Technical specifications
Creative
guide
Your
existing
assets,
most
often
without
any
rework.
Four of our eight formats accept any content ratio. The others come with a Photoshop template. Here is what each format accepts, and above all what works best on it.
Valid across all eight formats
The technical specifications fit in five lines
They are identical across the whole catalogue, so there is nothing to check format by format.
Accepted files
Our technical limits do exist, but you are unlikely to ever meet them. The 200 MB per file limit is several hundred times higher than that of standard display, and the go live delay is nil: uploading is going live.
Comparison
What a proprietary platform changes
The constraints of standard display do not come from advertising itself, but from limits inherited from the historical standards.
Maximum weight
From 150 KB to a few MB in standard IAB display. 200 MB per file on SmartXSP.
Imposed ratio
Systematic in standard display. No ratio imposed on four of our eight formats.
Creative rework
Almost systematic in standard display. Rarely needed on our free ratio formats.
Go live
A back and forth with a studio in standard display. Instant from the SmartXSP platform.
Three levels of constraint
Spot the level of constraint before looking at the specs
Free ratio, four formats
SmartRead, SmartPulse, SmartSolar and SmartMax accept any content ratio. No template, no rework, your existing assets are enough. They are also our most used formats.
Guided ratio, one format
SmartView in its standard version expects a 16:9. It is the simplest entry point when the available creative comes from TV or YouTube.
Template provided, three formats
SmartCover, SmartView panoramic and SmartSkin rely on fixed dimensions. We provide a Photoshop template with safe areas and cropping guides.
Start from your creative
Which formats accept the asset you already have?
Describe the creative you have, the answer appears immediately.
Format by format
What works, and what works less well
The technical part is common to every format. What follows only covers what actually varies.
Free ratio: SmartRead, SmartPulse, SmartSolar, SmartMax
No template, no ratio constraint. Your existing assets are enough, whatever their orientation.
What works best
- A 9:16 on mobile heavy inventory, where the format takes up the full width of the editorial column. The gain in visible surface over a 16:9 is the most direct lever on attention.
- The key message in the first three seconds. The format triggers as it enters the viewport and the user stays in control of their scroll.
- Burnt-in subtitles, since playback starts muted.
- One idea per creative. The format is generous in surface, which is not a reason to stack messages.
What works less well
- Reusing a 16:9 TV asset as is on mobile inventory. Technically accepted, but part of the available surface goes unused.
- Legal wording burnt into the video at a small point size.
- A logo or a message placed in the bottom ten per cent of the creative.
SmartView standard
The format expects a 16:9 ratio.
This is the only one of our formats where an existing TV or YouTube asset goes in without any adaptation, which makes it the simplest entry point for an advertiser who does not yet have a vertical creative. Plan a centred framing, as the edges may be slightly cropped depending on the placement.
SmartView panoramic
Fixed dimensions set by the template. The creative starts from the PSD, which includes the safe area layers and the cropping guides.
SmartCover
Two visuals, one for desktop and one for mobile, built from the template we provide.
The aspect ratio changes radically between the two versions. These are therefore two distinct compositions rather than one crop. On the very elongated desktop version, a single off-centre subject with a short line of text works better than a symmetrical composition. A high resolution still image generally renders better than a heavily compressed video: on this format, perceived quality matters more than movement.
SmartCover, technical constraints
SmartSkin
A desktop skin made of vertical side strips and a top banner. The dimensions are set by the template and by the applicable IAB standard.
The width of the content area determines how much of the side strips is actually visible. The visual therefore has to be designed knowing that its centre will be covered by the article. Brand elements and the message belong in the side strips and the top banner, never in the centre, and any graphic element crossing the central area should be avoided.
SmartSkin, technical constraints
Send us your creative and we will tell you which formats accept it.
A fifteen minute conversation is enough to identify the formats that suit your existing assets.
Contact us →