Tag Archives: html5

Learn how to design and build HTML5 with Google Web Designer

We dubbed last week #HTML5Week and launched multiple HTML5 resources, hangouts and product updates to help make it easier to build all your ads in HTML5. Today, we are pleased to announce the launch of our Google Web Designer Certification exam and training resources. 

Google Web Designer helps you create engaging HTML5 content. Use animations and interactive elements to bring your creative vision to life and enjoy integrations with other Google products, including a shared asset library and one-click-to-publish integration with DoubleClick Studio, compatibility with AdWords, and the ability to collaborate on works-in-progress in Google Drive. 

The new Google Web Designer Fundamentals Certification allows new users to demonstrate proficiency and understanding of the Google Web Designer interface and features. The exam will help you learn:
  • How to use the Google Web Designer interface
  • How to create templates and animations
  • How to build interstitial ads
  • How to build advanced expandable ads
The program consists of a step-by-step eLearning that takes you through the basics of Google Web Designer and helps you get trained quickly in building HTML5 ads using the tool. Once you finish the eLearning and build a few test ads, you can take a certification exam to test your knowledge and demonstrate your proficiency. If you pass the certification, you can get your name listed on the Certified User list in the Rich Media Gallery. 

We hope this new certification exam helps you learn the ins and outs of the Google Web Designer tool, so that you can more easily create your HTML5 ads.

Posted by Becky Chappell, Google Web Designer Product Marketing Manager 

Making it easier to run mobile-friendly HTML5 ads with DoubleClick

For the past week, we’ve shared best practices and new resources to help you learn how to build HTML5 ads. To cap off #HTML5Week, we're making it even easier for our DoubleClick Campaign Manager clients to run mobile-friendly HTML5 ads by offering unlimited file sizes...for free. 

HTML5 ad files are much larger than Flash ads, meaning they need a larger file size (k size) allowance and should utilize a polite load function to be publisher friendly. 

We launched Enhanced Formats in DoubleClick Campaign Manager early last year, as an option for media agencies to upload larger creative files to DoubleClick Campaign Manager directly. Now that all ads need to be built in HTML5 to show up properly across screens and browsers, we’ve decided to offer the unlimited file sizes free of charge. Starting August 3rd, we will be automatically upgrading all DoubleClick Campaign Manager accounts to support Enhanced Formats. [No action necessary by clients.]

In addition to unlimited file size, Enhanced Formats offers automatic polite load functionality (which allows main web page content to load before the ad unit finishes loading,) a way to easily add basic engagement metrics to standard banner ads, and the ability to track metrics such as multiple exits, interactions, backup image views, HTML5 views, and display time. You can learn more about Enhanced Formats in the help center.

During the month of August, we’ll also be making some other changes to the way we handle campaigns that contain Flash ads:
  • In DoubleClick Campaign Manager, our systems will automatically show the HTML5 version of an ad, where available. (Before, the HTML5 version would only show in environments where Flash wasn't supported). 
  • DoubleClick Bid Manager will stop supporting bids for Flash ads in Chrome (which pauses Flash ads automatically). This means advertisers won't end up paying for ads that will be paused by default.

While making the switch to HTML5 may seem daunting, we hope that these product updates, combined with the resources and training provided this week, will help you tackle the challenge. Here is a recap of the resources that are now available:
  • HTML5 Overview Hangout and step-by-step tutorial
  • Google Web Designer Landing Page with components and templates 
  • HTML5 Toolkit -- everything you need in one place 
  • Upcoming HTML5 Immersion Days: (All Immersion Days are hosted at Google’s offices. Please contact your DoubleClick Rep if you’d like to join.) 
    • In NYC: Monday, Jul. 27 (10am-1pm) and Thursday, Jul. 30 (10am-1pm) 
    • In LA: Monday, Jul. 27 (1:30-3:30pm) and Monday, Aug. 10 (2-4pm) 
    • In SF: Tuesday, Jul. 28 (1-3:30pm) 
    • In Chicago: Wednesday, Aug. 12 (1-3pm) 

Posted by Becky Chappell, Product Marketing Manager, DoubleClick and Google Web Designer

Introducing HTML5 Week – July 20-24th

As HTML5 becomes increasingly critical for building effective digital campaigns, we want to make sure that you have the resources you need to successfully make the transition to HTML5. 

We’re dubbing next week “HTML5 Week,” and we’ll be hosting hangouts and training events and releasing new resources to help you make the switch.

Monday - July 20th
  • Google Web Designer Fundamentals Certification Exam launches: To go alongside our DoubleClick Studio HTML5 certification exam, we’ll be launching a Google Web Designer certification exam that teaches you the ins and outs of building HTML5 ads with the tool. Block off an hour for Monday to take the exam and develop the expertise you need to use Google Web Designer to the fullest. Check back on our certification page on Monday to take the exam. 
Tuesday - July 21st
  • “Making the transition to HTML5” Hangout on Air: Building ads in HTML5 is now more important than ever to ensure your campaigns run effectively across screens and browsers. Join us for a conversation about the state of the industry and ecosystem around HTML5, as we discuss the challenges that people face in making the transition to HTML5 and provide resources and tools for helping you make the transition for your own campaigns. RSVP here. [12pm ET / 9am PT]
    • Panelists: 
      • David Evans, Founder of the creative agency Hook Studios
      • Brian Hoskins, Senior Manager, Digital Technology Development and Integration at ESPN
      • Jonathan Marino, Creative Specialist, Google
    • Moderator: Jeff Sundheim, Creative Account Executive, Google
Wednesday - July 22nd
  • “How to build HTML5 ads: A step-by-step workshop” Hangout on Air: Many agencies and advertisers are still building campaigns in Flash, but we’re here to help you start building in HTML5 today. Join us for a live Hangout on Air workshop, where we’ll deep dive into the tools and resources available to build rich, impactful, beautiful ads. Bring your own creative assets and follow along as we walk through different creative formats and tackle complex ads with ease. RSVP here. [5pm ET / 2pm PT]
Thursday - July 23
  • HTML5 Immersion Day NYC: Designers and developers are invited to this half day workshop (12pm-3pm) in the Google NYC office. Bring your laptop and sit with our Creative Specialists to learn how to execute a campaign in HTML5, leveraging Google Web Designer and DoubleClick Studio. Please reach out to your DoubleClick Rep to RSVP if you’re interested. 
    • Can’t make it on the 23rd? There will be two other Immersion Days in NYC: Monday, July 27th (10am-1pm) and Thursday, July 30th (10am-1pm). 
    • Not based in NYC? We’ll also be hosting Immersion Days in LA on July 27th from 1:30-3:30pm and Aug. 10th from 2-4pm; San Francisco on July 28th from 1:00-3:30pm; and Chicago on August 12th from 1-3pm. Please contact your DoubleClick Rep if you’d like to join.
Friday - July 24th 
  • New Google Web Designer Landing Page: Launching on the Rich Media Gallery, this page will contain instructions for building and using custom components and templates in Google Web Designer. 
We hope you’ll join us next week to learn more about HTML5 and make sure you’re equipped to make the transition for your own campaigns.

Posted by Becky Chappell, Product Marketing Manager, DoubleClick and Google Web Designer

IMA HTML5 Rendering

The HTML5 SDK has two main ways to render ads: what we call “standard” rendering and “custom ad playback.” To avoid confusion and to keep you all informed, here’s a breakdown of those rendering modes and how the SDK decides which to use.

Standard Rendering

If you're using the HTML5 SDK you probably have a web page playing your content in a <video> element. In standard rendering, the SDK will create another <video> element and render it in the ad display container div you provided, which should be placed on top of your video player. The ads will then play in this SDK-owned video player on top of your content player. To the user, it looks like one video player switching from content to an ad, but in reality it’s another video player appearing on top of your content to play an ad and then disappearing. For a visual representation of what’s going on, see the image below.

Why use standard rendering?

The main benefit to this standard rendering involves buffering. Using a separate video player to render ads allows us to preserve your content buffer while ads are playing. If you’re playing a pre-roll, you can start loading your content when the ad starts and buffer the content the whole time the ad is playing. For mid-rolls, the separate player allows you to preserve your content buffer while ads are playing - if your viewer has buffered 10 minutes of your content, and you play an ad at the 5 minute mark, they won’t lose the content in the buffer for 00:05:00-00:10:00.

Custom Ad Playback

As avid blog readers will know, we recommend always passing in your content video element as the custom playback element. If you’re not already doing this, check out our guide to custom ad playback. The HTML5 SDK will intelligently use custom ad playback only when it deems necessary, as described below. When it’s not necessary, it will use standard ad playback.

What is custom ad playback?

When the SDK decides to use custom playback mode, it renders video ads in the same player as your content. This means you lose the buffer-related benefits of standard rendering. If your viewer has buffered 10 minutes of your content, and you play an ad at the 5 minute mark, they will lose the content in the buffer beyond the ad. Certain ad formats (such as AdSense) require an SDK-owned player and can't play in your content player.

Why use custom ad playback?

Simply put, some platforms do not support multiple, simultaneous, active video elements. On those platforms, the SDK can’t create its own ad player because the one allotted video player slot per page is already occupied by your content player. If the SDK tries to play an ad in a second video player, it will either fail to play (freezing the player) or make it impossible for the content to restart after the ad is finished (again freezing the player). Thus we must show the ad and video content in the same player.

How does the SDK know when to use custom ad playback?

The HTML5 SDK looks at the UserAgent string of each browser on which it’s loaded. When it sees a browser that it knows has trouble with multiple video elements, it uses custom ad playback. Currently those browsers are limited to Android and iPhone. We’re in the process of phasing out custom ad playback on Android 4.0+ to bring the benefits of standard playback to users.

Now you know all there is to know about HTML5 video ad rendering. As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact us via the support forum.
 - , IMA SDK Team

YouTube now defaults to HTML5 <video>

Four years ago, we wrote about YouTube’s early support for the HTML5 <video> tag and how it performed compared to Flash. At the time, there were limitations that held it back from becoming our preferred platform for video delivery. Most critically, HTML5 lacked support for Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) that lets us show you more videos with less buffering.

Over the last four years, we’ve worked with browser vendors and the broader community to close those gaps, and now, YouTube uses HTML5 <video> by default in Chrome, IE 11, Safari 8 and in beta versions of Firefox.

The benefits of HTML5 extend beyond web browsers, and it's now also used in smart TVs and other streaming devices. Here are a few key technologies that have enabled this critical step forward: 

MediaSource Extensions
Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) streaming is critical for providing a quality video experience for viewers - allowing us to quickly and seamlessly adjust resolution and bitrate in the face of changing network conditions. ABR has reduced buffering by more than 50 percent globally and as much as 80 percent on heavily-congested networks. MediaSource Extensions also enable live streaming in game consoles like Xbox and PS4, on devices like Chromecast and in web browsers.

VP9 video codec
HTML5 lets you take advantage of the open VP9 codec, which gives you higher quality video resolution with an average bandwidth reduction of 35 percent. These smaller files allow more people to access 4K and HD at 60FPS -- and videos start 15-80 percent faster. We've already served hundreds of billions of VP9 videos, and you can look for more about VP9 in a future post.

Encrypted Media Extensions and Common Encryption
In the past, the choice of delivery platform (Flash, Silverlight, etc) and content protection technology (Access, PlayReady) were tightly linked, as content protection was deeply integrated into the delivery platform and even the file format. Encrypted Media Extensions separate the work of content protection from delivery, enabling content providers like YouTube to use a single HTML5 video player across a wide range of platforms. Combined with Common Encryption, we can support multiple content protection technologies on different platforms with a single set of assets, making YouTube play faster and smoother.

WebRTC
YouTube enables everyone to share their videos with the world, whether uploading pre-recorded videos or broadcasting live. WebRTC allows us to build on the same technology that enables plugin-free Google Hangouts to provide broadcasting tools from within the browser.

Fullscreen
Using the new fullscreen APIs in HTML5, YouTube is able to provide an immersive fullscreen viewing experience (perfect for those 4K videos), all with standard HTML UI.

Moving to <iframe> embeds
Given the progress we've made with HTML5 <video>, we’re now defaulting to the HTML5 player on the web. We're also deprecating the "old style" of Flash <object> embeds and our Flash API. We encourage all embedders to use the <iframe> API, which can intelligently use whichever technology the client supports.

These advancements have benefitted not just YouTube’s community, but the entire industry. Other content providers like Netflix and Vimeo, as well as companies like Microsoft and Apple have embraced HTML5 and been key contributors to its success. By providing an open standard platform, HTML5 has also enabled new classes of devices like Chromebooks and Chromecast. You can support HTML5 by using the <iframe> API everywhere you embed YouTube videos on the web. 

Richard Leider, Engineering Manager, recently watched, “Ex Hex - Waterfall.”

Mobile momentum in digital + 3 tools for easy cross-screen campaigns


Marketers know that building cross-screen campaigns is important to overall campaign success. But many have been slow to adopt the HTML5 standards and mobile-compatible formats that are needed to achieve that success. 

Today, more than 25% of pageviews occur on a mobile device (1) and more people consume content in HTML5-compatible environments than Flash-compatible ones (2), yet 83% of digital creative is still built in formats that don’t work on mobile devices. (3)

The “Make Mobile Work” Initiative
To help marketers make the transition to cross-screen campaigns, we have partnered with the IAB for the past year on the “Make Mobile Work” Initiative. Through an open letter signed by 22 publishers globally, a mobile check-list for marketers, and a quarterly webinar series, we increased awareness of the need for cross-screen campaigns and provided the steps to successfully create, target and measure these campaigns. 

Positive momentum:
Efforts like this one appear to be working. Marketers’ trepidation toward mobile is beginning to melt away, as evidenced by strong growth metrics this year for HTML5 adoption and mobile inventory (metrics pulled from internal DoubleClick data, Nov. 2014):
  • 250% growth in HTML5 impressions in DoubleClick Studio 
  • 130% growth in the percent of DoubleClick Campaign Manager impressions being served to mobile devices
  • Almost half of the mobile inventory available in DoubleClick Bid Manager is now in-app inventory

Three easy-to-use tools for cross-screen campaigns
As marketers begin to incorporate cross-screen strategies into all of their campaigns, we want to make sure that every marketer has easy-to-use tools to help them scale. So we recently launched three new features in the DoubleClick Digital Marketing platform that make cross-screen creative, targeting and measurement easy to incorporate into every campaign:
  • Easy HTML5 creative: Our platform will automatically create an HTML5 version of every Flash banner you upload, with automatic Flash-to-HTML5 conversions for reservation campaigns (available in beta for programmatic campaigns). When your ads run on mobile devices, the interactive HTML5 ad will show up instead of a static backup image, helping expand your reach on mobile. You can also report on HTML5 impressions separate from Flash impressions. Learn More>>
  • Precise mobile targeting: For users who opt-in to location-based targeting, marketers can use Geofence Targeting in DoubleClick Bid Manager to deliver highly relevant messages to people based on their proximity to a specified chain store, across a broad geographic area. You can easily target all your store locations with a single click, enabling you to reach the right consumer and drive foot-traffic into your stores. For example, if you’re a hotel company, you can reach people who are close to your hotel, and offer them a discount to get them to choose your business. Learn more>>
  • Re-engage your app users: People are spending 86% of their time on mobile devices in applications. (4) DoubleClick now allows marketers to remarket to existing app customers inside other apps, for both reservations and programmatic buys. Using Floodlight tags, you can create audience lists around any engagement that takes place in-app (e.g. people who added an item to a shopping cart, top spenders in the last 30 days, or gold member app users). This lets you improve ROI by offering relevant ads to people who are already in the purchase funnel. Learn more>>

As 2015 approaches, we hope to see even more marketers incorporate cross-screen techniques, to successfully reach the right audiences on every device. 

Published by the DoubleClick Marketing Team

sources:
1. Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report, Apr. 2014
2. StatCounter Sept. 2013 data
3. Internal DoubleClick Data, Nov. 2014
4. Flurry Analytics Report, Mar. 2014

IMA HTML5 SDK now supports Internet Explorer 11

Today we're announcing support for Internet Explorer 11 in the IMA HTML5 SDK. The SDK is now compatible with the desktop versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer, as well as the mobile versions of Chrome, Safari, and the default Android browser. For more information on the supported platforms of the IMA SDK, check out the supported video player platforms.

Getting started

There are no configuration or setting changes to the IMA HTML5 SDK to enable IE11 support. If you already have a player with the IMA HTML5 SDK integrated, you can start serving to IE11 visitors immediately.

If you want to walk through integrating the IMA HTML5 SDK with an HTML5 video player, check out our quick start guide.

Older Internet Explorer versions

Currently only IE11 is supported; some publishers are using the IMA HTML5 SDK with IE10 without issues, but it isn't officially supported. SDK support will be focused on on IE11 and subsequent versions given the upgrade rate from IE10 to IE11. Version 9 and earlier of Internet Explorer are not supported by the IMA HTML5 SDK and likely will not correctly serve video ads.

Questions?

If you have any questions about Internet Explorer support or other IMA SDK questions, feel free to contact us via the support forum.


 - , IMA SDK Team

HTML5 and in-app creative tools support mobile ad targeting


Last week, we talked about how creative strategies support the media buy in successful campaigns. Without ad creative that is engaging and relevant to people, a campaign will fall short of its advertising goals. Further, with consumers spending much of their time on smartphones and tablets, these engaging and relevant experiences need to work across screens. 

Our third creative and media pairing focuses on creating successful cross-screen advertising: If your media agency is including mobile inventory in the media buy, your creative agency needs to build mobile-compatible creative to be served to those placements. The best way to build those ads is in HTML5, which allows you to provide the same interactive experiences for mobile as you do on desktop.

Did you know? There are more people in HTML5-compatible environments today than in Flash-compatible environments (1) yet 84% of rich media ads are still built in Flash. (2) 

Here are four best practices for building cross-screen ads to pair with your mobile media buys:

Build in HTML5
Building mobile-compatible ads in HTML5 is getting much easier, as new tools come onto the scene to help expedite the transition from Flash. With our HTML5 and in-app layouts, advertisers can upload their existing creative assets and create multiple formats in minutes. For more custom HTML5 units, Google Web Designer provides a robust and intuitive suite of design and animation tools to allow for more creative flexibility.

Build for apps
80% of the time that people spend on their smartphones is spent within a mobile application. (3) Mobile web is very different from a mobile app, so what works on a website experience doesn’t necessarily work in a mobile application. Make sure to build ad creative that is designed for the app experience.

Use device form-factor
Desktops, smartphones and tablets all have different form-factors, or device-specific attributes and interaction modes. Smartphones and tablets have touch screens and accelerometers or motion sensors that sense movement and orientation of the device, while a laptop does not. Smartphones have much smaller screens, while tablets and desktops have larger, “lean-back” screens. Smartphones also have calling and texting capabilities. These are all opportunities for incorporating cool things about the device into your ad creative. 

For example Burberry took advantage of device form-factor in their Burberry Kisses campaign. This campaign captured the shape of someone’s lips, digitized it and put it onto a digital letter that could be emailed to a loved one. To provide the same experience on different devices, the designers had to be smart about form-factor. 
On desktop, they could use the video camera on the computer to capture a person’s lips. But smartphones and tablets don’t have a front-facing video camera that would work. Instead, the developers used the touch screen capabilities of these devices to allow people to kiss their screen. The device was able to understand the size and shape of the person’s lips via the touchscreen and digitize the image. This provided the same overarching brand experience for the user, but utilized a different way of executing it on different devices.

Use geo-location
Smartphones have the unique characteristic of travelling with us wherever we go. When a user opts to share their location information, the advertising they see has the opportunity to become more relevant to the physical world around them. Advertisers can send specific messages about their store or retail outlet to people who are traveling within a specified area around it.

By building HTML5 ads that work for apps, use device form factor, and provide geographically-relevant info, advertisers can ensure their ads reach consumers successfully on every device and environment. 

Posted by Becky Chappell, Product Marketing Manager, DoubleClick

Sources:
1) StatCounter
2) Internal DoubleClick Data, Sept. 2014
3) Flurry analytics, Apr. 2013

13 new DoubleClick Creative Solutions to make your campaigns more successful


Savvy advertisers know they need to pair smart creative with their media buying strategies, to accomplish successful digital campaigns. Today, we're making it easier than ever to do just that with 13 new tools across our DoubleClick Creative Solutions. These updates help advertisers succeed with four key creative + media pairings:

1. Powerful creative management tools support large-scale campaigns
2. Dynamic creative tools support programmatic media buys
3. HTML5 and in-app creative tools support mobile ad targeting
4. In-stream video tools support video ad targeting


Pairing #1: Powerful creative management tools support large-scale campaigns
Display campaigns are getting larger and more complex. To keep up, creative agencies need tools that help them build ads to suit every shape and size required by that campaign, in a fast and seamless way. 



Asset Library is a creative management layer launching today in DoubleClick Studio and rolling out across the DoubleClick Digital Marketing platform in the next couple quarters. Asset Library allows advertisers to host assets for free in DoubleClick and easily manage and bulk update creative, even in live campaigns, without having to re-traffic them. 


“We have cut our development time considerably using Asset Library as part of our daily work flow. It's hard to imagine how we survived without it.” ~ Michael Douglas, Head of Production, SapientNitro

Pairing #2: Dynamic creative tools support programmatic media buys
Advertisers can use the audience information from their media buy to craft relevant ads for every viewer. Our new dynamic tools focus on making the process easier to manage:


  • A lightweight version of dynamic creative for retail and hotel clients is available in DoubleClick Bid Manager (Premium US users). Use six HTML5 templates to build dynamic ads that are aligned with the programmatic media buy. They work for Facebook right-hand side inventory too!
  • Advertisers can now pull their Google Merchant Center Feed into a dynamic remarketing creative in both DoubleClick Studio and DoubleClick Bid Manager. This makes it much easier to build complex retail campaigns without having to re-input the data.
  • Understand which products in your dynamic ad lead to which website conversions, using the new u-reporting feature in DoubleClick Studio. 


Pairing #3: HTML5 and in-app creative tools support mobile ad targeting
To show a successful ad unit on mobile and tablet placements, you have to build HTML5 ad creatives in formats that work well on smaller screens.


  • Build mobile-compatible ads in minutes, with 20 new HTML5 and in-app Studio Layouts. 
  • To build more custom HTML5 ads, agencies can use Google Web Designer and then publish their ads in one click to DoubleClick Studio. 
  • For a dynamic creative campaign, DoubleClick Studio supports HTML5 dynamic creative, so advertisers can ensure their real-time messages reach consumers wherever they are. 
  • Publish with confidence: DoubleClick supports MRAID 2.0 (the IAB’s latest mobile in-app standard) and has certified over 90 of the largest publishers and networks, to make sure their websites will support DoubleClick in-app ads. 

Pairing #4: In-stream video tools support video ad targeting
Make your TV commercials work for digital by building in interactivity. Serve your video ads alongside the rest of your digital campaign so that your data and reporting are consolidated. This can lead to better campaign insights. 


  • Our new VPAID Layout lets you easily build interactive in-stream video ads (VPAID). Simply upload your video asset and add interactive elements to create a complex ad unit in minutes.
  • You can also ensure people have a smooth viewing experience with your mobile video ads. DoubleClick Campaign Manager will transcode and segment your videos so they can be served in a file size that will load on the viewer’s mobile connection (3G, 4G or wifi). The video can even be altered on the fly, if the connection changes during playback. 

Digital campaigns are nuanced and complex, so having the right support resources at your disposal is important. We built the Creative Recommendation Tool to help you identify the best product to use based on your project’s resources. We’ve also integrated Chat Support into the Studio UI, so you can get in touch with a real person immediately, get your problem solved and get on with your work. 

While advertisers may be focused on scaling campaigns across big bets like mobile, video and programmatic, smart creative is a critical element of every successful campaign and can’t be an afterthought. Advertisers will achieve the best results when they combine creative strategies with media strategies from the outset of their campaigns. 

Over the next few days, we’ll dive into each of the four creative strategies listed above, to provide best practices for combining creative and media strategies in your campaigns. Stay tuned!

Posted by Becky Chappell, Product Marketing Manager, DoubleClick Creative Solutions

Custom Playback Changes Now Live for the IMA HTML5 SDK

We previously announced changes to the way the IMA HTML5 SDK handles custom playback and custom click tracking elements. Starting today, October 2, 2014, those behavior changes will be rolling out.

Custom playback changes


Effective today, custom playback will now be used only when necessary (e.g., on devices such as iPhones or pre-4.0 Android phones) rather than whenever a custom playback video element is passed in.

We recommend all implementations now pass in the custom playback element so that ads will be rendered via a more seamless playback experience across different environments. For more info on the change and code snippets to help you upgrade, see upgrading to the new custom playback.

Custom click tracking element changes


Custom click tracking elements will now only be used in certain video environments. To determine whether or not a custom click tracking element is being used, check ima.AdsManager.isCustomClickTrackingUsed in an AdEvent such as ima.AdEvent.STARTED. Additionally, please do not render your custom click tracking element over your video player as it will break the ad experience by preventing clickthroughs on the ad and skip button. For more information on the custom click tracking element changes, see "a note about custom click tracking elements" on our custom playback guide.

As always, if you have any questions about these changes or other IMA SDK questions, feel free to contact us via the support forum.

 - , IMA SDK Team