Editorial requirements
Clear and concise campaigns perform better and can be shown neatly on all devices. This section covers campaign editorial requirements.
All campaigns
| Can have | Cannot have |
|---|---|
| - Character length is at the discretion of the partner (recommended at 175 characters) | - Unnecessary repetition - Gimmicky punctuation, incorrect spelling, or incorrect grammar - Excessive punctuation, symbols, or characters (#, $, ;-), !), especially exclamation marks!!! - Excessive capitalization—including for emphasis words such as FREE or CHEAP - Title case for nouns that are not a advertiser name, e.g., "Televisions, Laptops, and Microwaves" - Incorrect spacing—e.g., winaprize (no spacing) or spaces between words (e.g., w i n) - Non-specific phrasing, e.g., "Buy products here" or "Win a prize" - Non-standard spelling or grammar for the market where the campaign is running, e.g., "Realize your dream" instead of Realise"for a UK campaign - Incorrect currency symbols, e.g., $ instead of £ for ads for in the UK - Bold lettering |
Title and Creative Copy
The title for the ads shown in placement is the leading text before the creative copy by default. Up to 50 characters are supported.
The creative copy is limited to 175 characters, less the number of characters used in your title.
note
Ensure the title and creative copy read together make grammatical and contextual sense.
It is best practice for the title to include the promotion or special offer, and the partner name.
Example:
- Title: Enjoy up to 70% off ABC!
- Creative Copy: Sign up for emails on offers like free two-day shipping on thousands of items. Shop now.
Logos
Logos used as part of campaigns must:
- Have a transparent background, unless a colored background is part of the logo.
- Be directly related to the advertiser or product/service being offered.
- Display clearly on the screen; the image should not be pixelated.
- Not be animated.
- Not include generic calls to action such as "Free", "Click here", or "Buy now".
- Be a .PNG (recommended) or .JPG
- Meet the following dimensions:
- Minimum: 400 pixels (width) x 400 pixels (height).
- Maximum: while there is no fixed maximum, images larger than 400 pixels in width are rescaled automatically.
- Max file size is 2MB (Campaigns with large creative sizes load slower in the widget).
- Aspect ratio: Between 1:1 and 1.91:1 (1:1 or 3:2 recommended).
- Aspect ratio tolerance: 3%
See our full image guidelines.
Email requirements
- Campaigns may be followed up by emails.
- Emails or SMS confirmations can be an initial, one-off, and immediately sent to customers that confirm a customer has accepted a specific offer on the Rokt platform.
- Emails can also be used to follow up with the customer and remind them about the offer.
- The product/service being promoted is a considered purchase that has an extended conversion period (i.e. 2 weeks)
- The campaign includes a coupon code that the customer must use to redeem the offer presented in the creative (i.e. FREEMEAL)
- Emails, including for multi-step email nurture programs, must:
- Only include factual information and any information directly related to the campaign copy.
- Not contain upsell or cross-sell content, or additional promotional material, content, or other materials unrelated to the original campaign copy.
- Comply with the editorial requirements.
Email examples
The following examples assume the website referral campaign creative is "Receive a $25 Company XYZ voucher to get you started with your knitting hobby. Find out more."
| Example email nurture copy | Approval decision |
|---|---|
| Email alternative 1: Here’s your $25 Company XYZ voucher to get you started with knitting. The voucher expires in December 2020, and can only be redeemed online. Did you know you can also purchase homewares, clothing, and shoes on our website? Check it out! | Rejected—Email includes content that is not directly related to the transaction that has already occurred. |
| Email alternative 2: Here’s your $25 Company XYZ voucher to get you started with your knitting hobby. The voucher expires in December 2020, and can only be redeemed online. | Approved—Email only includes information about the offer the customer opted in to. |
If you have any questions, reach out to your Rokt account manager or email support@rokt.com.
Maintain a strong sender reputation
To prevent email nurtures from being marked as spam by customers or email service providers like Google, they must adhere to the following guidelines:
- Do not use deceptive subject lines: The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
- Do not use spam triggers and phishing phrases: This doesn't mean you can't use trigger words, but you should use them sparingly.
- Email format and content: Avoid overuse of capital letters, exclamation marks, and use a variety of font sizes, styles, and colors.
- Do not abuse text-based emails: Text-based emails should be used sparingly as performance deteriorates over time.
- Regularly update nurture content: Do not leave a campaign running for an extended time without updating its contents. Upload the latest optimized HTML code to ensure emails render properly on all ESPs.
Best practice
- Keep a good text to image ratio: Do not send emails with just an image in the body but no other content. Include at least several lines of text with each image.
- Optimize images: Use a maximum size of 150KB and add alt-text in your HTML file so there is fallback text if the image does not appear.
- Send valuable content: Ensure emails are relevant to your campaign and that the nurture has a content strategy.
- Make sure emails are branded: Having a recognizable logo, and using advertiser fonts and colors increases advertiser recognition—even on text-based emails.
- Fonts: Use fonts like Arial, Verdana, Georgia, or Times New Roman that work across all email platforms, or make sure fallback fonts are specified in the code.
- Optimize for mobile: Ensure emails are legible and load quickly on mobile devices, and that links can be pressed easily from a mobile device. Increase button size with CSS if necessary and keep links above the fold.
- HTML code best practices: Keep your HTML code as simple and clean as possible, and use a maximum body width of 700 pixels. Having a proper CSS section allows your email to render properly on mobile.
Hyperlink requirements
Website referrals and emails include links to the advertiser’s website.
- Where used, such links must be referred to clearly and accurately in the creative.
- For example, if using the copy "Click to find out more about Cloud’s insurance policies!" the landing page must include information about Cloud’s insurance policies.
- Links must direct to a functioning and offer relevant landing page, which:
- Refers to the same goods, services, and advertiser referred to in the creative.
- Does not look like spam.
- Links to a valid privacy policy.
- Is not under construction.
- Has not disabled the browser’s back button.
- Is viewable in commonly used browsers, e.g., Mozilla, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Internet Explorer.
- Should use the secure HTTPS protocol for additional security and to be compatible with Rokt’s Mobile SDK.
Examples
| Example creatives | Approval decision |
|---|---|
| Join the Company XYZ newsletter and receive a $25 VOUCHER to spend on your first purchase | Rejected—Bolding and capitalization of words in campaign. |
| Company XYZ makes it easy to compare a wide range of advertisers in one place! Select YES below to receive a call from a friendly Company XYZ rep. | Rejected—Unacceptable capitalization in the word YES. |
| Win win win a free balloon by signing up to Company XYZ’s e-newsletter. | Rejected—Unnecessary repetition of word win. |
| It’s time to get ahead & look great with Company XYZ. We’re giving away an amazing prize. Find out more. | Approved (traffic referral only)—Capitalization only for the partner's name. |
| You could win $1,000 by signing up to Company XYZ e-newsletter. | Approved—Unnecessary repetition eliminated. Approved assuming competition terms are included. |
Image requirements
As an advertiser, you’ll show a logo or product-related image alongside your creative text in some placements. Given the native nature of Rokt Ads, many advertisers choose to use their logo.
Remember: An image is not guaranteed to show in all placements, so the creative text must communicate the message and adhere to the broader campaign policies independently to the image.
Technical requirements
Images must meet these technical specifications:
File format: .PNG or .JPG
Maximum file size: 2MB
Aspect ratio: Between 1:1 and 1.91:1 (3:2 recommended for best results)
Aspect ratio tolerance: 3%
Minimum dimensions: 400 x 400 pixels
White space: Logo must take up at least 80% of the overall image area
Design recommendations
To ensure your images appear well-sized and optimally on the Rokt network, we recommend the following:
- 1:1 (1080 x 1080 pixels) for square logos.
- 3:2 (1080 x 565 pixels) for landscape logos and product images
We recommend that you use a high-quality version of any logo or image to be sure it renders well on devices with retina display.
Image policies
To ensure an optimal experience for your customers, please apply the following policies:
- Logos can be the brand or product logo/name and take up at least 80% of the overall image area. We recommend a transparent background. We also accept a solid white (#ffffff) background.
- A product image must be directly related to your product or service. For example, a smiling face is acceptable for a dental product/service, but unacceptable for food subscription. We’ve included additional examples below. Rokt has complete discretion when deciding what is appropriate.
- A logo can be superimposed over a product image, as long as it’s legible when the image is scaled down to 400px wide. Specifically, the superimposed logo must take up >20% of the total image area.
- Images and/or logos must be static, not animated.
- All meaningful contents of the image must be clear and legible when the image is scaled to 400px width. E.g. Illegible cardholder name on a credit card is acceptable.
- Any text besides the brand name or product name is not permitted. This includes any call to action like ‘click here’, etc.
- Images and/or logos must comply with Rokt’s broader campaign policies including policies around prohibited, sensitive, and illegal content. As a general rule, any image that depicts violence, harm, discrimination or could evoke discomfort or distress is unacceptable. Our approval committee will use their discretion when reviewing any questionable images.
- Advertisers must own the rights to the image and watermarks are unacceptable.
Examples:
| Images | Response |
|---|---|
 | ❌ Too much white space around the logo. Text cannot be added above or below a logo. |
 | ✅ Properly cropped to remove white space. High resolution and not pixelated. |
 | Advertiser: Wildlife and conservation charity ✅ Relevant product image. ❌ Logo is illegible and under the threshold of 20% of the image. |
 | Advertiser: Wildlife and conservation charity ✅ Relevant product image. ❌ Text other than brand or product name. |
 | Advertiser: Food subscription ✅ Logo is part of the image rather than overlaid. ✅ Relevant product image. |
 | Advertiser: Food subscription ❌ Irrelevant product image to product/service being offered. Advertiser: Dental service/product ✅ Relevant product image. |