How to create and use a VAST2 video ads zone
in Revive Adserver
This article describes how to create a zone for use in a VAST2 video ads environment
New Feature
Update to v5.5.0 or higher required.
This functionality was first added to Revive Adserver with v5.5.0, released on September 13, 2023.
The latest version of Revive Adserver Download edition can be found at any time at www.revive-adserver.com/download/ .
Introduction
In this article, we’ll describe how to create a zone specifically for use in a VAST2 compliant video player, or to be used in a VAST2 compliant third-party ad server.
Create a zone
Start by creating a new zone just like any other zone, and enter a name and optional description for the zone.
Select Zone type
For a VAST2 compliant zone, select the Zone type as Inline Video ad.
A video zone does not have a size, so these fields will be disabled once Inline Video ad has been selected.
Entering a comment is optional and does not affect the functionality of the ad server in any way.
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Once all the information has been entered, save the new zone and then proceed to retrieve the invocation code for it, by following the steps described in the next section.
Retrieve VAST2 invocation code
Once the zone has been created and saved, you’ll be returned to the zone overview. Click the name of the newly created zone, and then click the VAST2 invocation code tab that will appear only in case of an Inline Video ads zone.
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On this screen, a text box is displayed that contains the code to be used in the video player or a third party ad server.
Select the code in the text box and copy it to your clipboard. Then paste it into the location in your video player or third party ad server, or send it to the partner that you work with for your video ads.
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Explanation of the parameters in the video ad code:
Parameter &skipoffset=X (optional)
This instructs the ad server to include some code that will enable the video player to display a “Skip ad” button after X seconds of the video ad has been played.
Note
This is not an official part of the VAST2 standard, it was borrowed from VAST3 and should be considered as experimental. The video player might ignore this completely in case the player is purely VAST2 compliant. Also note that the Revive Adserver software does not log or record the skip event in any way.
What’s next?
The video ad zone type, while using the VAST2 invocation code, is capable of delivering both inline video ads and inline network video ads. There is a separate article with a detailed set of instructions on how to create such video ads.
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