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Beeswax now supports VAST 3.0 which allows for additional functionality when uploading video creatives to the platform. These features will be available for use via the Creative pane in the Beeswax UI, as well as via fields in the Buzz API.

For more details, the complete VAST 3.0 spec can be found at iab.com.

The features which Beeswax is supporting via VAST 3.0 are as follows:

AdChoices (via the icons element):

Users can now add the AdChoices icon to video creatives uploaded directly to the Beeswax platform using the VAST Inline template. This can be done using the ‘ Creative Add-on’ section when creating or editing a video creative. A CPM fee applies to use of the icon.

Based on our research, customers should always place the AdChoices icon in the top-right corner of the video. If you require a different icon orientation in the creative, please speak to Beeswax Support.

See here for more details on the AdChoices icon.

Skip Offset (via the skipoffset attribute)

For skippable video creatives, Beeswax users can now define a custom duration after which a creative can be skipped. To set this attribute, click the ‘ Use custom skip offset’ box, and specify the number of seconds in the ‘Skip Offset’ input:

If the ‘Use custom skip offset’ box is not checked, Beeswax will default to a 5 second non-skippable window (for all VAST 3.0 creatives). Custom offset durations are not supported when delivering on AdX, and must always be the default 5 seconds.

Note: as per the VAST 3.0 spec, the skipoffset is not supported via Wrappers (i.e. the ‘VAST, Wrapper’ creative template).

Custom Skip Event

With the VAST 3.0 release, we now support firing custom trackers when a user skips the video. This is done by selecting the new ‘skip’ event from the dropdown of existing VAST events, and applying a custom tracking URL.

Custom Progress Events

You can also set one or more custom progress events to be pinged to your backend system, for example, to track when a video plays for 5, 10, and 20 seconds. These are similar to ‘VAST Events’, however each specified event will be a custom duration - as specified by you.

Note: before creating custom progress events, we encourage you to double check that the progress events are both unique and are not greater than the duration of the video.

FAQs:

Q: Why can’t I manually choose which VAST version I am using?
A: Beeswax now automatically selects the relevant VAST version, based on the functionality being used in the creative. If your creative is using one of the above modules (e.g. Progress Events, Custom Skip Events, Skip Offset, AdChoices Icon), the system will select VAST 3.0. If you would rather run via VAST 2.0, then feel free to remove these additional modules. You can tell which VAST version is in use by looking at the blue banner on the right side of the screen - right below the thumbnail of the video. Using the Buzz API, the version can be determined by looking at the video_api parameter within the creative.creative_attributes field.

Q: Will VAST 3.0 impact my reach compared to VAST 2.0.
A: Potentially. We see publisher adoption of VAST 3.0 is at approximately 70%. If you find your reach has been impacted, you can follow the steps above and remove VAST 3.0 functionality to ensure you are running via VAST 2.0.