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Video ads have grown tremendously over the past years and are poised to continue the trend. The latest report by Statista declared that advertisers would spend $104.87 billion in the US this year.
With video ads becoming increasingly popular, it is no wonder there are large debates about VPAID vs. VAST ad tags. Which is best for video ads? What’s the difference between them?
In this post, I’ll try to explain why these two standards have taken off in the digital advertising world and how they’re actually different from one another and give insight into which may be best for your business.
VAST and VPAID are video ad-serving protocols, meaning there are different rules on how a video ad should be delivered to the user. IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) framed the protocols to ensure the industry players have a standard way to interpret, deliver, and measure video ad campaigns.
Moreover, VAST and VPAID are not mutually exclusive. For the delivery of video ads, you will be using VAST in every case. The addition of VPAID is just the addition of new features to the already existing VAST framework. Let’s dive into the differences. Shall we?
VAST stands for Video Ad Serving Template. It helps with the communication between the ad server and the video player on the website.
Before the arrival of VAST, the ads had to be custom programmed according to the video players of the publishers, which hampered the ability to scale up video ad serving.
VAST Tags: A Technical Outlook
VAST tags are the foundation of an online video ad service, but understanding the technical details behind them is important for publishers looking to optimize their ad budgets. Let's understand the underlying processes of VAST tags, explore definitions, available versions, and consider its limitations.
VAST tags are a three-step process:
The IAB has continuously improved the VAST standard over time. Here's a quick rundown of the current versions:
Version | Release Date | Key Improvements |
---|---|---|
VAST 1.0 | 2008 | Established the foundational functionalities for video ad serving. |
VAST 2.0 | November 2008 | Introduced core functionalities for video ad serving. |
VAST 4.0 | June 2017 | Focused on enhancing reporting and transparency through simplified tags. |
VAST 4.2 | April 2022 | Introduced support for SIMID, improving cross-platform compatibility for interactive ad units. |
VAST 4.3 (Latest) | October 2022 | It focuses on advanced features like improved device targeting, media file separation for better transfer, and broader support for interactive ads across platforms. |
It's important to note that VAST tags are backward compatible, ensuring a smooth flow within the ad-serving ecosystem.
While VAST tags are a powerful tool, they do have some limitations:
Despite these limitations, VAST tags remain the basis of online video ad serving. Their standardized approach ensures smooth communication between ad servers and video players, ultimately enabling a seamless video ad experience for viewers. Want to know more? Here’s our detailed VAST guide.
VPAID stands for Video Player Ad Serving Interface. It helps with communication between ad servers and video players. It was introduced to bring advancement to the features provided by VAST, such as:
VPAID bridges the gap between video players and executable ad units through a JavaScript API. Here's a simplified breakdown of the process:
This intricate communication relies on VPAID events and methods. You can dig deeper into these technical aspects in our comprehensive VPAID guide.
The IAB has released several VPAID versions, each offering improvements:
Version | Release Date | Key Focus |
---|---|---|
VPAID 1.0 | 2010 | The core functionalities for interactive video advertising were established, paving the way for rich user experiences. |
VPAID 2.0 | 2014 | It shifted focus towards optimizing ad creative management and enabling customized event handling for a more streamlined interactive ad experience. |
VPAID 3.0 | 2016 (Current) | This version prioritizes improved error handling and communication between ad units and video players, ensuring smoother interaction and a more robust interactive ad experience. |
Despite these limitations, VPAID remains a valuable tool for creating engaging and interactive video ad experiences.
VAST and VPAID work hand-in-hand to deliver a comprehensive video ad experience. Here's how they collaborate:
With VAST and VPAID, you can:
The Takeaway:
VAST and VPAID are not interchangeable; They are complementary technologies. VAST lays the foundation for delivering a video ad, while VPAID structures the interactive elements of the ad. By understanding this symbiotic relationship, you, as a web publisher, can harness the full potential of video advertising. You can enhance the user experience, gather valuable feedback, and eventually boost your revenue.
The mechanism of serving ads is different between the two:
Feature | VAST | VPAID |
---|---|---|
Ad Format | Basic in-stream video ads | Rich media and interactive ads |
Communication | Creates a link between the ad server and video player | Creates a bridge between the video player and video ad units |
Interactive Elements | Limited | Clickable buttons and other interactive elements |
Data Recording | Basic data recording | Detailed data recording on user interactions |
Widely Supported | Widely supported by video players and ad servers | Limited support by some video players and ad servers |
Implementation | Easy to implement | Complex to implement |
When deciding between VAST or VPAID for your video ads, it all comes down to what you’re trying to achieve as a publisher. If you want an easy way to deliver video ads to a wide audience across multiple platforms and don’t need advanced interactive features, then VAST is probably the way to go. It’s simple to implement, widely supported, and will get your ads in front of a broad range of devices.
However, if you’re looking for more advanced and interactive ad formats offering detailed tracking and reporting, VPAID could be the better choice. It allows for more interactivity with the viewer, but it does come with some added complexity and could require more development resources.
At the end of the day, the decision between VAST and VPAID should be based on your specific needs and goals as a publisher, as well as the capabilities of your ad-serving platform and the devices you’re targeting. So take the time to consider your options and choose the one that’s best for you. Or, you can simply partner with
VAST is a simpler format allowing video ads to be played within players. At the same time, VPAID is a more advanced format that allows for interactive ads with clickable buttons and other interactive elements.
The choice between VAST and VPAID depends on the publisher’s specific needs and goals. If a publisher wants a more interactive and engaging ad experience for their audience, VPAID is the better choice.
VAST sets the stage by informing the video player about the ad and the presence of VPAID. VPAID then takes over, enabling interactivity and tracking user engagement.
You need VAST for any video ad serving. VPAID is essential only if you want to deliver interactive video ads.
Use the latest versions (VAST 4.3 and VPAID 3.0) for optimal functionality and compatibility.
March 12, 2024
April 29, 2024