May 2021¶

Updated Dynamic Creative Optimization & Multivariate Ad Testing¶

• Based on feedback coming from clients, we’ve updated the DCO to optimize for CVR rather than for CTR. See Advanced Dynamic Creative Optimization documentation for more information and a new addition to the best practices section of the doc.

New Moments Ads¶

• Introducing Moments, a new Native ad canvas that scales across Verizon Media’s category-leading mobile app and web properties. Leveraging the interscroller format, a Moments Ad is revealed as a user scrolls vertically until the experience fills the entire screen. Moments supports both static and video portrait assets, and is available for both managed and self-serve advertisers.

See the new Moments Ads guide for Video Examples, Types & Formats, downloadable Moments Guidelines PDF, downloadable Matrix View of Required Fields, Technical Requirements, and links to more resources. API support for Moments is provided with additional fields that are available in Ad Fields and Ad Asset Fields.

For details about Bulk support, see Bulk Ads and Ad Assets documentation.

New Rebranded Shopify app from Verizon Media¶

The new Shopify app from Verizon Media provides advertisers with a Shopify extension as part of the Dynamic Product Ads (DPA) integration.

The app is available for download on the Shopify app store. The app, which is free, offers a very simple setup and workflow that lets you create a DPA ad campaign in less than 5 minutes.

See Shopify App - Product Ads for more information on campaign setup, workflow, sample e-commerce sites and FAQs.

Reminder: New Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) and Multivariate Ad Testing¶

Native Ad Platform now introduces Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) and Multivariate Ad Testing for all advertiser accounts. This new feature capability enables advertisers to define in advance the creative elements and let the system dynamically optimize to their most effective combinations in their native ad campaigns. Success is evaluated on the basis of CTR. The feature is available on native for single image ad formats and currently only through bulksheet.

See the documentation in the Advertiser Guide to learn more about key benefits, creative elements, how it works, campaign setup, reporting, best practices, FAQs and more.

Also, be sure to check out the latest Verizon Media Blog Post: Build Breakthrough Ads with Dynamic Creative.

Important: New Restrictions for Square and HQ Images in Single Image ads¶

When creating your ad, you will need to include an imageUrl and imageUrlHQ in the API and an Ad HQ Image URL in BULK. Note that the imageUrl must have a 1:1 aspect ratio. A square image (imageLargeUrl) is mandatory. If you upload an 800x800 image, for example, the asset will be resized down to 627x627 pixels. And if you upload an 800x850 image, the asset will be resized and cropped down to 627x627 pixels. If the image is off from the 1:1 aspect ratio by more than 10%, the asset will be rejected and ad creation will fail. For example, an 800x1000 image is more than 10% off from 1:1 square, so it will be rejected

This applies to API, UI and BULK uploads. Ensure that you follow these requirements when creating single image and carousel ads. Use a 1:1 aspect ratio and an exact size of 627x627 for a square asset for carousel ads.

The image requirements for various assets is shown in the table below:

New Dynamic Product Ads Guide¶

• We’ve rolled out a new portal dedicated to Dynamic Product Ads in our documentation suite. This empowers partners and advertisers with an expanded set of resources in one location, to help streamline DPA planning and setup. This guide is a repository intended for DPA partners, developers and account managers. It serves as the source of truth for the combined documentation suites for all technical content dedicated to DPA for the Native API and Native UI. Use our guide as a toolkit to navigate topics and essential reference material, and to explore implementation details, how-to’s, case studies, FAQs and best practices.

New Thought Leadership Series: Trusted News¶

• Verizon Media has launched a new thought leadership series, starting with Trusted News. Also, Verizon Media has created a Coronavirus hub page across the Yahoo ecosystem (News, Finance, Sports, Lifestyle and Entertainment) that aggregates the latest news about the pandemic in the U.S. and across the globe to keep our nearly 900M users informed with trusted content.

New Option: Run Carousel Ads as Single Image¶

• We’ve introduced the option to run Carousel Ads as a single image, to help boost your campaign’s reach, using the new runAsSingleImage field. See details in the Fields section of Ad Object API and in Ad Object Bulk documentation. Also see the Carousel Ads section of the Advertiser Guide for a screenshot of where to toggle the switch in the UI to turn on this feature.

New: Countdown Timer Prefix Text for Flash Sale Ad¶

To add Countdown Prefix to a Flash Sale Ad in the UI, refer to the Advertiser Guide for options and examples.

Updated Verizon Media Native UI¶

• We’ve updated the design of our Native platform to reflect the updated Verizon Media branding. Note that this update does not change the current Native UI functionality. The UI may look a little different, but trust that you still have access to all the great data, inventory and performance that you are used to.

Meanwhile, we’re working to update the existing screenshots of the UI to match this new Verizon Media design. Stay tuned.

New: Strict Validation for Redirect URLs¶

Updated Bulk Operations¶

• We’ve updated the API documentation for Bulk operations, with the latest information on how to upload and download bulk files in your advertiser accounts. A sample tab-separated CSV file spreadsheet is provided, along with information on Bulk schemas and objects. Check out the documentation for Bulk Operations.

New: Video in Ad Workshop: Zen and the Art of Digital Storytelling¶

• Check out our latest video in the Ad Workshop section of the Advertiser Guide: Zen & the Art of Digital Storytelling. In this video, we step back a bit to explore some of the techniques you can employ to write ad copy that works best to reach and connect with your target customers.

Frank Palmieri, a Senior Manager on the Account Strategy team at Verizon Media, walks you through the steps you need to follow – and delivers the answers. The essence of writing great ad copy – copy that converts – is telling a compelling story that excites your customers and provides them with a call to action.