Table of contents
Creatives
Shared Library
You can find the Shared Library on the top navigation menu. From the Shared Library, you can select Creatives or Audiences.
Creatives or Audiences built in the Shared Library can be used across multiple Offsite or Onsite campaigns and line items.
Creative Library
The Creative Library contains a list of all the creatives you have built.
When you are ready to associate a creative to a line item, you can do so on the Creatives step in the line item creation workflow. See Create a Line Item Step 5 for more information.
A creative can be associated with one or more line items, however, multiple creative types cannot be combined and actively used by a line item at the same time.
By default, a duplicated creative will not be associated with any line items.
You can remove the association between a line item and a creative by clicking the name of the line item on the Line Items page and removing the creative on the Creatives step.
Creative Builder
Unlike with Onsite Sponsored Products, Onsite Display ad formats require users to upload a creative before activating a campaign. Creatives can be found under the Shared Library on the top navigation bar. It is strongly encouraged to make your creatives before you begin building a campaign or line item.
You can build a new creative or view existing ones in the Creative Library.
To access the Creative Library, click on Shared Library in the top navigation bar, and select Creative from the drop-down menu.
To build a new creative, click the +Creative button on the left side of the Creative Library.
On the next page, select the retailer you’d like your creative to run on. The page will automatically populate the available page types and formats on the selected retailer.
Page Types: homepage, category, search, merchandising, and product detail.
Formats: showcase, flagship, butterfly, custom, etc.
Once you’ve selected the retailer and format, click Continue to input the final details of the creative builder.
Creative Preview
Name & Images
The next step in building a creative is to enter the name of the creative in the Creative Name field. Make sure to name the creative something easily recognizable in the Creative Library. Then, search for the brand featured in the advertisement in the Brand field.
In the Design your creative section under Desktop background image, upload the creative or image that will be used in the advertisement. If you would like Criteo to design creative images for you or your brand, please reach out to your Criteo representative for information.
Image Cropping
Please remember that if you upload an image that does not meet the format's specific dimension requirements for both standard and custom formats, the image cropping tool will appear. You will have to crop your image before being able to proceed with saving your creative.
See the table below to understand how the cropping tool works:
1) The image is too large or too small but its aspect ratio matches the recommended ratio. | The image will be automatically resized to the recommended dimensions. The crop tool will be accessible, but will not open automatically. * |
2) The image is too large or too small and its aspect ratio doesn’t match the recommended ratio. | The cropping tool opens automatically, with the cropping frame area preset to reflect the correct dimensions & aspect ratio (e.g. 310 x 500 px, 31:50). While the cropping frame can be moved freely over the image and its size can be scaled up or down, the aspect ratio is fixed. Once the image is cropped, the creative preview will reload to show the image version. * |
3) The image is uploaded originally with the correct dimensions. | The cropping tool will be accessible via this icon but will not open automatically. While the cropping frame can be moved freely over the image and its size can be scaled up or down, the aspect ratio is locked. In that case, once the image is made smaller after cropping, it will automatically be resized per scenario 1. * |
Alternative Text (Alt-Text)
The next step is to complete the mandatory alternative text fields for your image(s). Alt-text is a short text description of the content and/or the purpose of an image or advertisement on a webpage. Alt-text is:
Alt-text is:
typically displayed on a webpage when an image fails to load
indexed by search engine bots to better understand the context of pages
read aloud by assistive technology, such as screen readers – generally used by people with visual disabilities.
Individual alt-text is required for both Desktop and Mobile images. Feel free to reuse the alt-text if the images are the same.
You can refer to the Alt Text for Creatives page when drafting alt-text copy.
Preview
Prior to uploading background images, you’ll be able to see a “skeleton” version of the selected format on the right side of the screen in the Creative Preview tool. The skeleton image provides a framework of the elements comprising the ad to give you a visual sense of how it will appear, even before you add any details or images.
The preview tool updates in real-time, so when you upload background images you’ll see the preview reload to display your images. Use the preview tool to adjust your images and ad settings as needed before adding them to your line item. You can also add a background color and border color in this section by entering hex codes or using the pop-up color selection tool.
Add-ons
After filling out the mandatory fields, you may want to add optional fields to your ad like a Call-to-Action (CTA) link or legal text that may be required for your product. The number of available add-ons varies by format type – some formats allow one, and others allow more than one.
Use the toggle to expose the available options for the add-on:
CTA link: an interactive button that links to an onsite URL, like a product page.
CTA file: an interactive button that opens a file, like a downloadable coupon.
Legal text: used for legally required copy, such as copyright and trademark information.
The fields for each add-on option vary, but you’ll be able to view the changes you make in the preview on the right. You can input things redirection links, text, and colors for the add-on elements.
Once the creative images and settings have been entered and uploaded, click Create to finish building the creative. You will be brought back to the Creative Library where you can view your creative or edit it.