Expandable Ads - An Overview 

Advertisers use expandable rich media formats to expand an ad creative into a larger creative upon a user mouse-over or click interaction. The most common implementations expand leader board creatives vertically into larger rectangles (i.e. expand from a 90 pixel height to a 500 pixel height) or expand 250x300 rectangle creatives horizontally into larger rectangles (i.e. expand from a 300 pixel width to a 600 pixel width). Many other implementations are also possible with the expandable ad format.

Benefits of Expandable Ads

1. Provide more ad space to share interactive experiences and information with the advertiser's audience.
2. Support the inclusion of any number of rich media features, including video within a single ad unit.
3. Allow advertisers to measure the number of ad expansions and the amount of time the ad is expanded, in addition to common measurements included in all Mediaplex rich media ad formats.

Troubleshooting Tips

1. "wmode" setting must be either "opaque" or "transparent" since the Flash ad needs to be displayed within a window mode (opaque or transparent). The default setting (leave wmode as empty) will lay-over the main content and it's not the expected outcome.
2. If multiple expandable ads are on a single page, you need to use distinctive DIV containers so they are not in conflict with each other
3. The default value for "allowScriptAccess" has changed since Flash 8. You need "allowScriptAccess" to be "always" so that the JavaScript method is called properly.
4. Since we set wmode to "transparent", if your Flash file has a transparent background, the CSS for the container can set a specific background color. You can use "opaque" wmode to maintain the Flash background.
5. If you need technical assistance with the HTML/JavaScript code for an expandable ad, please open a new ticket with the ad name/ID in your account.

Google Display Network expandable ad specs

Maximum Expansion size:

• For 728x90 - can expand up to 728x180
• For 160x600 - Can expand up to 320x600
• For 300x250 - Can expand up to 600x260

Expansion Direction: Multi-directional expansion (MDE) to expand up or down

Expansion Method:        Expand – On click             Close – On click

Maximum initial load: 50K

Max size per panel: 200K

Max Polite load: 2.2MB

Required control: Panels must contain a prominent Close X in 16pt font or larger on the corner of the unit

Audio Requirement: User-Initiated

Animation Restriction: User-initiated action must be 30 seconds or less (2 mins if video)

Other specifications:

Availability - Expandable ads are currently available to select advertisers with North American account managers.

Expansion Direction - Depending on its placement on a given page, the ad must be built as a multi-directional ad unit, designed to expand either left/right or up/down on-click. The ad may not expand in two directions at the same time.

Approved Expandable Vendors - DoubleClick Rich Media, EyeBlaster Rich Media, EyeWonder Rich Media, Pointroll Rich Media

Tags - Use JavaScript tags, not iframe tags.

Other Spec Notes - No restrictions on hot spots.

Source: www.adspeed.com, support.google.com and www.mojorichmedia.com

Types of Display Advertising

The large majority of online advertising has a cost that is brought about by usage or interaction of an ad; there are a few other methods of advertising online that only require a onetime payment. The Million Dollar Homepage is a very successful example of this. Visitors were able to pay $1 per pixel of advertising space and their advert would remain on the homepage for as long as the website exists with no extra costs.

Below are the major types of display advertising;

Floating ad: An ad which moves across the user's screen or floats above the content.

Expanding ad: An ad which changes size and which may alter the contents of the webpage.

Polite ad: A method by which a large ad will be downloaded in smaller pieces to minimize the disruption of the content being viewed

Wallpaper ad: An ad which changes the background of the page being viewed.

Trick banner: A banner ad that looks like a dialog box with buttons. It simulates an error message or an alert.

Pop-up: A new window which opens in front of the current one, displaying an advertisement, or entire webpage.

Pop-under: Similar to a Pop-Up except that the window is loaded or sent behind the current window so that the user does not see it until they close one or more active windows.

Video ad: similar to a banner ad, except that instead of a static or animated image, actual moving video clips are displayed. This is the kind of advertising most prominent in television, and many advertisers will use the same clips for both television and online advertising.

Map ad: text or graphics linked from, and appearing in or over, a location on an electronic map such as on Google Maps.

Mobile ad: an SMS text or multi-media message sent to a cell phone.

Superstitial: An animated adv on a Web page from Enliven Marketing Technologies. It uses video, 3D content or Flash to provide a TV-like advertisement. Used to be known as Unicast Transitional ads as they were originally made by Unicast Communications but the company was acquired by Viewpoint Corporation in 2004, which then changed its name to Enliven in 2008.

Interstitial ad: a full-page ad that appears before a user reaches their original destination.

In addition, ads containing streaming video or streaming audio are becoming very popular with advertisers.

Source: en.wikipedia.org