How to launch a campaign

Click Switch to professional interface to the right of the campaign name.

Step 1. Go to the campaign creation page and set it up

Enter the campaign name. Set the campaign start and end dates. If you want to serve ads at a specific time, configure time targeting. Select the display regions.

Select an ad strategy. We recommend automatic strategies:

• To get maximum impressions for the specified cost, select Pay per view.
• To increase your ad reach, select Decrease price for repeat impressions.
• To get more impressions, select Maximize impressions.

If the campaign meets the Brand Lift criteria, run the surveys.

You can also cap impression frequency to limit how many times your campaign ads can be served to the same user.

To increase or decrease the probability of serving on certain types of video inventory, set up bid adjustments. For example, you can increase bids on impressions in streaming videos or in-app videos.

Step 3. Select ad type

Select video as the ad type.

All the ads in an ad group must be the same type, although a campaign can include all types of ads. You can't change the ad type after saving an ad group.

Select the display regions.

Step 3. Configure audience accumulation for retargeting

You can accumulate an audience of users who have viewed a video from your display campaign and then use it to configure retargeting.

Choose the events that interest you:

• video impression
• completed 25%, 50%, or 75% of video ad
• completed entire video

A separate segment is created automatically for each event in Yandex Audience, under the account hosting the Yandex Direct campaign. It will include users who started viewing the video, viewed 25%, 50%, or 75% of at least one video from the ad group, or viewed the video completely (depending on the selected event).

To learn more, see Retargeting to a video audience.

Step 4. Set up impression criteria

Video ads are only served in the Yandex Advertising Network based on user profile or by genre and subject:

• User profile consists of the cumulative characteristics of the users that you want to serve your ads to.
• Genres and subjects: Select categories of sites and videos that have a subject related to your ad.

You can only select one type of impression criteria per ad group. You cannot change the type of impression criteria after you save the ad group.

Tip. If you have selected an automatic display strategy, go back to the strategy settings after you save the ad group. The average price recommendation will be updated based on the impression criteria. This will ensure efficient budget spending over the period.

Step 5. Set up bid adjustments

You can configure bid adjustments based on the weather. Click Bid adjustments → +New adjustment. Select the criteria and assign coefficients to increase or decrease the bid.

Step 6. Create a video

Use your own video clip to create an ad. You don't necessarily need to hire professionals or rent a studio. You can film a video with a smartphone that has a good camera.

The video must meet the moderation rules and the following technical requirements:

Format	MP4, WebM, MOV, QT, FLV, AVI
Size	100 MB maximum
Duration	Between 5 and 60 sec For non-skippable ads, max video duration is 15 seconds.
Aspect ratio	16 : 9; 1 : 1; 9 : 16
Minimum resolution	360p
Recommended resolution	1080p
Video frame rate	between 20 and 30 frames/second
Video codecs	H.264, VP6F, VP8, Theora
Number of video tracks	1
Minimum quality	44 kHz, 16 Kbit/s, stereo
Audio codecs	AAC, MP3, Vorbis
Number of audio tracks	0 or 1
File codec	avc1, F4V, isom, M4A, M4V, mp4, mp41, mp42, qt
Cover	No

Format	MP4, WebM, MOV, QT, FLV, AVI
Size	100 MB maximum
Duration	Between 5 and 60 sec For non-skippable ads, max video duration is 15 seconds.
Aspect ratio	16 : 9; 1 : 1; 9 : 16
Minimum resolution	360p
Recommended resolution	1080p
Video frame rate	between 20 and 30 frames/second
Video codecs	H.264, VP6F, VP8, Theora
Number of video tracks	1
Minimum quality	44 kHz, 16 Kbit/s, stereo
Audio codecs	AAC, MP3, Vorbis
Number of audio tracks	0 or 1
File codec	avc1, F4V, isom, M4A, M4V, mp4, mp41, mp42, qt
Cover	No

Examples of safe area locations in different video formats

• Vertical

  
• Horizontal

  
• Square

  

In most cases, the safe areas are positioned as shown in the examples above. However, there may be some exceptions.

Consider the ad player layout when preparing your video: in particular, the position and design of the click-through button. The button is fixed in the lower-left corner of the video. You can't change its color.

• It's better to place the main ad content in the central part of the video, with a 20% bottom margin.
• If your video needs a notice, put it in the lower 10% of the screen so that the buttons don't block the notice.

You don't need to insert legal notices into the video when building your ad. Add the notice to Legal information when uploading your video: the notice will be available in the top-right menu of the video.

How to create a video using Ad Builder

1. Under Video, click Builder. The video builder window opens.

2. Upload a video from your computer or using a link, or select a video created in Video Builder. The audio is added automatically from the uploaded video.

   It will take a few minutes to process your video clip. If the video fails to meet the technical requirements, it won't upload. You will see an error message. Fix it and upload the video again.

3. Add a packshot, which is an image to show up for several seconds after your video. It helps to imprint the image of an advertised object in the viewer's mind. You can use a product photo or a company logo for a packshot. Clicking on the packshot will take the user to your site.

   Packshot requirements

   Format	JPEG
   Image width	From 1080 to 3840 pixels
   Image height	From 1080 to 3840 pixels
   Aspect ratio	Same as the video aspect ratio

   Format	JPEG
   Image width	From 1080 to 3840 pixels
   Image height	From 1080 to 3840 pixels
   Aspect ratio	Same as the video aspect ratio

4. Select the text for the redirect button.

5. Set an age label, if necessary. In the Legal information section, provide the information required by law and Yandex Ad Serving Rules. In the ad, they will be available in the menu in the upper-right corner of the video.

6. Click the Create button. The video will be added to the ad.

Step 7. Add subtitles to your video

Once your video is uploaded, you can add subtitles. With subtitles, your message can reach users who watch videos without sound. Subtitles will be visible on all video formats and won't be overlapped by buttons or other interface elements.

There are two ways to create subtitles:

• Generate them automatically: this takes less than a minute on average. You can edit subtitles later if needed: download, modify, and re-upload the file.
• Upload your subtitles in SRT or VTT format (maximum file size is 2 MB).

Once created, the subtitles will appear in your video in the preview area, where you can check if the text is synced with the video.

Subtitles will be added to the video as long as they don't cover the important parts of the visual content.

Please note that videos are moderated, so make sure that the subtitles match the words spoken in the video.

Step 8. Add a landing page

In the Link in ad field, specify a page on your site or social media that provides your offer details and opens on banner click.

Step 9. Plan your design

Add a title with text, a logo, an action button, and an image carousel to the banner:

• The logo will increase the brand's visibility even before users watch the video.

• In the text, you can use the company's slogan or provide information about your special offers: for example, discounts or delivery options.

• It's better that you add a call to purchase or a call to learn more about the services to the button. This way you can increase the number of converted sessions, because your users will know where the click would bring them.

  Using an additional button, you can enable the user to go directly to your product page or order form.

• The carousel helps to shorten the user's path from the ad to a potential purchase. Upload from 1 to 7 slides.

Both the text and the button will be clickable. The text will include the same link as the video. You can also set an additional link for the button and in the carousel to bring users to the product or service page.

The logo, button, and title with text may appear next to the video in text content, in apps, and in rewarded videos. The position and renderability of elements depend on specific ad platforms and placements. The more extensions you add, the more ad options your audience will see on different ad platforms.

Step 10. Specify a third-party tracking URL

You can use the ADFOX tag or Yandex Metrica pixel to count ad impressions for display ads. The tag or pixel must include the %random% macro. They must also support HTTPS.