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Email Creative Specs

We recommend following the below specifications in your email creative.

Dimensions

For best optimization on both desktop & mobile please follow the dimensions below:

  • Width: Between 550px & 650px
  • Height: Maximum 1800px*

*Can exceed maximum height, but not recommended for optimal deliverability

If we are coding the creative:

Please provide the assets in one of the following ways:

  • PSD
    • Layered, not flattened
    • For non-standard fonts, please provide .ttf or .otf font file
  • PDF
  • JPEG/PNG
    • If this is the case please provide all the text in a separate word document.

We must have all URLs in either an Excel or Word document with the location of where the URLs will placed.

If you have a desired look for your HTML’s mobile format, please provide an example of how it will render.

If we are not coding the creative:

  • HTML File
    • Preferred as an HTML
    • It can be a .TXT file
  • If we are hosting images we need each image necessary for rendering
    • It cannot be a mix of client hosted & our hosted images

Mandatory for all campaigns if we are executing:

  • From Line(s) & Subject Line(s)
  • Testing Seed List(s) & Live Seed List(s)
  • Unsubscribe Link (mandatory) / View in Browser URL (optional but recommended
    • We can provide both, but must be informed if we are
  • All necessary language for complying with CAN-SPAM act
    • Postal Address (we can provide our own if needed)
    • Unsubscribe language (we can provide our own if needed)
  • Personalization (First Name, Last Name, etc)
    • This must be documented if it will be used within the campaign. Please give as much detail as possible with what will be used (e.g. First Name) & the location of the personalization (e.g. Dear First Name,)

Specifications for HTML5 Creatives 

HTML5 creatives are a type of display creative with their own specific recommendations, sourced from the IAB Display Advertising Guidelines. HTML5 creatives are displayed as a full HTML page in an iFrame. 

Here's what you need to know about HTML5 creatives: 

  • You may not use dynamic or expandable creatives as HTML5 creatives.
  • Different browsers have different subsets of HTML5 features enabled. Your creative might fail on a browser if it attempts to use a feature that is not enabled in the browser. It is your responsibility to ensure that your creative "gracefully degrades" in case the browser it is viewed on doesn't support the features it uses.
  • The IAB recommends adding the dimensions of your creative to your primary HTML document in a meta tag inside of the <head> section of your document. Here's an example, in which you'd replace the width and height values with the actual dimensions of your creative: "<meta name="ad.size" content="width=300,height=250"/>"

If an ad.size meta tag is not provided in the primary HTML document, you are prompted to enter dimensions when you submit the creative.

  • The Trade Desk Hosted HTML5 system requires that you upload a static backup image. This image is used to display the ad if a user has JavaScript disabled.
  • Commonly used JavaScript and CSS libraries (such as jQuery) do not need to be included with the creative.
  • Including image sprites instead of multiple images decreases the number of file requests made by your creative and increases its performance.
  • Avoid the use of video tags in HTML5.
  • Audio tags should play only if a user intentionally starts the audio.

For details on this creative type, see HTML5 For Digital Advertising: Guidance for Ad Designers and Creative Technologists. 

File Sizes

The following table lists the supported file sizes for HTML5 creatives. For additional requirements, see the File Packaging section below.

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File Packaging

You can use one of the following packaging options: 

  • A single HTML file. 

All information for serving the creative (with the exception of commonly used JavaScript and CSS libraries) should be included in the HTML file. The maximum HTML file size is 200 KB. 

  • A single root/main HTML file with supporting images. 
  • A single root/main HTML file with supporting images and additional supporting JS and CSS files. 

Here's what you need to know about using compressed (ZIP) files: 

  • All files for displaying the creative (with the exception of commonly used JavaScript and CSS libraries) should be included in the ZIP file.
  •  The primary HTML file should be located in the root of the ZIP file. 
  • ZIP files must contain no more than 100 files, including at least one HTML file for use as the initiating file for display. Keep the file count low to minimize browser performance impact. 
  • You can include only HTML, JS, CSS, MP4, JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and SVG files in a ZIP file. 
  • When packaging HTML5 creatives, include the asset files, not the folder containing them, in the ZIP file:

Zip this: 

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Not this:

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The following table lists the maximum file size requirements for compressed files:

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Click Tag Parameters

A click tag is a parameter used in HTML5 banner ads. The parameter is a variable that defines the destination URL and is provided in the primary HTML file as a URL parameter. 

Here's what you need to know about click tag parameters: 

  • You can customize the name of the URL parameter when uploading or editing the creative. 
  • Click tag names are case-sensitive. Be sure to use uniform capitalization throughout the creative and any supporting files. For example, clickTag and clickTAG are not interchangeable. The Trade Desk Platform defaults to clickTAG. 
  • When the user clicks the ad, the creative must direct the user to the correct click tag page in a new window. 
  • If you want to also use that click-through URL in your HTML5 creative, you can configure the creative to use the backup click-through URL as the default click-through URL. To call the click-through page through the backup ad image correctly, you must supply a click-through parameter. 
  • You can use multiple click-through URLs and define different landing pages for different actions. If you append a URL-escaped landing page to the click tag URL, the platform tracks the click and redirects the request to the given landing page: 

"var clickTAG = getParameterByName('clickTAG') + encodeURIComponent('http://www.thetradedesk.com');"

Tip: Use JavaScript to read the parameter from the document location URL and use it to set up the landing page for your clicks. You can use either all single quotes (') or all double quotes (") in your code, but you cannot mix them.

Example 1.A Click Tag Parameter Example

The following code block shows one way to retrieve and implement a creative with a click-through URL that has been specified in The Trade Desk platform. In this example, a single image is wrapped with an anchor tag, which, when clicked, opens a new window with the address stored in the clickTAG URL parameter of the creative.

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For more information, view our Connect Self-Serve Guide.