Formats and Technical Requirements for Advertising Creatives Targeting on MyTarget

Previously, we discussed the technical requirements for advertising on Yandex.Direct and VKontakte. Now, let’s shift our focus to myTarget, another advertising platform provided by VK, which enables ad broadcasting on Odnoklassniki, partner networks, and owned sites.

Although the new VK advertising cabinet allows for importing myTarget campaigns, the platform still functions independently. MyTarget is a user-friendly platform that allows businesses to tailor promotions according to specific goals and target audiences. The publication format is selected based on the product and its objectives, such as personalized pages or websites. Additionally, myTarget offers mobile app promotion, which is currently only available through VK Advertising.

MyTarget formats

Regarding the technical aspects, creatives for myTarget can be categorized by their visual elements: image, video, post, and audio.

For image-based campaigns, there are several options:

• Teaser: A brief ad with an image, text description, and a mandatory link to an external resource. Placed on the desktop to the right or left of the main content. Typically used for “Traffic” and “Reach” goals to attract users’ attention. The image size is from 90×75 pixels in JPG or PNG formats, and the text description allows up to 25 characters in the title and up to 90 characters in the short description (with spaces and punctuation marks).
• Banner: A graphic ad with text that may include an image, video, or HTML5. Like teasers, banners are used for “Traffic” and “Reach” goals, as well as “Social games engagement.” Since publication details are required, this format is available to legal entities or individual entrepreneurs. The banner size is 240×400 pixels for any creative, up to 60 KB with an image, up to 30 seconds and 2 MB with a video, up to 150 KB of a ZIP archive with HTML. Additional requirements for an image are no transparent background, no blurred borders or frames, mandatory link to a website or a game (on Odnoklassniki) and 21 pixels at the top of the banner to indicate the location if the campaign is aimed at regions.
• Multi-format: A universal option for desktop and mobile devices. The publication is displayed on all myTarget networks, adapting to a specific site and placements. Multi-format can be aimed at achieving various goals, such as “Traffic,” “App Installs,” “Reach,” “App Engagement,” “Store Visits,” etc. There is also a function for the format to attract a premium audience network, allowing you to select sites with accuracy to a domain. The image sizes are 256×256 and 600×600 pixels for mobile units, 1080×607 pixels for horizontal units, 300×600 pixels for vertical unit, and 600×60. The title is limited to 25 characters, and the body text should be up to 90 characters (with spaces and punctuation marks), as in the teaser.
• Carousel: A format consisting of several images used for mobile and desktop versions. Typically used to advertise online stores, services, or events, the aim of the carousel is to show the product or assortment’s advantages extensively. The size of images is 600×600 pixels with an acceptable number of slides 3-6. There is a limit for the text part: the entire publication should not exceed 25 characters in the title and 50 characters in the main description; for each slide – 25 characters in the title and 32 characters in the description of the card are allowed (with spaces and punctuation marks).

Apart from graphic images, myTarget provides a variety of video formats.

Supervideo is a versatile format that integrates all types of video advertising on myTarget and adjusts the size to fit specific sites for placement (e.g., Odnoklassniki, VKontakte, myTarget network, etc.). To create an ad, a video is uploaded to the platform, and a native block is added with a description, title, logo, and call-to-action (CTA) button.

Algorithms optimize the publication for InStream (insertion into a video clip), InPage (insertion into the main content on the site or native placement in ad blocks), or InBanner (to the right or left of the main content in the banner).

The video should be no longer than 30 seconds with a resolution of 640×360 / 1280×720 / 1920×1080 pixels. The title can have up to 25 characters with spaces, while the body text can have up to 40 characters with spaces.

Square and horizontal videos for applications are displayed in desktop and mobile versions, as well as in applications. The video starts playing automatically when a user scrolls through the newsfeed to the advertisement. The CTA button in the ad can direct users to the AppStore or Google Play application page. This format is available for the “Video Views” and “App Installs” goals, with two types of ads:

• Rewarded: A full-screen video inside the application, where the user receives a bonus (paid content, in-game currency, etc.) for watching it.
• Interstitial: A video that plays before the main content in the application, which users can skip after 5 seconds of viewing.

The video should be no longer than 30 seconds, with a file size of up to 90 MB and a resolution of 600×600 pixels (for square video) or 640×360 pixels (for horizontal video). The title can have up to 25 characters with spaces, while the body text can have up to 90 characters with spaces.

Pre-roll is a video up to 30 seconds with automatic start before watching the main video. The advantage of this format is that it allows for detailed targeting and can be posted in all possible ways for myTarget placement.

The video should be no longer than 30 seconds, with a size of up to 90 MB and a resolution of 640×360 / 1280×720 / 1920×1080 pixels.

The Shoppable Ads format allows up to 20 products to be displayed in a video with links to product pages. This video is displayed in InStream mode and can be uploaded to either Odnoklassniki or VKontakte. Shoppable Ads is only available for the “VK products” goal, and when posting, products and links need to be uploaded.

The video must be between 15 to 30 seconds long, and the product cards must have 600×600 pixel images, with a title up to 25 characters and text up to 32 characters. A maximum of 20 products can be included in the video, and the link requirements include an XML file with product names, photos, prices, and links.

OutStream videos are short videos that appear inside the main content of myTarget partner sites (over 100 sites) and the Native Roll video network. These publications play automatically and are shown in the native block when the player gets into the user’s visibility zone. All ad elements, including the logo, title, description, CTA, and video player, are clickable.

The video must be up to 30 seconds for Native Roll, and up to 6 seconds for Bumper Ads with a resolution of 640×360 / 1280×720 / 1920×1080 pixels, and up to 90 MB in size. Additional requirements include a description of up to 40 characters with spaces, and a logo of 256×256 pixels.

Posts are a versatile format that can include text, images, surveys, and audio. They are commonly used to encourage user engagement within social networks and groups. There are three types of posts:

Lead Ads on Odnoklassniki are an efficient way to collect customer applications within the social network. The form is generated automatically from a user’s profile on Odnoklassniki, and can be integrated with call tracking or CRM systems to continue working with a client. The format is available for desktop and mobile versions.

Canvas on Odnoklassniki works similarly to Lead Ads, but only for mobile feeds. When clicked, the post takes users to a full-screen page with features like autoplay videos, image sliders, and active buttons that can link to websites or app store pages.

Cross-platform video posts on Odnoklassniki and VKontakte allow for simultaneous publication across both social networks. The format is available for desktop and mobile versions and is intended for the goal of social engagement.

You can set a one-time display for the video post. If a user sees an ad on one of the websites, it will not be shown to them on another.

The basic requirements for posts are minimal. The post must be placed in an open community, and can include one video that is not from third-party resources. Note that moderators do not allow reposts from other groups.

Audio ads are a highly popular advertising format on myTarget, playing to users prior to listening to soundtracks on Odnoklassniki, VKontakte, and the My World platform across desktop and mobile versions. This format boasts a significant advantage in its wide reach, with over 60 million myTarget listeners.

Advertisers have access to various targeting options, ranging from socio-demographic characteristics to interests, and even retargeting. However, it should be noted that this advertising can be intrusive. Only two audio requirements are necessary, including a length of 15 to 30 seconds (in multiples of 5) and a maximum size of 10 MB.

MyTarget provides a vast selection of ad formats and objectives for advertising publications, making it an excellent platform for various marketing experiments. However, success is not guaranteed without a well-defined marketing strategy. To achieve desired outcomes, seeking assistance from specialists and experts is crucial.

Instead of a conclusion

Contextual and targeted advertising have been proven as effective digital marketing tools. However, to increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, a well-developed strategy that includes high-quality creative work is essential.

This strategy should take into account competitor analysis, brand positioning, creative approach, selection of appropriate formats for different platforms, goal setting, publication testing, analytics, and more. It is important to keep up with new services that appear on the Russian market to achieve the best advertising campaign results.

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