Overview

You can configure creative enhancements at the deal level. When you assign an enhancement to a deal, it can be applied to all eligible impressions served under that deal on Equativ supply.

While you configure an enhancement, a live preview shows what your settings may look like on placeholder creatives. Once the deal starts delivering, preview links to your actual enhanced creatives become available on the Deal Summary page.

Ad format requirements

Enhancements can run without a specific ad type selected. However, we recommend selecting all relevant format types in your deal setup to improve available inventory (avails), reduce wasted spend, and ensure your campaign stays focused on its core goals

Configure deal enhancements according to the following requirements:

• Display enhancements: the deal must include Display in the Ad Format > Type settings. Enhanced display supply also requires publisher inventory that supports size expansion. If the supply doesn't support expansion, impressions aren't eligible for enhancement, even if the deal's configured correctly. 
• Outstream enhancements: the deal must include Video outstream in the Ad Format > Type settings. Display isn't required; include it only if the deal should also deliver on standard display supply. 
• CTV or OLV enhancements: the deal must include Video instream, Video outstream, or both in the Ad Format > Type settings. The video player must meet minimum size requirements for the enhancement to render.

Ad format and enhancement compatibility

The Creative Enhancements panel responds dynamically to your ad format selection. When you select an ad format, the panel filters available enhancement types to show only those compatible with that format. Incompatible enhancement types are disabled but remain visible.

The following table summarizes enhancement compatibility by ad format selection:

Compatibility rules

The following compatibility rules apply:

• To use Outstream enhancements, select Video Outstream. Outstream enhancements run on display supply that Equativ enables into outstream; the deal matches on the outstream format directly, so Display doesn't need to be selected.
• When you select multiple ad formats, enhancements can apply across the selected formats they support.
• Shoppable supports Outstream only when Is Overlay is off. When Is Overlay is on, Shoppable supports only Display, CTV, or OLV.

For enhancement-specific format support and limitations, see the Creative enhancement compatibility matrix.

The following scenarios explain how compatibility is handled:

1. Configure enhancements before selecting an ad format: you can configure creative enhancements before selecting an ad format. In this case, the full list of enhancement types is available. If you later select an ad format, any previously configured enhancement types that aren't compatible with that format are automatically deactivated. A notification informs you that your earlier configuration was affected.
2. Add a new ad format to an existing configuration: if you add a new ad format after configuring enhancements, any enhancement types introduced by that format become available with default parameters. Enhancement types you previously configured retain the values you entered.

Example:
After configuring custom enhancement settings for Display, you return to the Media Planning page and enable Video instream. Any enhancement types newly available for Video instream are added with default parameter values, while your existing Display enhancement configuration is preserved.

Configure creative enhancements

To configure creative enhancements, follow these steps:

1. In the Media Planning module, expand the Creative Enhancements section. The section is available at both the targeted (child) level and the meta (parent) level.
2. Click + Add Creative Enhancement. A panel opens. If you have already selected an ad format, compatible enhancement types are enabled, and incompatible types remain visible but are unavailable. If you haven't selected an ad format, all available enhancement types are enabled.
3. Select the enhancement that you want to apply to the deal. Selecting an enhancement recalculates the Avails and Median CPM values in the panel.
4. Click Next to open the parameters step. Every enhancement opens this step, even if a supported format doesn't have configurable parameters.
5. Configure the available parameters:
   • Shared parameters: apply to all formats that the enhancement supports. Some enhancements, such as Captions, don't have shared parameters.
   • Additional parameters: apply only to the format that the section heading indicates: CTV or OLV, Display, or Outstream. A format that doesn't have additional parameters uses only the shared parameters.
6. Review the Enhancement Preview panel. The preview has a tab for each supported format and updates as you change the parameters:
   • Display and Outstream: show a sample 300 x 250 pixel slot.
   • CTV or OLV: plays a sample video that features the enhancement.
     For more information, see Preview enhancement.
7. Click Confirm to apply the enhancement configuration.

After you save the deal, the Deal Summary page displays an Enhancement Type section. This section includes the following information:

• The enhancement type applied to the deal, for example, "Instream - Captions" or “Banner - Headline”.
• Preview links to the enhanced creatives running on the deal. These links show your actual creatives with the enhancement applied, and they become available once the deal reaches sufficient delivery.

Preview enhancement

When you configure an enhancement, a live preview shows how your enhancement configuration might look. The preview updates as you change your settings, so you can check the result before you confirm the enhancement.

The preview is for illustration only and doesn't show the creative that will run on this deal. The actual creatives aren't available at this stage, so Maestro uses placeholder creatives to show how your enhancement configuration might look.

The placeholder creative depends on the inventory type, as shown in the following table:

Note the following details for each inventory type:

• CTV and OLV: your settings apply the same way to the real video creatives that run on this deal.
• Display and Outstream: your enhancement can also run on many other placement sizes, and its layout adapts to each one.

Enhancement availability

Enhancements may not be available immediately after delivery; allow at least 24 hours for an enhancement to become active. 

This delay applies only to the actual enhanced creatives and their preview links on the Deal Summary page. The live preview displayed while configuring an enhancement uses placeholder creatives and is available immediately.