Preview in-app creatives
Overview
Previewing in-app creatives is useful to test the behavior of the creative and to share the preview with colleagues, advertisers or agencies.
You can preview in-app creatives with the following two methods:
- Preview in-app creative from insertion: with this method you prepare an insertion with the creative and call this insertion with the appropriate ad request parameters.
- Preview in-app creative without insertion: this method allows you to preview an in-app creative using its ad markup, without the need of preparing an insertion.
Both methods require Equativ's Showcase app for iOS or Android.
Preview in-app creative from insertion
Prepare insertion with creative
Before you start, prepare an in-app insertion, including the in-app creative you intend to preview and put this insertion online.
Install Equativ Showcase app
Download and install Equativ's Showcase app from these app stores:
View Equativ standard in-app ad formats
The Showcase section in the app lets you discover Equativ's standard in-app ad formats, which are set up with creative templates.
Request creative from insertion
The Ad Viewer section lets you call creatives you have previously prepared in an insertion. To set it up, click the hamburger menu in the top-left corner and select Ad Viewer.
The following table describes the options and fields in the Ad Viewer:
| Option or Field | Requirement | Description |
|---|---|---|
| QR code generator/scanner | n/a |
Use to share the values in the Ad Viewer fields with another device. Follow these steps:
|
| History | n/a | View the history of the previous ad calls, including timestamp, the placement (Site ID, Page ID, Format ID), and Ad type. |
| Site ID, Page ID, Format ID | Required | Fill in the IDs to call the insertion you want to preview. Copy the IDs from the Placement section of the insertion as shown in the screenshot following this table. |
| Keyword targeting | Optional | Add the keyword targeting criteria of the insertion you want to preview. This field is relevant only if the insertion you are intending to call has keyword targeting criteria. |
| Custom Base URL | Optional | Use to modify the default base URL of the ad call. Use the following format: http(s)://mydomain.com
|
| Custom Consent-String | Optional | Use to override the IAB Europe TCF consent string that the installed CMP passes in the ad call. |
| Ad Type | Required | Select Banner, Interstitial, or Native Ad, depending on the creative template used in the Creatives section in the insertion. |
| Load | n/a |
Trigger the ad call with the parameters you have entered to display the ad you want to test. Creatives with a height greater than 1000px are truncated when displayed in portrait orientation. This limitation occurs only in the Equativ Showcase app and does not affect publishers' apps using Equativ's in-app SDK. |
| Log | n/a |
View the log containing the following information:
|
The following screenshot shows how to retrieve a Site ID, Page ID, and Format ID. In the Placement section of an insertion, hold the pointer over a site, page, or format and click to copy the value to your clipboard.
Preview in-app creative without insertion
The preview of in-app creatives is not compatible with SDK 8 and will be retired with the wind down of SDK 7. Please reach out to your contact at Equativ if this tool is critical for your daily operations.
You can preview an in-app creative without the need of preparing an insertion. All you need is the creative's ad markup and Equativ's Showcase app.
The preview process involves the following steps:
- Configure the creative in Equativ's preview generator.
- Generate a QR code/ID of the configuration.
- Scan the QR code and preview the creative in Equativ's Showcase app.
Configure creative
To configure the creative you want to preview, proceed as follows:
- Open Equativ's Ad Preview Generator
- Select the Ad Format Type where you want to test the ad.
- In case of Banner, Parallax Banner, or Interstitial, select HTML source and paste the HTML code of the creative or select URL of the hosted HTML content and paste the URL of the creative.
- In case of Video-Read Banner and Video interstitial, (1) select VAST source and paste a VAST XML document or (2) select URL of the hosted VAST and paste the URL of a VAST document, or (3) select URL of the video and paste the URL of an .mp4 video file.
- Define the appropriate parameters for the selected Ad Format Type to adapt the behavior of the creative, for example modify the display duration of an interstitial ad.
In case of banners, the close button is only available if the MRAID expand feature is used. For more details, see SDK documentation.
Generate QR code
Once you are done with the configuration of the creative, click on Generate Ad Preview to generate a QR code as well as an ID of your configuration.
Enable the option Keep same ID to modify the configuration without generating a new QR Code/ID.
Scan QR code
Scan the generated QR code with your smartphone. Make sure you have Equativ's Showcase app installed. For more information, see section “Install Equativ Showcase app” above.
Share configuration
Share the configuration with the following link:
https://previewsdk.smartadserver.com/[yourID]Replace [yourID] by the ID of the configuration. Anyone who has this link can edit the configuration and scan the QR code.
Each configuration is deleted from Equativ's servers one week after the last time the Generate Ad Preview button has been clicked.