App Network Overview

Make a Great First Impression

Your ad’s banner is the gateway to the expanded ad unit experience and is your opportunity to motivate users to launch that experience. In iAd-enabled apps, banners appear in the app’s UI when and where it makes sense in the context of the user’s experience.

There are three types of banners you can create: standard banners, medium rectangle banners and full-screen interstitial banners. Standard banners and full-screen banners are appropriate for all iOS-based devices; medium rectangle banners are available only on iPad devices. Figure 3-1A standard banner near the bottom of the screen shows a standard banner.

It is recommended that you provide the appropriate number of banners to support your media plan. Each of the banners you provide must have versions for both portrait and landscape orientations.

iAd App Network Banner Definitions

Standard Banner

A standard banner appears in a persistent location in an iOS app, usually at or near the bottom of a screen (as shown in Figure 3-1A standard banner near the bottom of the screen). If an app includes a tab bar, a standard banner would appear directly above the tab bar.

Since standard banners are HTML based, they adapt to the device and device orientation (within a predefined set of specifications).

Figure 3-1  A standard banner near the bottom of the screen

Interstitial Banner

An interstitial banner can appear at specific points in the experience of an app or in specific locations. This flexibility means that app developers can display an ad in their app when it makes sense. For example, a game might display an interstitial banner when the user completes a level. In contrast, an app that provides a magazine-reading experience might display an ad after each article or on every fourth or fifth page.

Figure 3-2  Interstitial banners on iPhone and iPad

Medium Rectangle Banner

The small size of a medium rectangle banner makes it easy to position anywhere within an iPad app’s interface, rather than being anchored to the top or bottom of the screen (see Figure 3-3A medium rectangle banner). The medium rectangle banner also maintains its dimensions even when the device orientation changes. These banners behave just like the other banner types with regard to features like deep linking, hot spotting, and custom transitions.

Figure 3-3  A medium rectangle banner

Availability: The medium rectangle banner is available on iPad in iOS 7.0 and later.