This documentation covers the New Ads Manager Experience (limited release starting July 15, 2026). If your dashboard looks different, please view [Creative Specifications], [Creative Repository] for support. Want early access to the new experience? Contact selfservehelp@groundtruth.com to upgrade your account.
The Creative section of the GroundTruth Ads Manager serves as the final, critical bridge between campaign strategy and real-world audience engagement. By consolidating multi-channel asset deployment into a unified workflow, the platform ensures your visual assets are optimized to run seamlessly across CTV, Mobile, Desktop, Audio, and DOOH.
Accessing the Creative Section
Ads Manager utilizes a dual-path entry strategy to ensure you can manage your visual assets regardless of where you are in the campaign lifecycle:
Option 1: The Post-Ad Group Creation Prompt (New!)
Immediately after successfully configuring an ad group, a "You did it!" confirmation modal appears. To proceed directly to asset deployment, select Add creatives from the "What would you like to do next?" menu to maintain momentum.
Option 2: The Campaign Dashboard Entry (New!)
Within your main campaign dashboard, click the green Manage Creatives button located directly below the performance chart and above your ad group list. This provides a direct gateway to the unified creative workspace.
Navigating the Creative Dashboard
The Creative Dashboard operates as a "single pane of glass," consolidating assets across Mobile, Desktop, CTV, and Audio to ensure brand and strategic consistency.
Workspace Component Analysis
- Ad Group Cards: Organized in a side-by-side layout, these cards provide essential metadata at a glance, including Ad Group Name, Flight Dates, Objective (e.g., Reach), and Creative Type tags (indicating support for Image, Video, or Audio).
- Global View Controls: Use the Expand all and Collapse all toggles to control the level of detail visible across all cards, optimizing visual density when managing extensive campaigns.
- Optimization Toggles: Each card features a Rotate evenly toggle. When enabled, the platform distributes impressions equally across all assigned creatives to provide a controlled environment for A/B testing and performance analysis.
Intelligence-Driven Design & Suggestions
To maximize your delivery, the platform provides real-time suggestions directly inside the upload interface:
- Priority Dimensions: The system recommends specific formats—historically 300x250 and 320x50 for mobile display, and 1920x1080 for video.
- Why they are recommended: These specific sizes are prioritized based on internal performance data and high inventory volume across the GroundTruth network.
Post-Ad Click Strategy
Upon user engagement, you must define the audience's destination after clicking your ad using one of three primary mechanisms:
🌐 External Website: Select Enable website to direct clicked traffic to any external, advertiser-owned destination URL.
📱 GT Landing Page: Select Enable landing page to launch our native, mobile-friendly interactive builder. A toggle at the top of the configuration window allows you to switch seamlessly between the asset preview and the landing page setup to ensure visual harmony. [Learn how to configure Mobile Landing Pages]
📍 Dynamic Text Overlay: Once an asset is uploaded, this toggle option becomes visible. It is typically used to display dynamic, real-time physical distance from the user to your closest storefront. [Read more about Dynamic Distance]
⚙️ Advanced Options (Optional Tracking): Expand the Advanced options section to input third-party click trackers, impression pixels, or specific placement IDs.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
-
Are there creative compliance guidelines we need to follow before launching?
Yes. Please review the [Ads Manager Creative Policy] to learn about compliance guidelines, restricted categories, and prohibited visual content. -
Is there a manual approval process before my ads go live?
Standard display ads built within our specification limits are typically auto-approved. However, sensitive categories (such as political ads or CBD) require manual policy review. Additionally, Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) inventory undergoes a unique, channel-integrated review process before activation. [Read more about DOOH Approval]
Display Assets (Mobile & Desktop)
Display ads are the versatile backbone of mobile and desktop engagement. Adhering to these technical specifications prevents inventory rejection and ensures clean, high-fidelity rendering across all screens.
The Four Input Methods
- Image File: Supports JPG, JPEG, PNG, and GIF formats with a strict 150 KB size limit.
- Script / 3rd Party Tags: Allows external tag integration. The UI provides a live preview pane to verify script rendering before launch. [Read more about Script Tags]
- Text Banner Builder: Access our native text banner generator directly inside the workspace. Customize a solid Background color via the hex color picker, upload a Logo (40x40px), input your Business name, and enable a Scrolling caption for dynamic text. [Read more about the Text Banner Builder]
- HTML5: Supports rich media assets via raw ZIP folder upload with a generous maximum file size limit of 32 MB. [Read more about HTML5]
The Asset Matrix
Ensure your display creatives are pre-formatted to one of GroundTruth's supported dimensions:
| Standard & Large Formats | Wide & Tall Formats | Mobile & Alternative Formats |
|---|---|---|
| • 300x250 • 300x600 • 728x90 |
• 160x600 • 600x300 • 720x240 • 640x160 • 640x320 |
• 320x50 • 320x480 • 480x320 • 1024x768 • 640x213 • 768x1024 • 300x50 • 640x360 • 640x960 |
Video and Audio Assets
For high-impact storytelling in CTV, OTT, and streaming environments, "sight, sound, and motion" are paramount.
Video Specifications (CTV, OTT, Mobile, Desktop, DOOH)
- File Format: .mp4 or .mov only.
- File Size Limits: < 50 MB for digital channels; < 30 MB for Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) screens.
- Supported Resolutions: 1920x1080, 1080x1920, 1280x720, or 1024x768.
- Asset Duration: Must be between 5 and 120 seconds (under 30 seconds is highly recommended for optimal completion rates).
- Required Inputs: Every video creative requires a unique Creative Name and either a destination Website URL or a VAST Tag URL.
Audio Specifications (Podcast & Streaming)
- File Format: .aac, .mp3, .ogg, or .wav.
- File Size Limit: Maximum of 30 MB.
- Asset Duration: Must be between 5 and 60 seconds.
- Audio Quality Standards: Must maintain a constant Bit Rate between 128 to 512 Kbps and a minimum Sample Rate of 44,100 Hz.
- VAST Integration: You may utilize a VAST Tag URL for third-party hosting, delivery, and audio impression tracking.
Comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.