Online Ad Specs - Rich Media - The Weather Channel Advertising Media Kit

General Advertising Guidelines

The following details creative and technical requirements for weather.com accepted standard in-banner ad formats.

Ads cannot be designed to blend into page content. A 1px border is required, or the ad must be clearly defined within the allowable ad space. To ensure our navigation doesn't get blocked, make the z-index less than 95000.
Ads may not blink, shake, flicker or flash in a disruptive manner. The look and feel of the ad cannot match the MS Windows Alert scheme or misrepresent a user's prompts as an ad. False functionality (a.k.a. fake buttons) are not allowed.
The action of clicking on an ad must not initiate an application download, and all clicks must spawn a new browser with the ad unit is clicked.
All ads are subject to review.

Additional Instructions and Guidelines

Rich Media and Third-Party Ad Serving Policy Flash Ad Policy and Setup

Rich Media Ad Specs

BANNER Sizes & Guidelines
Banner Size	160 x 600	300 x 250	300 x 600	728 x 90
File Size	40K	40K	50K	40K
Subsequent/SubLoad/Polite Download Size	80K per panel	80K per panel	100K per panel	80K per panel
# of Panels	4 Panels
Audio	All audio must be user-initiated click only - no exceptions.
InBanner Video	Can be host initiated. Must download politely, or stream in after initial download. Maximum duration is :30 sec. and it must contain stop, pause, play and audio control buttons. Allowable video file size that streams in capped at 1.2MB Max.
Max Looping/Animation	The animation can loop, but the animation length can only last for 15 seconds. After 15 seconds, animation must stop, but can resume on user mouseOver. Site approval is required for any looping over 15 seconds.

Rich Media Ad Specs - FLOATER

FLOATER Sizes
Banner Size	160 x 600	300 x 250	300 x 600	728 x 90
File Size	40K	40K	50K	40K
Subsequent/SubLoad/Polite Download Size	80K per panel	80K per panel	100K per panel	80K per panel
# of Panels	4 Panels
FLOATER Guidelines
Audio	All audio must be user-initiated click only - no exceptions.
InBanner Video	Can be host initiated. Must download politely, or stream in after initial download. Maximum duration is :30 sec. and it must contain stop, pause, play and audio control buttons. Allowable video file size that streams in capped at 1.2MB Max.
Floater Parameters	The floater must resolve into a reminder/leave behind ad.
Floater Placement	In conjunction with the leave-behind banner; Floating creatives cannot cover or impede another advertiser's campaign appearing on the same page.
Floating Time	Not to exceed 10 second duration and must automatically close at the end of the play.
Closing	The Floating portion of the ad must contain a clearly visible (16pt font, e.g. [x] CLOSE) CLOSE or SKIP function that allows the user to stop the animation and close the floating element immediately.
Frequency Cap	A frequency cap of one time per user per session.
Max Looping/Animation	The animation can loop, but the animation length can only last for 15 seconds. After 15 seconds, animation must stop, but can resume on user mouseOver. Site approval is required for any looping over 15 seconds.

Rich Media Ad Specs - EXPANDABLE

EXPANDABLE Sizes
Banner Size	160 x 600	300 x 250	300 x 600	728 x 90
File Size	40K	40K	50K	40K
Subsequent/SubLoad/Polite Download Size	80K per panel	80K per panel	100K per panel	80K per panel
# of Panels	4 Panels
EXPANDABLE Guidelines
Expandable Parameters	Must expand to the left with allowable expansion at 500px total in width.	Allowable area for expanding down is 500px max in height, or to the left 500px max in width.	Must expand to the left with allowable expansion at 500px total in width.	Must expand down; full expansion max at 360px.
Audio	All audio must be user-initiated click only - no exceptions.
InBanner Video	Can be host initiated. Must download politely, or stream in after initial download. Maximum duration is :30 sec. and it must contain stop, pause, play and audio control buttons. Allowable video file size that streams in capped at 1.2MB Max.
Expandable Placement	Expandable ads are currently ONLY permitted in the Top Position.
Expandable Closing	TOP Positions: Expansion on mouse-over requires collapse on mouse-off. Click to expand; click to collapse. Click to expand and mouse-over to expand all require an obvious close control. MID Position: Expansion on mouse-over requires collapse on mouse-off. Click to expand; click to collapse. Click to expand and mouse-over to expand all require an obvious close control. An Auto Expanded ad is NOT allowed in this position.
Auto-Expandable Time	Auto Expansion ONLY allowed on Top Positions. Must be frequency capped at 1 per user per session. Max allotted time allowed for the single auto initiated expandable is 15 seconds.
Closing	The Expanding portion of the ad must contain a clearly visible (16pt font, e.g. [x] CLOSE) CLOSE or SKIP function that allows the user to stop the animation and close the expanding element immediately.
Frequency Cap	Auto-expansion must be frequency capped by one time per user per session.
Max Looping/Animation	The animation can loop, but the animation length can only last for 15 seconds. After 15 seconds, animation must stop, but can resume on user mouseOver. Site approval is required for any looping over 15 seconds.

Rich Media Ad Specs - IAB RISING STARS

RISING STARS Ad Units
Banner Size	BILLBOARD 970x250	FILMSTRIP 300x600	PORTRAIT 300x1050	SIDEKICK 300x250 in-page + 850x700 Expandable
	Weather.com also allows the PUSHDOWN unit, but only if the advertiser is already running a campaign that includes it. Otherwise, the Weather.com WINDOWSHADE unit (also called "OPA Unit") should be used.
File Size (Initial Load)	50K	50K	50K per module	50K (in-page) 100K (expandable)
Subsequent/SubLoad/Polite Download Size	250K total (not including video)	100K per panel (5 total panels)	200K total per module (not including video)	100K per panel (subload on expanded portion only; 5 panels maximum)
Frequency Cap	If user clicks "close", then ad may not auto-expand for another 24 hours. Otherwise, ad may remain auto-expanded.	N/A	N/A	One auto-expansion per user per day.
Approved Rich Media Vendors	DART, Unicast	Any Weather.com-approved rich media vendor.	Any Weather.com-approved rich media vendor.	DART, Unicast
	Advertisers who wish to use Weather.com-approved vendors not on the above lists will need to allow 15 additional business days for testing.
ADDITIONAL Guidelines
Audio	All audio must be user-initiated click only -- no exceptions.
In-Banner Video	Can be host initiated. Must download politely, or stream in after initial download. Maximum duration is :30 sec. and it must contain stop, pause, play and audio control buttons. Allowable video file size that streams in capped at 1.2MB Max.
Max Looping/Animation	The animation can loop, but the animation length can only last for 15 seconds. After 15 seconds, animation must stop, but can resume on user mouseOver. Site approval is required for any looping over 15 seconds.
RISING STARS Notes	The following guidelines are mandated by the IAB when using Rising Stars units. The IAB does not allow exceptions to these guidelines.
Billboard	Billboard Guidelines from IAB (PDF link). The BILLBOARD unit is a modified Windowshade/OPA that loads expanded on the page and may remain expanded throughout the user experience unless the user chooses to close it. Once the user closes the unit, it must remain closed throughout the user experience until 24 hours have passed. The BILLBOARD unit's leave-behind is a small "Show Ad" button placed above the companion unit. See an example here. Unlike the Windowshade/OPA, there is no pencil unit. All IAB design guidelines must be followed. Companion units must follow Weather.com and IAB guidelines for the size chosen (300x250, 300x600, etc).
Filmstrip	Filmstrip Guidelines from IAB (PDF link). The FILMSTRIP unit is a 300x600 unit with five panels that can contain various presentations of a product or service. The FILMSTRIP may contain up to five total panels, but no more. Out-of-banner executions are NOT permitted.
Portrait	Portrait Guidelines from IAB (PDF link). The PORTRAIT unit is a 300x1050 unit consisting of multiple modules. Each module type is explicitly defined by the IAB in the above document, as are the unit's style rules (font face, font size, etc.). The IAB does not allow deviation from these rules. The IAB has included a PORTRAIT module that incorporates an expanding feature.
Pushdown	Pushdown Guidelines from IAB (PDF link). The PUSHDOWN unit is very similar to the Weather.com WINDOWSHADE unit (also called "OPA Unit"). A pencil unit is placed on the page, and that unit expands to present additional content. The PUSHDOWN requires the use of specific modules and style rules to conform to IAB guidelines. The Weather.com WINDOWSHADE may be designed in any way the advertiser sees fit, within Weather.com ad guidelines.
Sidekick	Sidekick Guidelines from IAB (PDF link). The SIDEKICK unit actually pushes page content to the left to present a full-page ad. The SIDEKICK may not have rollover-to-expand functionality. For any auto-expanding versions of the ad, the SIDEKICK is required by the IAB to have a three-second visual countdown. It is also recommended that a button which will cancel the expansion be included on the 300x250 initial presentation. In-banner video is permitted in the expanded portion of the SIDEKICK, but please note that the auto-expanded unit is only 10 seconds long, so the entire video may not play when the ad auto-expands.
Slider	Weather.com does not offer the SLIDER unit at this time.

Flash Specs for All Ads

Flash Version	ActionScript	Frame Rate	Max Looping/Animation	Click Tag Method & CPU Usage
10 or Lower	AS2 or AS3	18 fps	15 seconds	See Flash Ad Policy and Setup Doc

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