1 January 2021
The following quality criteria are obligatory and serve as a guideline for best possible monetisation of In-Stream inventory. The contents of this guideline are based on market developments over the past 24 months. The performance values are assessed by smartclip’s proprietary systems as well as well-known ad verification providers.
The concept of “premium” is based on proven performance values that significantly profit from placement within editorial content and in a clutter-free environment. Infringement or violation of these guidelines could lead to exclusion from monetisation and/or to a loss of revenue. However, buyers evaluate the criteria individually and smartclip conducts detailed analyses of intentional or unintentional violation of the criteria on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, complying with these guidelines can ensure the best possible revenue generation for the publisher’s inventory.
Player Requirements
- Exclusive use of the smartclip Out-Stream Player (VAST/VPAID compatible)
- No custom player sizes (lead to unexpected risks when updates are released)
Content Quality
- Player environment is editorial (no user-generated content)
- No index or overview websites
- Implementation of the player in editorial articles
- Implementation of the player in the upper part of the website, but underneath the directly visible area (agreement with smartclip)
- Implementation of the player between two text blocks (no content image directly bordering)
- No direct borders to other ad placements on the website
- Exclusive video player next to editorial content video on the respective article website (no Taboola, Ligatus, ShowHeroes, Playbuzz, etc. — backfill cooperations are running via smartclip competence centre)
- No overlapping ads
- Acceptance for agile integration of new Out-Stream formats (subject to prior review by smartclip also considering Better Ads)
- Implementation of the player between header and footer within the body of website
- Prevention of ad clutter in the player environment
- Invalid traffic in the form of auto-redirects and click fraud is not allowed (e.g. unwanted redirection of the user when clicking on the play button)
- Prevention of data centre traffic
- Implementation of an ads.txt or app-ads.txt file especially for programmatic advertising
Brand Protection & Brand Safety
- No violation of applicable law
- The following contents are not monetised:
- Contents that glorify violence and are sexual or extraordinarily vulgar
- Contents that are racist and disparage individuals, groups or organisations
- Contents dealing with illegal drugs and/or drug accessories
- Contents dealing with sales of arms or munition, e.g. firearms, weapon accessories, combat knives, stun guns
- Contents dealing with illegal gambling and/or casinos
- Contents dealing with illegal downloads
- Contents dealing with sales of tobacco and/or tobacco products
- Contents dealing with sales of prescription drugs
- Contents dealing with sales of replicas or imitated brand products or other products
- Contents dealing with programs that reward users for clicking on ads or offers, carrying out searches, visiting websites or reading emails
- The following contents are only monetised considering legal guidelines:
- Political contents
- Contents dealing with sales of beer and liquor
- Contents dealing with sales or distribution of term papers or other student papers
- The following inventory is not appropriate for monetisation:
- Traffic that does not comply with legal safety requirements as per definition
- Traffic that is considered SIVT due to ad verification tools (e.g. Data Center Traffic, Hijacked Devices)
- Measurement of all kinds of bot traffic (also considered SIVT)
- Inventory coming from websites with ad clutter
- Inventory coming from websites that have not been agreed with smartclip beforehand
- Inventory coming from websites that are considered “ad fraud, porn, warez, file-sharing, malware, spyware, illegal activity, streaming/torrent, violence & weapons” in the common ad verification tools
- Autoplay placements that have not been agreed with smartclip beforehand
- Delivery on user-generated content that has not been agreed with smartclip beforehand
- Delivery of campaigns in pop-unders, iFrames, layers or other ad placements increasing reach
- Multiple calls of same ad call which has not been agreed with smartclip beforehand
Note
Content rated R-18 must be labelled accordingly or addressed separately.
If circumstances require — for example in the event of catastrophes, terror attacks, etc. — the publisher needs to deactivate the ad delivery on a short-term basis (especially news-related environments specifically addressing such topics).
Download our Out-Stream Quality Criteria Guide here.
As the Head of Ad Verification & Analytics, Martin Voß is responsible for the media quality from a supply perspective. Based in Düsseldorf, he and his team in Gütersloh take care of verification topics such as viewability, brand safety, and invalid traffic. Martin has 10 years experience in the digital industry and has worked for different sales houses in Germany focusing on campaign, ad, and project management.
Martin Voß
Lisa-Theresia Rischke is Senior Sales Marketing Manager Europe and is responsible for smartclip’s sales and content marketing initiatives across Europe. Before returning to her hometown Hamburg, Lisa worked in Vienna, Paris, and London and has 12 years of experience in the international media and entertainment industry.
Lisa Rischke
Senior Sales Marketing Manager Europe
