Overview

In a live event, video ads are served with traffic bursts: the devices of the entire audience trigger the ad requests simultaneously and in a short period of time, e. g. during the last 2 minutes before a soccer game.

In contrast, instream video ad delivery in non-live events (i. e. video on demand) is usually smooth and balanced by nature, since users view the video content (and thus the prerolls/midrolls/postrolls) each at an individual point in time.

Equativ applies a dedicated type of ad delivery pacing for live events that takes the traffic bursts into account. This article explains the ad request parameters and the settings required to trigger this specific ad delivery pacing.  

Ad request parameters

The ad requests to Equativ must contain the parameter live=1 to trigger Equativ's ad delivery pacing for live events; keep in mind that failing to send live=1 in the ad request can lead to serious over- or underdelivery of video ads!; to determine the number of ad requests in live events, use the IsLiveEvent field in Equativ's reporting API.

Additionally, it is recommended to send the parameter vit=5 (the video integration type “Server side ad insertion (SSAI)”) for reporting purposes.  Read more about both parameters in POST Ad API integration: parameter reference and GET Ad API integration.

Creating video campaigns in live events

General workflow

For the general workflow to create video campaigns, please follow Create in-stream video insertion. Both direct campaigns and RTB are supported.

The specific settings to be made in case of video campaigns in live events are described below. Make sure you follow these instructions to ensure smooth ad delivery.

Delivery mode: As soon as possible

In the in-stream video insertion, go to Delivery > Delivery mode and select As soon as possible. The need to set this delivery mode also applies if you are using the priorities High, Normal or Low (by default, insertions with these priority levels have the delivery mode Paced).

Maximum impressions per day

Define a Maximum impressions per day volume in addition to the global Impression volume. Use this following formula to calculate the Maximum impressions per day: Global impression volume / Number of days with planned live events.

It may be useful to start the insertion with a slightly higher Maximum impressions per day volume and decrease it later in the course of the insertion. With this strategy, you are prepared for any potential traffic shortages that may occur towards the end date of the insertion. Likewise, if underdelivery occurs over the course of the insertion, you can increase the Maximum impressions per day volume in the last days of the insertion or even remove it altogether to boost delivery.

Example

This example illustrates the calculation for a video insertion with the following parameters (see also screenshot above):

• insertion duration: 30 days
• global volume: 1,000,000 impressions 
• days with planned live events: 10

In this case, you would set the Maximum impressions per day volume to 100,000.