Background

For years, Flash designers working for Agencies or Advertisers have struggled with tracking Flash-based animated advertisements on the Internet. In order to track the clicking activity of users, the linking URL that the ad clicks-through to, needs to be dynamically changed with every ad display and pageview. In this way, individual user activity can be recorded and compiled into reports that summarize the success of each individual Online ad creative/or the Online ad campaign in total.

For many years, the original Flash “ClickTAG” solution developed to address this problem functioned well, and was universally applied. Over the years, however, as Flash software updates have occurred and deployment of Flash files has changed, a variety of ClickTAG standards have emerged – most of which are NOT compatible across the major ad serving platforms.

The lack of a universal Flash ClickTAG standard has resulted in increased costs for Agencies and Advertisers, who are currently forced to create, deliver and track multiple copies of the same ad creative, for no good reason whatsoever.

Top-Level Objectives Of Developing A Universal ClickTAG:

• Simplify the production and deployment of Flash ads across the Web, by creating a universally-accepted ClickTAG coding standard.
• Provide support materials that allow the standard to be easily implemented by designers and developers across the Web.

Specific Technical Requirements of a Universal ClickTAG:

• Remove the need for ClickTAG case sensitivity of any type.
• Allow the ClickTAG to function within Flash files that stream content from external files.
• Allow the ClickTAG to function within files that are nested inside other Flash files.
• Allow for increased security, by verifying that the ClickTAG is a valid URL.
• Make sure the ClickTAG is compatible with pop-up blockers and won’t result in a valid click being blocked.
• Make sure the ClickTAG provides a mechanism for target window changing.
• Display a debug message when no valid ClickTAG has been found.

Results: IAB Canada’s NEW! Universal ClickTAG

• Make a trackable Flash ad with IAB Canada’s NEW! Universal ClickTAG
• Download a text file of the code
• Download an example .fla source file for use as a template
• Download an example .swf compiled file for use in testing
• Download a ClickTAG Kit (a .zip file that contains the code, .fla source file and example .swf compiled file)

Compatibility

The Universal ClickTAG has been confirmed compatible with the following ad servers:

• 24/7 RealMedia’s OpenAdStream (OAS)
• Google (formerly DoubleClick) Dart for Publishers (DFP)
• Google (formerly DoubleClick) Dart for Advertisers (DFA)
• Google Ad Manager
• Google Ad Sense
• Microsoft Atlas for Advertisers
• Microsoft Atlas for Publishers
• openX (formerly phpadsnew)
• Trueffect Adlegend

Acknowlegements
IAB Canada would like to thank Ben Cormier, President of Netprophets.com and the Vice Chair of IAB Canada's Ad Operations Comte. for his leadership, programming expertise and project management of IAB Canada's ClickTAG project.

Contact IAB Canada if you are interested in having your ad server tested for ClickTAG compatibility