Cross posted from the Google Ads Developer Blog.
If you've created a Native Express ad unit recently, you may have noticed a new template format alongside App Install and Content: Video App Install. In the past few weeks, AdMob has rolled out support for video assets in Native Ads Express, giving publishers a new way to create more engaging presentations for their users.
Enabling video demand for a Native Express ad unit is easy. Just open the ad unit's settings in the AdMob console, and look for the Ad type checkboxes at the top of the editor:
Check the checkbox marked "Video app install," and save the change. In a short while, your ad unit will start serving video creatives alongside the other two formats, with no code changes to your app required. That means you can update your existing apps to display this new format without redeploying to the Play Store or App Store.
An important thing to note is that video creatives are only available for ad units using the Large template size. The video player needs a certain amount of space, and the Large template ensures that it's available.
While there's no mobile code required to take advantage of Native Express Video, AdMob has introduced some new features to the API that allow publishers to customize the user experience. In particular, a new video options class (VideoOptions on Android, and GADVideoOptions on iOS) gives publishers a way to influence how the ads behave.
For example, the following code will cause video ads appearing in an Android NativeExpressAdView to begin playing with their audio on:
mAdView = (NativeExpressAdView) findViewById(R.id.adView); mAdView.setVideoOptions(new VideoOptions.Builder() .setStartMuted(false) .build());
App publishers can retrieve information about the video assets in their ads through the use of a video controller object (VideoController on Android, GADVideoController on iOS). The ad view classes for native express have been updated to include video controller properties that apps can grab and query for info like whether a video is present in the ad, and what its aspect ratio is. Even if the ad doesn't contain an video asset (or no ad has been loaded at all), you'll always get a valid reference to the ad view's video controller.
For example, here's a Swift snippet that shows how to check if an ad that just loaded contains a video asset:
func nativeExpressAdViewDidReceiveAd(_ nativeExpressAdView: GADNativeExpressAdView) { if nativeExpressAdView.videoController.hasVideoContent() { print("Received an ad with a video asset.") } else { print("Received an ad without a video asset.") } }
Native Express is designed to make implementing native ads easy, but if you have questions about how to get up and running or how you can best put it to use in your apps, stop by our support forum. The Mobile Ads Garage recently released an episode covering Native Express Video as well, with feature details and screencasts for iOS and Android:
Today we’re launching a new eBook called "The No-Nonsense Guide to Native Ads", the latest in our No-Nonsense series. This guide is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of native ads and share practical tips and best practices for implementing native ads in your app.
Over the last several years, app users have raised their expectations for a high quality app UX. To meet these expectations, ad formats have evolved accordingly. The most fitting new format that meets these higher expectations is native ads – ads that match the look and feel of the surrounding app content. And as spending on native ads is expected to grow to $21 billion in 2018, this presents a huge opportunity for publishers to enhance their user experience and tap into new revenues.
In the eBook, you’ll learn:
Download your copy here:
Vishal Kumar, Senior Product Manager, AdMob
Implementing native ads in-app can be time-consuming and complicated, but with AdMob’s native ads express, you can start implementing native ads quickly and simply. We made native a cinch to use: available to everyone, easy to set-up, and able to be changed on the fly.
Native ads express is designed for developers of all sizes, looking for self-serve, easy-to-launch native ad products. Here are four ways native ads will get you back to doing what you love, faster:
1. Implement native ads super fast.
An intuitive and user-friendly interface means you can create and style your ad, in the AdMob interface, very quickly. Choose from a variety of ad templates to get started, then customize them to fit within your app’s UI. You’ll be shown a variety of ad types, not just app install ads. Once you're done designing, just drop a few lines of code in your app to request your new native ads, and you're all set.
2. Get your creatives approved quickly.
If everything is within these policy guidelines, we can approve your ad creatives quickly.
3. Update your ads without having to update your app.
There’s no need for users to update the current version of your app to allow you to test different ad creatives. This makes A/B testing really simple. If you need to tweak the look and feel of your ads at any stage, you can do it easily from the AdMob interface, without needing to re-publish your app.
4. Preview your ad creatives quickly.
Need a dress rehearsal? Review your ads in your web browser, before they go live, without having to push code.
Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.
Posted by Chris Jones, Social Team, AdMob.
“Native ads are more intuitive so we displayed them in more prominent positions within apps. We were able to view the effects on user click-through rates in real time based on the information in the ads backend. We could make quick adjustments to the native ads to maximize the effect of the ad.”
Jinnee Lee, Vice President, Linghit Limited
