Advertisement Specifications
Contents
Introduction
Creative Formats
4
Guidelines
26 Cascade
6
Logos
27 Pushdown
7
Colour
38 Sidekick
8
Copy
29 Video Skin
9
Artwork
30 Mood Skin
10 Integration
31 Expandables
11
32 Floor Ad
Stats
33 Film Strip
Standard Formats
34 Page Move
35 Mobile Banner
14 Leaderboard
36 Click to Expand
15 Super Leaderboard
37 Swipe to Rotate/Interstitial
16 MPU
38 Click to Call
17
39 Video Ad
Wallpapers
21 Half page
40 Click Tag
22 Billboard
41 Notes
23 Video
42 Audience
24 Takeover
43 Lifestyle & Attitudes
44 Purchasing Power
45 Online Habits
3
Aiming for the lowest common
denominator
(in a good way)
Irishtimes.com is viewed on multiple devices in a multitude of
formats and resolutions. Unfortunately for advertisers this requires a trade-off – in order to maximise reach we must tailor
our advertising assets (wallpapers in particular) to the lowest
common denominator. Technologically speaking of course. This
means aiming for smaller screen size devices whilst retaining the
impact that larger more forgiving platforms provide. The same
goes for mobile formats as all banners require a backup gif for
mobile and tablet, at less than 40kb in file size.
4
In this document you will see recommended specifications set
out for a sponsored wallpaper as part of a homepage takeover.
These are tailored for a standard small laptop screen, (about 13”)
at 1024 x 768 and 100% zoom. We recommend aiming to have
your central message/branding within the area visible on most
laptop screens (see example below), but with so many different
hardware configurations it is impossible to account for
indivudual user’s machines cutting parts of the wallpaper off.
Despite this, by all means expand artwork or other assets
outside of these constraints taking advantage of larger laptop or
desktop screens.
5
Logos
Of course a logo or tagline is crucial to your brand’s message,
but don’t let a poor depiction of it harm the experience. Give a
margin, padding and some breathing space. Your brand guidelines
will have strict instructions for spacing with regard to print
materials, apply them to your online materials too.
6
Colour
Be careful with colour. There is a fine line between eye-catching
and an eyesore. Blocks of bright garish colours may stand out,
but at what cost? Perhaps your copy, logo, artwork or other
assets are now lost in the noise? A red racing stripe only stands
out if the car its on isn’t coloured red too- then its just a red car.
Also, please use red sparingly, especially on electronic screens
as red can “bleed” and seem very harsh on the eye.
7
Copy
“In advertising you have seven words to...”
Keep any text you use brief, for two reasons;
Firstly what is the key piece of information you need to convey?
The company name? Product name? Slogan? Price? Dates? Very
quickly your word count will grow and grow. After that, it doesn’t
leave much room for testimonials or a glowing advertorial about
how great your product is. Taglines are short for a reason.
Secondly, the “active“ area of your wallpaper as shown earlier
is quite a small space. Depending on the resolution of the
audience’s screen, small or closely spaced text may be illegible.
8
Artwork/Assets
These same guiding principles apply to any assets or artwork you
will be using. Your advertisement’s effectiveness does not boil
down to having a bigger picture than the other guy. Trust in your
brand’s strength and don’t solely rely on an image to carry your
company’s message. People don’t need to see photos of copper
pipes to advertise a plumber, and likewise we don’t need pictures
of a washing machine, dvd player and a toaster to know what an
electronics store sells.
Having said that, by all means include an image, but please
bear in mind resolution and fidelity. The maximum file size for a
wallpaper is 100kb, which is not a lot for an image that can be
1500 pixels across and 800 pixels high. This is especially evident
in small or detailed photographs where compression artifacts
can ruin an image.
9
Integration/Fitting-In
A homepage takeover is that- a takeover of a full page- take full
advantage of it. Link your ad positions together where possible
and achieve a greater impact. Simple things like syncing the
animation between your leaderboard/skyscraper/MPU can
eliminate a jarring reaction to an advertisement. Remember,
there’s a difference between disruptive advertising and
obstructive advertising.
Think of it in terms of television commercials- TV ads present
themselves alongside TV content. Appearing as partners, for
instance “presented by...“ or “brought to you by...“ . Television ads
co-opt the goodwill generated by a person’s favourite TV show
and apply it to their company or product. Your online advertising
should strive for that same sense of co-operation, and should,
where possible, blend and “fit“ with the site. Interrupting,
obscuring or otherwise obfuscating one’s engagement with the
website and its content, may appear to yield clicks or results, but
this short term thinking will do nothing for your brand’s standing
in the eyes of your consumers.
10
Stats
Irishtimes.com has on average 5.4
million visitors and 40 million page views each
month.
Our Irish audience is roughly 50% of this; 42% of
visitors and 64% of pageviews coming from Irish
IPs.
(source: Google Analytics March 2014)
11
12
Standard Formats
13
Leaderboard
Static or animated banner ad across
top of articles and index pages
dimensions: 728 x 90px
max file size: 40kb
filetype: .swf and .gif/.jpg
14
Super Leaderboard
Static or animated banner ad across
top of articles and index pages
dimensions: 970 x 90px
max file size: 40kb
filetype : .swf and .gif/.jpg
15
MPU
Static or animated banner typically
placed on the right hand side of articles
and index pages
dimensions: 300 x 250px
max file size: 40kb
filetype: .swf and .gif/.jpg
16
Wallpaper
A wallpaper is a (usually) static graphic placed behind the
website’s content. There are three separate templates for this
format, each of which are outlined on the next three pages.
As mentioned previously, the maximum heights and widths
given here are guidlines to ensure your messaging appears on the
most restrictive platforms (small laptop screens/netbooks etc)
With so many varying configurations in monitor sizes and
ratios its impossible to give a definitive “correct“ answer with
regard to the physical size of a wallpaper.
As long as the correct space has been provided in the centre for
the website to sit, the wallpaper can be as large as you wish, as
long as it remains under 100kb in file size.
17
Standard Wallpaper
This is our recommended wallpaper
format for irishtimes.com
recommended minimum wallpaper width: 1280px
site width: 980px
recommended minimum gutter height: 600px
central horizontal strip: 980 x 122px
(be sure to include a 32 x 980px space from the top in the centre)
max file size: 100kb
filetype : .jpg .gif .png
18
Pageskin
recommended minimum wallpaper width: 1280px
site width: 980px
recommended minimum height: 600px
central horizontal strip: 980 x 150px
max file size: 100kb
filetype : .jpg .gif .png
19
Gutters
recommended minimum wallpaper width: 1280px
site width: 980px
recommended minimum gutter width: 150px per side (1280px total)
gutter height: 600px
max file size: 100kb
filetype : .jpg .gif .png
20
Half Page
Animated or static banner to the right hand side of
articles and index pages that can serve video, as
well as a fallback static image
dimensions: 300 x 600px
initial ad max file size: 40kb
polite load: 80kb
1mb with video
filetype: .swf and .gif/.jpg
21
Billboard
Static or animated banner ad across
top of articles and index pages
dimensions: 970 x 250px
initial ad max file size: 40kb
polite load maximum: 1mb
video max: 10mb progressive load,
not streaming
filetype : .swf and .gif/.jpg
22
Video
Pre-roll video sting before irishtimes.com videos.
Advertisement must be either 10 or 15 seconds for any
videos less than 2 minutes in length, or 30 seconds for
videos longer than 2 minutes
max video dimensions: 1920 x 1080px
video codec: H.264
audio codec: 16 bit AAC at 44.1khz or 48.khz
filetype: .mov or .mp4
23
Takeover
A combination of leader, superleader, MPU,
half page or wallpaper.
Billboards and half page ads cannot run with
wallpapers during a takeover
formats: wallpaper, leader/superleader and MPU/
skyscraper/half page
max file size: see individual assets
filetype: .swf and .gif/.jpg
24
Creative Formats
25
Cascade
Full page banner that “folds“ down the
page starting from the top
dimensions: 970 x 250px to 970 x 750px
initial max file size: 40kb
polite load maximum: 1mb
video max: 10mb progressive load,
not streaming
filetype : .swf
26
Pushdown
Static or animated banner ad across
top of articles and index pages that
pushes the page content down
dimensions: 970 x 90px to 970 x 415px
max file size: 40kb
filetype : .swf and .gif/.jpg
27
Sidekick
Animated format that expands from the standard MPU
format and pushes the page content to the side
dimensions: 300 x 250px to 900 x 854px
initial max file size: 40kb
polite load maximum: 1mb
video max: 10mb progressive load,
not streaming
filetype : .swf
28
Video Skin
Auto-playing video lasting up to 60 seconds
with audio only on user initiation
ad dimensions: 1200 x 675px
max video dimensions: 1200 x 675px
video codec: H.264
audio codec: 16 bit AAC at 44.1khz or 48.khz
video filetype: .flv
polite load maximum: 1 mb
video max file size: 10 mb progressive load,
not streaming
skin filetype : .swf
29
Mood Skin
A coloured background that changes
depending on the content played in an
embedded video within the page, typically in
the MPU position
mood skin dimensions: 1366 x 800px
video dimensions: 300 x 250px
max file size: 40kb
polite load: 1mb without video
10mb with Video
filetype: .swf
30
Expandables
Rich media expandable variants of typical ad
formats. In this case; leader and MPU
dimensions : 728 x 90px to 728 x 250
max file size: 40kb
polite load: 1mb without video
10mb with Video
filetype: .swf and .gif/.jpg
31
Floor Ad
Static or animated banner ad across
the bottom of the browser window
dimensions: 980 x 40px to 980 x 410px*
max file size: 40kb
filetype: .swf and .gif/.jpg
* minimum of 980px width, but will be
stretched to 100% width of the browser window
32
Film Strip
Static or animated banner placed on the sidebar of the
site that scrolls up and down showing more content
dimensions: 300 x 3000px canvas through a
300 x 600px window
filetype: .swf and .gif/.jpg
33
Page Move
Animated format that expands from the standard
MPU format and pushes the page content to the side
dimensions: 1366 x 800px
max file size: 40kb
filetype: .swf and .gif/.jpg
34
Mobile Banner
Animated or static banner can click through to
App Store, website, m.site, or landing page.
dimensions: 320 x 50px
max file size: 30kb
filetype: .gif/.jpg/.png
35
Click to Expand
Banner expands within App when user taps on it
and can then return to App by clicking x button
dimensions: 320 x 50px
expanded: 320 x 480px
max file size: 10kb static, 20kb animated
filetype: .gif/.jpg/.png
36
Swipe to Rotate/Interstitial/Overlay
Automatically displayed to users when they visit the
section homepages. User can return to App by clicking x
button. Can be simple static image or an animated gif
dimensions: 320 x 480px
max file size: 40kb
filetype: .gif/.jpg/.png
37
Click to Call
User taps on banner which automatically makes a phone
call to the phone number provided or user can choose what
to dial from a list of numbers.
dimensions: 320 x 480px
max file size: 40kb
filetype: .gif/.jpg/.png
38
Video Ad
User taps on banner which expands and then starts playing
a video ad
ad dimensions: 320 x 50px
max video dimensions: 1920 x1080px
ad max file size: 40kb
max video file size: 10mb
filetype: .gif/.jpg/.png and .mov/.mp4
39
Click Tag
Submitted .swf files must be click
enabled with the instance name
“clickTag“ and the following code
embedded either on an actions layer or
on an object
Actionscript 2:
on(release){
getURL(_root.clickTag, “_blank“);
}
Actionscript 3:
on(release){
getURL(_root.clickTag, “_blank“);
}
The recommended framerate for flash
banners is 24fps. CPU usage for flash
elements must also not exceed 40%.
Each ad can only be a maximum of 30
seconds long
40
Notes
The placement of ads on certain sections of
irishtimes.com, particularly with regard to
creative formats, is subject to the editorial
department’s approval.
Please contact us for further details
Z-Index Range
Background Ads: 0
Standard Ads: 0 - 4,999
Expandable Ads: 5,000 - 1,999,999
Overlay Ads: 2,000,000 - 2,999,999
Video
Autoplaying video is permitted but
audio must be user-initiated.
No mouseover events are permitted and
playback must stop when the pause or
stop button is clicked
41
Our Audience
484,000 people regularly visit irishtimes.com
65% of regular visitors to the site are ABC1
50% are educated to third/postgraduate level
81% are homeowners
59% are employed (full/part-time)
33% of those working full-time are managers/senior
executives/senior management in their occupation
47,000 regular visitors are at a senior level in their
workplace and have/share purchasing power within
their organisation
The average pre-tax personal income of those working fulltime is €51,329 compared to the national
average of €40,799
42
Lifestyle & Attitudes
30% of irishtimes.com regular visitors travelled by air
for business purposes
17% stayed in a hotel for business purposes
90% have a household car
56% holidayed abroad
43
Purchasing Power
188,000 regular visitors have a pre-tax family income
€60,000+
On average, regular visitors to irishtimes.com spent
€17,756 on their last main car, compared to a population
average of €14,246
123,000 regular visitors have additional investments in the
form of stocks/shares/unit trusts/investment trusts (96%
more likely than the average Irish adult)
44
Online Habits
210,000 regular visitors downloaded a newspaper
app in the past 12 months
(193% more likely than the average Irish adult)
145,000 own a tablet
(106% more likely than the average Irish adult)
Our regular visitors are 64% more likely on average
to shop for groceries online
182,000 regular visitors use the internet regularly
for social networking (e.g. Linkedin, Facebook, etc.)
45
46
IRISH TIMES BUILDING | 24-28 TARA ST | DUBLIN 2 | IRELAND | TEL +353 1 6758000
ADVERTISING@IRISHTIMES.COM | @IRISHTIMESSALES
IRISHTIMES.COM/ABOUT-US/ADVERTISE