In-Game Formats
Part of Buying gaming ad inventory
Checking inventory availability by device
Verify gaming ad availability across mobile, PC and console by checking the actual placement, targeting, creative requirements and device-level forecast.
Check availability for every device on which the ad must run. Start with the proposed game and placement, then apply device, operating system, environment, Australian targeting, dates and creative requirements together. A game playable on a device does not establish that its ad placement is offered there.
Identify the experience
Separate smartphone, tablet, PC and console proposals. Ask what the player sees on each supported game version. A mobile app interstitial is a different unit from a virtual sign in a PC game, even when both appear under the same game name.
Do not rely on a buying platform's device category to identify the ad environment. Display & Video 360, for example, publishes help documentation on device targeting and on connected-TV reporting and forecasting; check the current documentation for how its categories are defined. Confirm the app or game and the position of the proposed ad.
Request a device matrix
Ask for a row for each material game, placement and device combination. Include its game or app identifier, supported version or operating system, creative specifications, Australian eligibility rule, forecast period and reporting coverage. Mark unavailable and unconfirmed combinations explicitly.
Question / Evidence to request
- Does the placement exist on this device?
- Supported version and player-view example
- Can the creative run?
- File, size and playback requirements
- Is eligible supply available?
- Forecast using the proposed targeting and deal conditions
- Can delivery be checked?
- Device and placement breakdowns and treatment of unknowns
Use a forecast for the proposed settings, not a total player count. Display & Video 360 publishes an Inventory Availability report; check the current report documentation for how it treats the selected settings. A blank result therefore needs investigation; it is not automatic proof of zero supply.
Check the effective settings
Display & Video 360 publishes help documentation on device targeting, app, channel and website targeting, and connected-TV reporting and forecasting. Buyers using that platform should inspect the combined app, channel, website and device settings in the current interface. Ask other sellers for the equivalent effective configuration.
Creative eligibility can also reduce buyable inventory. Display & Video 360's help documentation includes a page on purchasing mobile inventory; confirm the approved asset meets the proposed placement's requirements before accepting its volume estimate.
Record a decision for each device
Mark each required combination available under the proposed terms, available with a stated change or unconfirmed. Record the forecast source and date, whether the placement was demonstrated and what report could verify delivery. The IAB Gaming Measurement Framework provides industry guidance on gaming measurement; ask the specific seller what reporting it can provide for each device.
Approve a mixed-device package when each included row has an acceptable supply estimate, player experience and reporting limit.
