL Server database

No use of Web-Storage

No use to IndexDB

No use of WebSockets

No use of WebWorkers

No FileSystemAPI access

No Geolocation API

No use of Push API and Notification API

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TOP BILLBOARD (All pages including articles and section hubs)

Dimensions (width x height in pixels):	1140x250 for desktop 728x90 for tablet devices 320x50 for mobile devices
Formats:	gif, jpg, png, HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Note: All Flash creatives should be converted to HTML5
Max File Size:	40K
Animation Time Limit:	15 Seconds
Loop Limit:	3 loops, 15 seconds each
Link:	Linking URL is required on creative submission
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Five business days prior to launch

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INLINE BILLBOARD (Home page and section hub pages only)

Dimensions (width x height in pixels):	970x250 for desktop 728x90 for tablet devices 320x50 for mobile devices
Formats:	gif, jpg, png, HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Note: All Flash creatives should be converted to HTML5
Max File Size:	40K
Animation Time Limit:	15 Seconds
Loop Limit:	3 loops, 15 seconds each
Link:	Linking URL is required on creative submission
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Five business days prior to launch

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MPU (All pages including articles and section hubs)

Dimensions (width x height in pixels):	300x250 for desktop, tablet and mobile devices
Formats:	gif, jpg, png, HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Note: All Flash creatives should be converted to HTML5
Max File Size:	40K
Animation Time Limit:	15 Seconds
Loop Limit:	3 loops, 15 seconds each
Link:	Linking URL is required on creative submission
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Five business days prior to launch

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SKIN (All pages including articles and section hubs - Not stand-alone. Only in combination with other creatives)

Dimensions (width x height in pixels):	1920x1080 for desktop only    Middle (1240 pixels) must be blank (white or transparent only)    Safety area 120 pixels wide, innermost on each side and 350 pixels from top and 330 pixels from bottom (any important branding, logos, images or messages outside this area is not recommended)
Formats:	gif, jpg, png
Max File Size:	150K
Animation:	Not allowed
Link:	Linking URL is required on creative submission
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch

Skins will only show on desktop screens bigger than 1300 pixels wide

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STANDARD HOME PAGE TAKEOVER AND SECTION TAKEOVER

Standard home page takeovers and section takeovers are high impact campaigns and can be filled with a combination of standard formats:

Desktop:	1 x Skin 1 x Top Billboard (1140x250) for top ad unit 1 x Inline Billboard (970x2500) for inline ad unit(s) 1 x MPU (300x250)
Tablet:	1 x Leaderboard (728x90) for top and inline ad units 1 x MPU (300x250)
Mobile:	1 x Smartphone banner (320x50) for top and inline ad units 1 x MPU (300x250)

Please refer to individual ad unit specifications for more information on formats, dimensions and guidelines.

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SPONSORED ARTICLE

Description

Connect your company’s voice to our community
You provide the story, we provide the platform. Publish one article and gain immediate exposure to an audience looking for new ideas and industry expertise. Your content will be marked as sponsored and include your branding. Align with our editorial and start driving awareness.

Article Guidelines

SUBMISSION & FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS FOR SPONSORED ARTICLES

• Submissions should be at least 500 words
• Submit using Microsoft Word .doc or .docx format
• File your submission to the program manager assigned to you
• Headline should be 50 characters maximum
• Provide a brief summary of your article: 30-40 words
• Author name and biography (30-40 words max) are optional. No headshot is required
• Images can be included in the article at a maximum resolution of 730 pixels wide. The best approach is to send images at the size you’d like them to be seen on the site, given that width limit. We prefer .jpg or .png file types
• A short caption text can accompany images
• Corporate logo for branding within the article. We accept jpg, png, gif, eps formats.
• Links to videos on official company YouTube accounts or official websites are fine. (We cannot embed videos within the article, however.)

Includes roadblock on the article and traffic drivers*

See Best Practices

ROADBLOCK

Ad units:	Top Billboard (for desktop), Leaderboard (for tablets) and Smartphone Banner (for mobile devices) MPU
Formats:	gif, jpg, png, HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Note: All Flash creatives should be converted to HTML5
Max File Size:	40K
Animation Time Limit:	15 Seconds
Loop Limit:	3 loops, 15 seconds each
Link:	Linking URL is required on creative submission
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Five business days prior to launch

TRAFFIC DRIVERS

Ad units:	Top Billboard (for desktop), Leaderboard (for tablets) and Smartphone Banner (for mobile devices) MPU
Formats:	gif, jpg, png, HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Note: All Flash creatives should be converted to HTML5
Max File Size:	40K
Animation Time Limit:	15 Seconds
Loop Limit:	3 loops, 15 seconds each
Link:	Linking to the sponsored article (URL will be provided)
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Five business days prior to launch

*Duration of traffic drivers to be confirmed with account manager

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SPONSORED HUB

Description

Maximise your presence
Advertisers who plan to provide regular sponsored articles (minimum of 5) can gain maximum exposure by having them hosted on a dedicated hub page that can be branded and contain additional content/information about the sponsor.

Includes roadblock on the articles and hub page and traffic drivers*

See Best Practices

ROADBLOCK

Ad units:	Top Billboard and Inline Billboard (for desktop), Leaderboard (for tablets) and Smartphone Banner (for mobile devices) MPU
Formats:	gif, jpg, png, HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Note: All Flash creatives should be converted to HTML5
Max File Size:	40K
Animation Time Limit:	15 Seconds
Loop Limit:	3 loops, 15 seconds each
Link:	Linking URL is required on creative submission
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Five business days prior to launch

TRAFFIC DRIVERS

Ad units:	Top Billboard (for desktop), Leaderboard (for tablets) and Smartphone Banner (for mobile devices) MPU
Formats:	gif, jpg, png, HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Note: All Flash creatives should be converted to HTML5
Max File Size:	40K
Animation Time Limit:	15 Seconds
Loop Limit:	3 loops, 15 seconds each
Link:	Linking to the sponsored article (URL will be provided)
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch HTML, HTML5, Rich Media Five business days prior to launch

*Duration of traffic drivers to be confirmed with account manager

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EMAIL NEWSLETTERS:

Spectator Life

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BANNERS

Dimensions (width x height in pixels):	710x130 For display on desktop/tablet devices 500x225 For display on mobile devices
Formats:	gif, jpg, png
Max File Size:	40K
Animation Time Limit:	15 Seconds, however animation not recommended for newsletter banners. First frame should contain full message in the event that banner does not animate
Loop Limit:	3 loops, 15 seconds each
Link:	Linking URL is required on creative submission
Materials Deadline:	gif, jpg, png Two business days prior to launch