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CSAI Tracking
- 31 Oct 2023
- 3 Minutes to read
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CSAI Tracking
- Updated on 31 Oct 2023
- 3 Minutes to read
- Contributors
- Print
- DarkLight
- PDF
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Enable CSAI Measurement
Google recommends that content publishers use both client-side and server-side ad viewability measurement together as it provides a more complete view of ad viewability.
Client-side (CSAI) measurements are more accurate for tracking video ads as they can track the actual visibility of the ad on the user's screen, even if the ad is not served directly from the publisher's server. SSAI measurement is good for native ads and outstream ads.
To enable CSAI measurement on your service, log into ViewLift's Tools application, navigate to the AppCMS > Settings, and click the Enable CSAI toggle. Once you have enabled CSAI, it is necessary to enable PAL SDK and OM SDK.
WTA is an optional setting. Google Ad Manager offers support for Why This Ad (WTA) to ensure that viewers understand the source of the ads they’re seeing and how best to control their personalization options.
The features in CSAI tracking are currently implemented only at the frontend level in the ViewLift Tools Platform and not at the API-SDK level.
CSAI Events
In CSAI (Client Side Ad Impression) ad tracking, the video player fires ad-based beacon events to your ad server, like Google Ad Manager.
Event name | Triggered when... |
|---|---|
| impression | Ad loads on the player |
| start | Ad starts playing |
| firstQuartile | Ad has played 25% of its total duration |
| midPoint | Ad has played 50% of its total duration |
| thirdQuartile | Ad has played 75% of its total duration |
| complete | Ad has completed playing |
| mute | User mutes an ad |
| unmute | User unmutes an ad |
| resume | User resumes ad playback after pausing it |
| pause | User pauses the ad playback |
| creativeView | Ad playback has started |
| exitFullscreen | User exists from full screen to mini player during an ad playback |
| fullscreen | Ad is played on full screen |
| clickThrough | The number of users who click on an ad or link |
| clickTracking | The process of measuring and reporting on clickthrough |
CSAI feature for ad viewability measurement - Components involved
The CSAI feature can be used with any ad server, but the specific components involved in ad viewability measurement will vary depending on the ad server you are using. The flowchart you provided shows an example of the components involved in ad viewability measurement using Google Ad Manager.
ViewLift player
The ViewLift player supports both CSAI and SSAI integration, which allows it to send beacon events directly to the ad server for viewability measurement.
AWS Elemental MediaTailor
MediaTailor supports CSAI integration, which allows it to insert beacon events into the video stream.
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager is a programmatic ad server that can be used to deliver targeted ads to users across a variety of platforms. Ad Manager supports CSAI integration, which allows it to use the beacon events received from the ViewLift player and MediaTailor to measure ad viewability.
Ad Manager's PAL SDK
Ad Manager's PAL SDK is a software development kit that provides publishers with access to targeting signals for Google Ad Manager programmatic ads. The PAL SDK is used to collect targeting signals from the ViewLift player and MediaTailor, and to send these signals to Ad Manager.
To use PAL SDK, you need to get a Nonce token from Google Ad Manager. The ad request URLs for your apps must then pass the nonce value in the ad request. The PAL SDK will replace it with the correct Nonce ID. This Nonce ID is required for PAL SDK to track events and deliver more relevant ads.
IAB Tech Lab's OM SDK
The OM SDK is used to collect viewability data from the ViewLift player and MediaTailor, and to send this data to Ad Manager. Turn on the OM toggle on Tools > AppCMS > Settings only after setting up the PAL SDK.
How the components work together
The ViewLift player loads the ad tag from Ad Manager. The ad tag contains the PAL SDK, which collects targeting signals from the ViewLift player and MediaTailor. The PAL SDK sends the targeting signals to Ad Manager. Ad Manager selects an ad to serve to the user, and sends the ad to the ViewLift player. The ViewLift player inserts the ad into the video stream. MediaTailor inserts beacon events into the video stream. The OM SDK collects viewability data from the ViewLift player and MediaTailor. The OM SDK sends the viewability data to Ad Manager. Ad Manager measures ad viewability based on the beacon events and viewability data it receives.
OM SDK screen details
| Omid Partner Name | From your IAB account, add the OMID Partner Name you have created for ViewLift. After creating the namespace, you must generate the builds for iOS, Android, and Web for OM, and share them with us. ViewLift will pass OMID retrieved from AppCMS as MACRO to the content link, and then the ad tag. All macros are described here. |
| Omid Partner Version | One of our developers will add the OMID version here to ensure the build is consistent across all platforms. |
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