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Using VAST Tag URLs with Orders
Using VAST Tag URLs with Orders

How to add VAST URLs to Orders in Megaphone Once Enabled

John Bennett avatar
Written by John Bennett
Updated over a week ago

Megaphone does not have a formal partnership with Voxnest to deliver ads via VAST tags.

Megaphone now supports the use of VAST tag URLs to connect to a third-party ad server and deliver creative into your podcasts. Instructions below outline how to setup VAST campaigns within your org, however you must first reach out to Customer Success to have this feature enabled. There is a monthly fee associated with utilizing this feature so please contact us to learn more.

Normalized Audio - Megaphone has developed a capability to normalize the audio file that it receives from 3rd parties ensuring that the volume matches the same as the podcast. This prevents blaring ads that impact the end listener experience.

VAST Requirements:

  1. VAST media files must be in an mp3, OGG, or M4A audio format (required).

  2. The mime type passed with the media file must be either audio/mpeg or audio/mp3 (required).

  3. We transcode the file before it gets to users and try to match the episode bitrate as close to the ad bitrate as possible for the best listener experience. If possible, return as many standard bitrate options as possible in the VAST request, including: 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, 320 (recommended).

Supported Macros:

  • Cachebuster Macro: %%cachebuster%%

  • IP Address: %%ip%%

  • User Agent (Device): %%ua%%

  • Podcast ID: %%podcastid%%

  • Episode ID: %%episodeid%%

  • Delivery Time (Timestamp): %%delivery_time%%

  • Advertising Tag: %%advertising_tags%%

  • iTune Category: %%itunes_categories%%

  • Media URL: %%mediaurl%%

  • RSS URL: %%rssurl%%

  • Session ID: %%sessionid%%

  • Type: %%type%%

  • Position within Pod: %%position%%

Setting Up VAST Orders:

To start using VAST tag URLs to deliver ads via an order in Megaphone, you will need to navigate to the "Campaigns" tab inside the application. Once in the Campaign Library, select an existing campaign or create a new campaign. Next you will need to select the an existing Order or create a new Order within the Campaign.

From within the Order, select the "Advertisements" tab. Once on the "Advertisements" tab, for each ad-location, there will be a drop-down menu that says "Select Ad Type."

Click on the "Select Ad Type" drop-down for the required ad-location and select "Insert VAST URL."

In the screen that appears next, type in or paste the VAST tag you would like to use for this order. Once complete, click on the "Add Vast URL" button.

After clicking "Add VAST URL," you will be brought back to the "Order" page and the VAST URL will be displayed under the selected ad-location. To complete everything, make sure to click the "Save" button in the upper right-hand corner.

As always we are happy to help with any questions. Please reach out to us via the Live Chat tool or email support-megaphone@spotify.com

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