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Best Practices for Creative

May 2019
Sunny Byers
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Banner ads by size

Creative can be fixed size or responsive based on web page

information.

Rich media banner creatives can include videos and polite

download technology,

Sizing can also be dynamic.

Best sizes to consider in order of priority:

● 728 x 90 – Leaderboard
● 300 x 250 – Inline Rectangle
● 336 x 280 – Large Rectangle
● 120 x 600 – Skyscraper
● 160 x 600 – Wide Skyscraper
● 300 x 600 – Half-Page Ad
● 970 x 90 – Large Leaderboard
● 320 x 50 – Mobile Leaderboard
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Dynamic creative
design best practices
Designing assets for a dynamic creative involves
extra attention and planning to ensure the design
is flexible enough for changing content. The
following slides include tricks and tips for
planning a dynamic concept, with a focus on
dynamic assets.
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Images: Color, Look, and Feel

Best Practices:

Reduce file size. JPG or PNG files should be less than 1 MB.

Reduce image dimensions. Optimize dimensions based on the

dimensions the image will occupy in the ad space, rather than
changing the scale of a loaded oversize image at serve time.

Consider the look of each image in each creative size. Some

images may work well in one ad size but not in another. For example, a
wide image like a car may display well in a 728x90 but not in a
160x600.

*Source: Google Internal Data

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Best practices for images

Best Practices:

Use the appropriate file type. JPG files are preferred because of
their smaller file size. However, if you want images to display
seamlessly against the background or other visual elements in the ad,
use transparent PNG files that let the background show through.

Transparent images usually take extra work. If your transparent

PNG files include shadows or other visual effects, take time
beforehand to check how they display against the background of your
ad.

Use RGB, not CMYK. The RGB color space is optimized for digital
display. CMYK is designed for print. Studio cannot process images that
use CMYK color profiles.
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Technical Best Practices

Best Practices:

Consider file size limits. There must be enough remaining file size to
add the features and fonts needed for dynamic text.

Test how your dynamic text, images, and other elements interact
with one another. Dynamic variations of one element may
unexpectedly impact the look of the others in the ad.

Complexity. The production team needs to understand the structure

of the ad files and the code within to insert the code that will make the
ad dynamic.
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Audience Tailored Messaging

Best Practices:

Compose audience lists -- groupings of cookies that share common Audience Based
characteristics that can be useful for targeting. Audience list targeting Dynamic Elements:
engages first- and third-party audience lists, including interest-based
DV360 Audiences lists for affinity and in market audiences. Product images

Select concepts and text tailored to audiences. Identify the

dynamic elements for each creative, and decide which should reflect Product descriptions
the characteristics of the audience targeted.
Call-to-action
Conduct A/B testing to understand which messaging combinations
work best.
Pricing
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Mobile First!
70.3% of all display ads in the US are mobile,
compared to 29.7% for desktop.

Best Practices:

With limited screen space, consider using a clean, What is Lorem Ipsum?

simple design. Lorem Ipsum is simply

dummy text of the printing.

Keep text short. Keep consistent typeface and font

throughout. Panorama
See demo I See specs
Keep your logo in upper left or right corners. Give Where does it come from?

logo visibility with “breathing space” around it. Contrary to popular belief,
Lorem Ipsum is not simply
random text. It has roots in
Always include “Call to Action” a piece of classical Latin

At least one image

Blank Slate
See specs

Source: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Duis non erat sem
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Flexible and LEAN Ads

The IAB New Ad Portfolio emphasizes LEAN (Light,
Encrypted, AdChoices supported and
Non-Invasive) ad experience and flexible size ad
specifications.

Best Practices:

Respect a consumer’s objective in consuming

publisher content.

A consumer has control over their advertising

experience.

The consumer decides what content they want and

for how long.

With that in mind… make it look like an ad!

A well designed banner ad has the brands logo and

name in each frame
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CTA and other Dynamic

Text elements
Text elements in an ad, such as the headline and
CTA (call-to-action), are often dynamic.

Best Practices:

Limit the number of fonts.

Keep headlines short. Shorter headlines can make

your message more visible.

Choose headlines that work across all ad sizes.

Along word like "extravaganza" may not work well in
a tall narrow ad size like 160x600. You may need to
reduce font size to fit the entire word.

Avoid heavily styled text.

Actions verbs recommend.

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Best Practices for Text

Best Practices:

Use animation sparingly in dynamic text.

Test special characters for visual appearance in

your feed before publishing the content live.

Match the message on your landing page to the

message in your ad. This benefits users and can
improve conversions.

35 characters or less per line for best visibility

At least 2 lines; make each line unique

Make sure to preview the text on different

placement sizes
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Avoid Overlaid Text

Avoid inserting text on top of an image. Overlaid text

can be unreadable in smaller ad sizes. Images where
the text is naturally embedded/integrated are OK.

Best Practices:

Do preserve the original image, ensuring it’s the

focus

Don’t overlay logos / other graphics on images

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Images: Color, Look, and

Feel

Best Practices:

Reduce File Size JPG or PNG files should be less

than 1 MB.

Reduce Image Dimensions Optimize dimensions

based on the dimensions the image will occupy in the
ad space, rather than changing the scale of a loaded
oversize image at serve time.

Consider the look and feel of each image size

Some images may work well in one ad size but not in
another. For example, a wide image like a car may
display well in a 728x90 but not in a 160x600.
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Best Practice for Images

Best Practices:

Use the appropriate file type. JPG files are

preferred because of their smaller file size. However,
if you want images to display seamlessly against the
background or other visual elements in the ad, use
transparent PNG files that let the background show
through.

Transparent images usually take extra work. If

your transparent PNG files include shadows or other
visual effects, take time beforehand to check how
they display against the background of your ad.

Use RGB, not CMYK. The RGB color space is

optimized for digital display. CMYK is designed for
print. Studio cannot process images that use CMYK
color profiles.
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Use High Quality Images

Images help users understand your business, products.
and brand. They are critical to ads that perform well.
Best Practices:

DO:
Use the natural lines of an image
Use image in focus
Use images that are easy to see and full color
Use images that include a single, non-duplicated
composition of the subject
Keep edges square and borders transparent to
allow images bleed to the full aspect
Use the raw, natural composition of photos

DON’T:
Use visually skewed or blurry images
Use images that appear washed out
Use images with a mirror image
Use round edges or borders
Use inverted colors or excessive filters
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Showcase the product or

service as the focus
Best Practices:

Blank space should not take up more than 80% of

the image. Your product or service should be the
focus.
Avoid collage images
Use single images. Collages are not recommended.

Avoid digital composite backgrounds

Avoid displaying products over digital composite
backgrounds, including an all-white background.
Instead use quality photographs that have physical
settings with organic shadows and lighting.
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Logos
Certain layouts feature your brand logo. If you do not provide a
logo, a neutral icon will be used instead, e.g., a globe or the first
letter of your brand name.

Best Practices:

• 1:1 aspect ratio (e.g., 1200 x 1200 px)

• 4:1 aspect ratio (e.g., 1200 x 300 px)
• Center your logo and crop it carefully
• Avoid using small text or adding extra “flair”

• Transparent backgrounds preferred

• White space or padding should be 1/16th of the logo
size
• Copyright symbols in your logo are OK
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Technical Best Practices

Best Practices:

Consider file size limits. There must be enough

remaining file size to add the features and fonts
needed for dynamic text.

Test how your dynamic text, images, and other

elements interact with one another. Dynamic
variations of one element may unexpectedly impact
the look of the others in the ad.

Complexity. The production team needs to

understand the structure of the ad files and the
code within to insert the code that will make the ad
dynamic.
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Call to Action
Top 5 CTA buttons:
● Buy Now
● Add to Cart
● Check Out
● Purchase Now
● Shop Now

But the best CTA’s get creative: Consider using action

verbs and appealing to your target audience in a
language they use. Example:
● Try Our Free Trial
● Reserve Your Seat
● Download Whitepaper

Use color wisely in CTA button: Generally speaking,

green and orange buttons are reported to perform best.
Ultimately though it will depend on your site design, as
contrasting colors work best to make striking buttons
that stand out. You wouldn’t want a green CTA button on
a green background.
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Call to Action
Best Practices:

Create a sense of urgency by adding “Now” to the CTA.

Follow natural user flow: Always read from left to right,

up and down.

Widen the white space: Keep space around the

call-to-action to keep it visible above all else.

Test different buttons: In dynamic campaigns, you can

swap out buttons depending on ad performance.
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Gmail Ads
Best Practices:

Considerations for Images will allow you to choose

clear images and a logo that best represent your
business. Upload multiple images and utilize our
asset-based creatives will find best performing
combination

Choose a message message that resonates with the

audience you’re targeting. Make your call to action
prominent and direct. Highlight special offers,
promotions, or deals in your teaser text

Experience. Direct users to a relevant landing page.

Review ad preview layouts for both desktop and
mobile. Test out several combinations of text and
images to see what performs
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Animation vs. Static

Choice is based on creative content

Animated Ads Static

A static banner are those that consist of a still
Images or text in the banner move.
advertisement and contains design and/or text.
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Video Ad Best Practices

According to eMarketer research, the most popular
types of rich media ad is out-stream video

Best Practices:

For auto play video banners: the max duration should be 15

seconds. While the recommended max file size should be 1.1mb and
24fps – for lower bandwidths 18fps is allowable.

When auto-playing, the default setting for any sound should be

mute. Likewise, the video ad must not expand, unless initiated by
the user. Remember, you want to engage with viewers, not push
them away.

Monitor script size

On the way to being published, a banner’s “weight” is added. Not all
kb’s come from where you think (images, fonts, and animation, etc.).
Sometimes the heaviest part of the total weight of a banner, is
added by tracking scripts. These scripts normally come from your
adserver. If you regularly have problems with your banners being
too heavy, then don’t forget to check the scripts!
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Dynamic Ads
Take personalization and relevancy to the next level with dynamic
content display ads. Dynamic ads use web feeds to supply
updating data into already published display ads. These updates
are fast and regular, and can be performed every 15 seconds. The
potential applications are endless.

Benefits of dynamic creatives

● Increase creative development efficiency: Develop one
creative shell per ad size and use our tools to swap out the
content that populates the ad on the fly.
● Increase trafficking efficiency: Traffic a single creative ID per
ad size, instead of a creative for each unique creative
iteration.
● Serve the most relevant ad: Use advanced dynamic creative
targeting rules to tailor content to the viewer on every single
impression.
● Integrate seamlessly with Campaign Manager: Easily
generate reporting and analytics on campaign performance
via Studio's direct link to Campaign Manager.
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Creative Wear Out

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Question:

What is creative wear out?

How long will my ad be effective?

When will my ad no longer work?

How do I prevent this from happening?

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Keep your ad Fresh!

Optimal Ad frequency should be between 3 9

and exposures a month!
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Rotation Selection

Ask yourself if anything is

happening

Launch Creative

Pull a report
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Always be Testing

It is the best way to ensure you’re presenting your audience with the most
relevant and impactful ads
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Focus on Creative
Use positivity and humor

Speak clearly and direct. Use

sharp copy. Talk to the user Simple, on point messaging
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Be on the look-out

Click-thru If you’re delivering a disproportionate amount of impressions that aren’t getting

rate clicked through, you may have hit the wear-out wall.

Cost per Compare the cost of advertising versus the number of offer claims, link clicks, app installs,
action and page likes it generates. If your ads aren’t driving action, it may be time to adjust.

Is your website bringing in unique visitors? And how much time are they spending on the
Engagement
site? Knowing the answers to these questions can give you a sense of how impactful your
metrics
ad is, and how much continuity there is between your ad and landing page.
New Formats

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Next, explore our latest format
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offerings via the Format Gallery

One-stop shop to browse and

create formats

Get a feel for how an end user

will experience an ad

See details on how to build,

where it can run, and some
samples to spur creative ideation

www.richmediagallery.com/formats
Flipbook
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Flipbook is an out-stream video format that

plays only when the ad is visible and the
user is scrolling, making sure the ad doesn’t
compromise other content and gives users
full control.

It piques interest by pairing the video plays

with the user’s scroll, teasing a sight and
motion experience that works both forward
and in reverse.

Click here to see a live version

Specs
Best practices
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Use an interesting, ● Optimize for mobile: Use a video with bright colors and high contrast for better visibility on
mobile devices
mobile-optimized video
● Use a video with interesting action: The best raw material for Flipbook ads are videos with
visually exciting content, which is particularly captivating when viewed in forward and
reverse directions

Pick a great highlight clip ● Include exciting motion: Select a short clip from your video with interesting motion that
uses as much of the frame as possible; we recommend the motion occurs on at least ¼ of
the screen or more
● Pick a clip with just 1 cut: Tell a story with continuous motion. Don’t pick a highlight clip
with lots of cuts since it forces the viewers to focus on different angles or objections
● Make it fun to play forward and backward: It doesn’t matter if the clip comes from the
start, middle or end of the video. You have full creative freedom
● Tip! After you pick a highlight clip, make sure to preview your completed ad on a phone to
make sure it’s engaging!
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General Design Best Practices

Each frame of an ad should stand on its own. Be mindful when using “reveal” ads.

Each one of the frames below tells a unique message.

Parallax
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Parallax is a scroll-based display experience built in

Google Web Designer. Parallax is captivating
because it creates the perception of depth, which
comes from having multiple images move at
slightly different speeds, all paired again with the
user’s scroll.
Parallax ads can be built with any number
of layers to create simple background
and foreground experiences or complex, rich ones.
You can customize these ads
all you want.

Click here to see a live version

Specs
Success stories

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CTA and other dynamic text elements

Text elements in an ad, such as the headline and CTA (call-to-action),
are often dynamic.

Best Practices:

Limit the number of fonts.

Keep headlines short. Shorter headlines can make your message

more visible.

Choose headlines that work across all ad sizes. Along word like
"extravaganza" may not work well in a tall narrow ad size like 160x600.
You may need to reduce font size to fit the entire word.

Avoid heavily styled text.

Actions verbs recommend.

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Beta Success Story:

Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. was one of first clients to test the
Flipbook format. They repackaged their existing
video assets in a new and innovative way and
saw a number of promising results.
While pitched as a brand format, they saw some
unexpected results.

Compared to non-Flipbook LIs, Flipbook drove:

- Higher avg. impressions
- Higher avg. conversions
- Higher likelihood to convert
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Beta Success Story:

Webrepublic
Swiss agency Webrepublic was excited to be one of our
initial Flipbook testers as part of their focus on utilizing
engaging, interactive formats. They were looking to
drive brand awareness for their client Pfister, and built
their Flipbooks using existing YouTube videos.

Results from initial test:

- Maximized reach for given budget
- Met their goal for viewable CPM
- Easily constructed ad in a matter of minutes
- Planning to continue to run Flipbook campaigns
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What is most interesting about

“ the Flipbook ad is that you can

get information on how users
interacted with the ad, even if
they didn't click. There are strong
signals that the ad was noticed.
Damian

”
“
Webrepublic
It was very intuitive to build the
[Parallax] format in GWD...we’re
very interested in trying out some
“ The [Flipbook] campaign creation
was very simple and the clip
selection process was very cool.

of the other features.

Marina
Crane ”
Bruno
Despegar