Create ad tags for advertising in Wowza Video

To set up client-side and server-side ad insertion in Wowza Video, create ad tags within Wowza Video. For server-side ad insertion with Google Ad Manager Dynamic ad insertion, see the create ad tags in Google Ad Manager article.

Note: The SSAI ad schedule feature is currently offered under limited availability, meaning the functionality is available to select Wowza Video users. If you need this functionality, please email us at customerservice@wowza.com.

To insert ads in your ad schedule, you must add one or more ad tags to your account. Typically, you will receive such tags as a VAST URL from your ad network partner in a form like the following (sample from the Google DFP network):

Note: An ad tag is a VAST/VPAID-compliant ad tag. You can learn more about VAST/VPAID on the IAB site. 

https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x480&iu=/124319096/external/single_ad_samples&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&cust_params=deployment%3Ddevsite%26sample_ct%3Dskippablelinear&correlator=

Note: Make sure you use https ad tags as http links on an https website will fail.

The tags will often include macros that must be replaced with more accurate information. The information should be replaced with specific values as defined in our ad macros reference.

Note: You can verify your ad tags in the Google VAST inspector.

Note: You can use the Google DFP sample adTags to create test scenarios. These tags will always return an ad.

To create an ad tag:

1. Click Ad Tags in the navigation.
2. Click + New Tag.
3. Give the tag a descriptive name, which will appear in the list to the left once you've saved it.
4. Enter the full URL of the VAST adTag you received from your ad network partner (make sure not to pre-fill the macros with static values).
5. Optionally, adjust the ad timeout. This will increase the time the player will wait for an ad to be returned from the ad server before starting the feature clip. Using a higher value may increase the chances of an ad fill if your ad server does waterfalling/redirects, but a value that's too high will impact user experience.
6. Click Create Ad Tag.
    

Next, you must attach the adTag to an adSchedule.

Note: Ensure you don't have any ad/script blocker enabled for app.wowza.com pages. AdBlockers often block all requests that have "ad" or "advert" in them, especially if it's an adTag from a known advertising network. This can also affect the save request for the ad configuration, causing the ad configuration to not be stored in our systems.

Note: Check our ad macro documentation for tips on automating parameter insertion into the adTag.