We Got InLine and We Ain’t Kitten 😼

Say, smartxers, 

Listen up, because we got the lowdown on a funky fresh addition to our Video Multiple Ad Playlist (VMAP) specification. Earlier this year, the VMAP specification boogied its way over to smartclip. We’ve been jivin’ like cool cats ever since now that our media owners can define ad breaks within their own content in a playlist-type structure 🕺. 

As a refresher, VMAP allows video content owners to use an XML template to create a structure for ad inventory insertion so they can define how many ad breaks to include in their content, which ad types to display, and when each ad break should occur. Catch our drift? 

In its debut, we focused our support on the VMAP wrapper response. This response breaks down a VMAP request into different ad requests. These “wrapped” ad requests are then called right before the ad is needed. For example, the VMAP wrapper feature can break down a VMAP request asking for five ad breaks into five single VAST ad requests that will be triggered to play when they are needed. So, if a viewer watches a long-form video and there is a cue point at minute 20:00, the relevant VAST ad requests will be executed and will respond with a single ad or an ad pod (depending on the settings).

The wrapper is a groovy response, but it’s easier to dance on two feet (well, four feet if you’re a cool cat, but that’s a different story). Anyway, to give our VMAP service some more flavour, we’ve introduced support for another response mode: InLine.

Unlike the wrapper response, the InLine response contains all selected VAST creatives for all given ad breaks and ad slots right from the start. Going back to the example above, in a VMAP InLine response, all the final VAST creatives of all five ad breaks will be requested when the VMAP ad call is triggered and played right when the cue points hit. Can you dig? 

That’s all for meow, smartxers. We hope you have a mice day 🐭! 

Yours in product updates and fe-line groovy,

smartclip Product Marketing Team