Belo 1
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Belo Interactive Group
Creative Guidelines for Advertising
Belo 2
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Belo Interactive Group
Creative Guidelines for Advertising Index
Creative Guidelines for Advertising Index .............................................................. 2
General Guidelines ........................................................................................................ 3
Ad Positions .................................................................................................................... 4
Home Page ....................................................................................................... 4
Section Index Page ......................................................................................... 5
Story Page........................................................................................................ 6
In Page Ad Units (non Rich Media) ........................................................................... 7
Leaderboard (728x90) ..................................................................................... 7
Medium Rectangle (300x250) ......................................................................... 7
Wide Skyscraper (160x600) ............................................................................ 8
Pre-Roll ............................................................................................................ 8
Post-Roll .......................................................................................................... 9
Video Overlay .................................................................................................. 9
Half Page Ad (300x600) ................................................................................. 10
Micro Bar (88x31) .......................................................................................... 10
Rich Media Advertising .............................................................................................. 11
General Information ...................................................................................... 11
Floating Ad..................................................................................................... 12
Expandable Ads ............................................................................................ 13
Reverse Expandable Ad ............................................................................... 14
Transition Ad ................................................................................................. 15
Sliding Billboards .......................................................................................... 17
Sliding Billboard to Pencil ..................................................................................... 17
Mixpo Ads ...................................................................................................... 19
Approved Rich Media Vendor List ............................................................... 21
Additional Advertising Options ................................................................................ 22
Contest ........................................................................................................... 22
Splash page ................................................................................................... 23
Commercial Content ..................................................................................... 24
Micro Site ....................................................................................................... 25
Data Collection page ..................................................................................... 26
Newsletter Sponsorship ............................................................................... 27
Specials Email Advertising .......................................................................... 28
Video .............................................................................................................. 29
Roll Over Ads (non Rich Media) ................................................................... 31
Data Collection Guidelines ........................................................................... 32
Client Supplied Creative ............................................................................... 35
Political Advertising ...................................................................................... 36
3rd Party Ad Serving Guidelines ................................................................... 38
Commercial Content Guidelines .................................................................. 39
Commercial Content page disclaimers ....................................................... 41
Specials (Email Advertising) Guidelines ..................................................... 42
Contact Information..................................................................................................... 47
Belo 3
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
General Guidelines
1. All advertising is served through Open AdStream; hard coded advertising is
not allowed.
2. Animation within any ad unit must end after 15 seconds. (Animation that
continues after the 15 seconds is permitted as long as the extended
animation is triggered by user interaction.)
3. Rich Media advertising that is displayed over the content (ex: Floating Ads,
Expandable Ad units, etc.) can display for a maximum of 10 seconds. (User
interaction can extend advertising display period.)
4. Only two pop-under ads can appear per day per visitor, and only two pop-
up promotional messages from the Web site or the offline partner may
appear per day; per visitor.
5. Frequency cap limitations are imposed on all Rich Media ads that without
user initiation disrupt viewing of content. (Floating Ads, Interstitials, Reverse
Expandable Ad units)
6. The frame rate for flash ads may not exceed 24 frames per second.
7. Audio must be user-initiated (by click).
8. All advertising supplied by advertisers must be reviewed and approved by
the regional Campaign Manager prior to placement on the sites.
9. All new 3rd party advertising code must be reviewed by the Ad Operations
Department.
10. Creative must have a distinct border to clearly identify where the page
ends, and advertisement begins. (1 pixel black border in creative)
11. All advertising must function properly in Internet Explorer versions 7 and 8
as well as Firefox versions 2 and 3.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Ad Positions
Home Page
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Section Index Page
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Story Page
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
In Page Ad Units (non Rich Media)
Leaderboard (728x90)
General Information
Unit Dimension: 728px X 90px
File Size: 40kb
Location: Home and Inside Pages
Position Name: LeaderTop
Format Available: Jpeg, Gif, Flash (version 6-9)
Looping Restriction: 3 loops (max)
Animation Length: 15 sec
Medium Rectangle (300x250)
General Information
Unit Dimension: 300px X 250px
File Size: 40kb
Location: Home and Inside Pages
Position Name: MedRectangle
Format Available: Jpeg, Gif, Flash (version 6-9)
Looping Restriction: 3 loops (max)
Animation Length: 15 sec
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Wide Skyscraper (160x600)
General Information
Unit Dimension: 160px X 600px
File Size: 40kb
Location: Home and Inside Pages
Position Name: Skyscraper
Format Available: Jpeg, Gif, Flash (version 6-9)
Looping Restriction: 3 loops (max)
Animation Length: 15 sec
Pre-Roll
General Information
Unit Dimension: 330px X 186px
File Size: 1mb
Location: Home, Index Pages,
Story Pages, and Embedded Players
Position Name: Preroll
Format Available: .flv (Flash video)
Looping Restriction: No Looping
Animation Length: 15 sec
Companion Banner (300x250) available.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Post-Roll
General Information
Unit Dimension: 330px X 186px
File Size: 1mb
Location: Home, Index Pages,
Story Pages, and Embedded Players.
Position Name: Post-Roll
Format Available: .flv (Flash video)
Looping Restriction: No Looping
Animation Length: 15 sec
Limited to Content >2 minutes
Companion Banner (300x250) available.
Not available on Live-Streaming players.
Video Overlay
General Information
Unit Dimension: 330px X 40px
File Size: 40kb
Location: Home, Index Pages,
Story Pages, and Embedded Players.
Position Name: Overlay
Formats Available: Static (.jpg or.gif)
and/or Flash (.swf)
Opaque creatives are recommended.
Must have a close button.
Ad will display a maximum of 10 seconds.
Not available on Live-Streaming players.
The overlay will show after the Pre-Roll.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Half Page Ad (300x600)
General Information
Unit Dimension: 300px X 600px
File Size: 40kb
Location: Home Page
Position Name: MedRectangle
Format Available: Jpeg, Gif, Flash (version 6-9)
Looping Restriction: 3 loops (max)
Animation Length: 15 sec
Micro Bar (88x31)
General Information
Unit Dimension: 88px X 31px
File Size: 10kb
Location: Section Index Pages
Position Name: Sponsor1
Format Available: Jpeg and Gif
Animation Length: No Animation
Belo 11
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Rich Media Advertising
General Information
The following Rich Media Guidelines exist to describe advertising that is
displayed beyond the boundaries of the ads unit and/or make use of additional
loaded files (ie: additional graphic files, video and/or audio)
1. Flash versions 6 - 9
2. 40kb download and up to 4 additional download files* (swf, jpg, mp3, wav,
png etc.) upon user interaction (click) are permitted.** (100kb limit on
loaded files)
3. Frame rate may not exceed 24 frames per second.
4. Accessing the user's microphone or WebCam is not permitted.
5. Streaming video is allowed when using FLV streaming format.
(progressively downloading files larger than 100kb is not allowed)
6. The use of Clip board is not permitted.
7. All Rich Media ads that obstruct the view of content must display a close
button in a consistent place throughout the duration of the animation.
8. All Rich Media ads must include a close button.
1. font size must be 12pt or higher
2. font text must be written in Arial (similar Sans-serif fonts will be accepted)
3. close button should be located in top right corner of ad close button should remain
onscreen throughout duration of animation
4. All internally produced Rich Media ads will use the standard BIM close button***
9. All Rich Media ads must be delivered by an approved 3rd party vendor.
10. Only one non user initiated Rich Media ad will be served on any given
page.
11. All creative must be submitted four business days before campaign is to
be served.
(Approved vendor list below)
*This weight (30kb) applies for all Rich Media ads unless a different weight is indicated in this
document.
**Politely download files are permitted as long as they are delivered by an approved Rich
Media Vendor.
*** up state over state
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Floating Ad
General Description: A Floating ad is an ad that plays within a limited area in a
transparent layer over any content page on the site.
General Information
Positions Available: Over Page
Maximum Dimension: 500px X 500px
Max File Size: 40kb
Location: All Pages
Format: Flash (version 6-9)
General Floating Ad Guidelines:
1. Ad displays are limited to 2 per user per day. (6 per lifetime of campaign)
2. Must be created in flash version 6-9.
3. Must include a close button.
4. The animation must last for no longer than 10 seconds.
5. All sound must be user initiated and display a notice of audio initiation on
user interaction type* (on click).
*Video players do not need expressed notice of audio initiation.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Expandable Ads
General Expandable Ad Guidelines:
1. Expansion (display of panel) must be user initiated.
2. Must be created in flash version 6-9.
3. All panels must include a close button or close description. (ie: “Roll off
banner to close”)
4. Expandable Ad close or collapse trigger must function similar to
Expandable Ad expansion action.*
*If banner expands on rollover, banner must collapse on roll off & if banner expands on click,
it must also close on click)
Ad Specifications
Positions Available Weight Expansion Limitations
banner Expanded dimension direction
weight (including initial unit)
weight / dimension
Leaderboard (728x90) 40kb 60kb / 728x 315 down 4 panels
Wide Skyscraper 40kb 60kb / 460x600 right (max)
(160x600)
Medium Rectangle 40kb 60kb / 560x300 left up
(300x250)
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Reverse Expandable Ad
General Reverse Expandable Banner Guidelines:
1. Reverse Expandable Banners are created in flash version 6-9.
2. Panel 1 of the Reverse Expandable Banner must include a close button.
3. The animation in Panel 1 of the Reverse Expandable Banner must
conclude in 10 or less seconds.
4. All sound must be user initiated and display a notice of audio initiation on
user interaction type* (on mouse over or on click).
*Video players do not need expressed notice of audio initiation.
Ad Specifications
Positions Available Weight Expansion Limitations
banner Expanded dimension direction
weight (including initial unit)
weight / dimension
Leaderboard (728x90) 40kb 60kb / 728x 315 down 4 panels
Wide Skyscraper 40kb 60kb / 460x600 right (max)
(160x600)
Medium Rectangle 40kb 60kb / 560x300 left up
(300x250)
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Transition Ad
General Description: Interstitials are ads that appear between two content pages.
These ads can be static images, animations, or animation with video.
General Information
Design Dimension: page width=980 px (max)
Total File Size of page: 30kb (initial load)
Pages may display for 7 seconds or less unless user interaction (on click) occurs.
Interstitial pages must include close button at top right corner of page.
Interstitial animation must display a close button.
Close button must be 12 pt or higher and remain on screen in the same location
at all times until animation has ended.
Availability
Interstitials can run between any pages on the site except before links to Yahoo!
partnered products. (ex: Hot Jobs)
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Submission Guidelines
Creative must be submitted at least 4 business days before advertising
campaign is scheduled to be delivered.
Advertising Serving Policy
1. The ad must be built in Adinterax for proper compatibility with our CMS.
2. There is a limit of two interstitials (separate advertisers) per site at any one
time.
3. All interstitials are delivered to all index pages on the site with a frequency
cap of 1 per 24 hours per user
4. OAS setup as a sponsorship, no impression goal
Please contact the Campaign Manager or the Web Operations Department with
additional questions.
Belo 17
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Sliding Billboards
Below you will find both creative and submission guidelines for the two forms of
Sliding Billboards allowed on Belo‟s sites. (Sliding Billboard to Pencil and Sliding
Billboard to Button)
Sliding Billboard to Pencil
Creative Guidelines
Pencil
Positions Available: under navigation (homepage only)
Maximum Dimension: 980px X 30px
Max File Size: 40kb
Location: Home Page
Format: Flash (version 6-9)
Animation length: 15 sec
Looping: 3 loop maximum
Backup gif/jpg: 10kb
Additional Guidelines: Pencil
1. Ads can be created in Flash version 6-9.
2. Open and retract action must be consistent (ie: if roll over opens, roll off
must close & if click opens then click must close)
3. Video not available
4. Audio not available
Belo 18
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
5. Data collection not permitted
General Information: Billboard Animation Effect
Billboard
Positions Available: Over Page (homepage only)
Maximum Dimension: 980px X 300px
(Billboard is positioned over pencil. Final dimension is 980 x 300)
Max File Size: 40kb
Location: Home Page
Format: Flash (version 6-9)
Animation length: 8 sec
Looping: 3 loop maximum
Additional Guidelines: Billboard
1. Ads can be created in flash version 6-9.
2. Open and retract action must be consistent (ie: if roll over opens, roll off
must close & if click opens then click must close)
3. Video available (must be in true streaming format)
4. Audio available (must stop on close action ie: mouse off on mouse over
expanding ads & on click for click expanding ads)
5. Data collection not permitted
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Mixpo Ads
Mixpo provides in-banner video through the LeaderTop (728x90), Skyscraper
(160x600), and MedRectangle (300x250) positions.
Mixpo ads can be created by combining audio, images, and video files of the following
formats:
Audio
MP3 Audio (.mp3)
Wave Audio (.wav)
Windows Media Audio (.wma)
Audio must be user initiated on Click
Image
Bitmap (.bmp)
JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg)
Portable Network Graphics (.png)
Graphics Interchange Format (.gif)
Video
Audio Video Interleave (.avi)
Apple QuickTime Movie (.mov)
MPEG Video (.mpg or .mpeg)
MPEG-4 Video (.mp4)
Windows Media Video (.wmv)
Additional Video Specs
Frames per second: 20-24 fps
Resolution: 640x480 or higher
Bit Rate: 1 megabit per second or higher
Recommended Length: 30 seconds or less for optimum load time
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
*Note*: The Mixpo ad can run a maximum of 2 minutes, any times above
the recommended 30 seconds would need special approval from the GM or
Director of Digital at the property location due to load times and possible user
complaints.
Mixpo offers 3 different types of in-banner video: Expansion on Click, Expansion
through Polite Rollover, and In Position. See below for a chart indicating which types
may be used in which units.
Position Expansion Banner Types
direction
Leaderboard Expansion on Click ONLY
down
(728x90)
Wide Skyscraper Expansion on Click, Expansion on Polite
right Rollover
(160x600)
Medium Rectangle Expansion on Click, Expansion on Polite
left Rollover, & In Position
(300x250)
Ideally, these ads would be produced at the station level. However, for a fee, Mixpo
is able to produce these ads for you.
For more information on the Mixpo product, please contact Katharyn DeVille at
kdeville@belo.com or (214) 977-6382.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Approved Rich Media Vendor List
Ad4Ever
Adinterax
Adteractive, Inc. (intellisrv.net)
Advertising.com, Inc.
Alena/PMG
Atlas DMT
Autotrader LLC
BidClix, Inc.
BlueLithium
Bluestreak
Centrport
Centrport
CheckM8
Claria Corporation
Commission Junction, Inc.
Cossette Media/Fjord Interactive (adcentriconline.com, fjordinteractive.com)
DoubleClick, Inc.
Dynamic Logic
eBoz, Inc. (linkbuddies.com)
Enliven
EyeBlaster
EyeReturn
EyeWonder
FactorTG, Inc. (factortg.com, suitesmart.com)
FastClick.com, Inc. (adserver.com)
Google
Insight Express
Interpolls Network, Inc.
Kaon
Klipmart Corporation (kliptracker.com)
Mediaplex, Inc.
Mixpo
NexTag, Inc.
OAS JX
Pennyweb, Inc./Ad Dynamix
Performance Marketing Group (partner2profit.com)
Planning Group International (bridgetrack.com)
Poindexter
Pointroll
QuickFlicks, Inc. (streamexchange.com, rn11.com)
Right Media (ad.yieldmanager.com, adserving.cpxinteractive.com)
TangoZebra
TruEffect, LLC (adlegend.com)
Unicast
United Virtualities
ValueClick, Inc.
Vendaria
Video Banner
Viewpoint
Zedo, Inc.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Additional Advertising Options
Contest
Contests are created using Broadcast Interactive Media‟s SurveyV2 tool.
The SurveyV2 content type includes a survey form that can be used for a wide
variety of applications. It includes the ability to create multiple choice
questionnaires, trivia, and essays. It will also gather user information (name,
address, email, phone, etc.) as needed. All of the submission to the survey form
are stored in a database that can be downloaded to an excel file. It also includes
an option to send an email to an address whenever a submission is made.
The survey form allows for a decent amount of customization. It includes a blank
header and footer that allows the contest creator to insert HTML and CSS to
achieve their desired look. The survey uses the standard belo_story layout, so
the form is only about 460 pixels wide, and all ads on the site are retained.
The survey form also exists in the Microsite content, which allows the contest
creator to completely alter the page, removing the left and right columns to use
the full page width, and allowing for much more customization than the basic
Survey form allows through the use of modules and additional CSS.
Please contact BIM for assistance in setting up contests.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Splash page
General Description: A Splash page is a one page destination created on behalf
of advertisers to accomplish their specific business needs. These pages are
limited to one html document that can be enhanced with a number of interactive
features including video, interactive flash elements, data collection modules and
custom applications, and many more. These pages must include the standard
Belo header identifying the content as advertising.
General Information
Design Dimension: page width=980 px (max)
Total File Size of page: 150kb
General Splash Page Guidelines:
1. Limited to one html document
2. Splash pages must include standard special advertising page header.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Commercial Content
General Information
Design Dimension: page width=980 px (max)
Total File Size of page: 150kb (per page)
Micro Sites must be hosted on Belo Servers
Please Review the Commercial Content Guidelines in the additional Information
section of this document.
page 43
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Micro Site
General Description: A Micro Site is a scaled down version of a full website
dedicated to a specific advertising event or promotion. These pages must include
the standard Belo header identifying the content as advertising.
General Information
Design Dimension: page width=980 px (max)
Total File Size of page: 150kb (per page)
Micro Sites must be hosted on Belo Servers
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Data Collection page
General Description: A Data Collection page (also known as a Registration page)
is a page created to gather user information from clients. There are strict legal
rules for these types of pages. These pages must include the standard Belo
header identifying the content as advertising.
Please be sure to refer to the Data Collection Information section under
Additional Information. page 35
General Information
Design Dimension: page width=980 px (max)
Total File Size of page: 150kb
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
General information:
1. 728x90 static ad: only .jpg or .gif
2. Maximum file size 20k
3. Only one ad can be sponsored on a newsletter at a time
4. Placement is either in the header or footer depending on newsletter
type (i.e. Breaking News in Footer and Top Stories in Header)
5. Please limit your creative revisions to start and end during business
hours (Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm)
6. Please contact your site for available newsletters
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Specials Email Advertising
Required Assets
Text Version in .txt file
HTML Version (externally hosted or attached as HTML/txt file)
Image Files in .zip file
Suppression/Opt-Out List in .txt, .xls, or .csv file or Suppression
Waiver
Seed List for Tests and Approval (email addresses)
Please Review the Email Advertising Guidelines in the Additional Information
section for Brokered Mailings. Click Here
Belo 29
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Video
General Information
1. All video must be served through a third party video streaming service
provider (Eyeblaster, Limelite etc.; fees will apply)
2. All video must have a mute or volume control button.
3. All video displayed within ad units and are non user initiated must play
with audio muted until user interaction (on click) with audio on button or
audio icon.
4. Video that is displayed within Rich Media ads must be user initiated (on
click)
5. Video that is user initiated (on click) can play audio with video initiation.
6. Video within ad units should not loop.
*Video in Specials:
Video cannot be dependably displayed within an email browsing software. As a
result, we will display video in a splash page that will be linked to from the
Special email.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Availability
Positions Cost Running Dimensions Optional
Available Time (max) Features
Leaderboard Rich Media serving 30 sec (max) 120px X 90px Multiple video
(728x90) fees will apply user initiated [on click] Streams
Additional charges
will apply to videos
that lengths exceed
30 sec. (2.2MB)
Wide Skyscraper ““ 30 sec (max) 160px X 120px Multiple video
(160x600) user initiated [on click] Streams
Medium ““ 30 sec (max) 300px X 225px Multiple video
Rectangle user initiated [on click] Streams
(300x250)
Reverse ““ 30 sec (max) Determined by Multiple video
Expandable user initiated [on click] position Streams
Banner
Floating Ad ““ 30 sec (max) 400px X 300px Multiple video
user initiated [on click] Streams
Contest ““ Unlimited* 400px X 300px Multiple video
Streams
Splash Page ““ Unlimited* 400px X 300px Multiple video
Streams
Data Collection ““ Unlimited* 320px X 240px Multiple video
Page Streams
Commercial ““ Unlimited* 400px X 300px Multiple video
Content Streams
Micro Site ““ Unlimited* 400px X 300px Multiple video
Streams
Rich Media ““ 30 sec 400px X 300px Multiple video
Expandable user initiated [on click] Streams
(728 x 90)
Pre Roll ““ 15 (sec) 330px X 186px none
500 kbps (FLV format) (display size)
1 MB maximum Encoded at
Post-Roll ““ 15 (sec) 330px X 186px none
500 kbps (FLV format) (display size)
Encoded at
Video Overlay ““ 10 (sec) after Pre-Roll 330px X 40px Opaque
40kb (.jpg, .gif, or .swf) creative
recommended.
*Video play length is not limited, but additional video storage and serving fees will apply.
**Rich Media serving fees will apply unless covered by Third party (client or agency).
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
General Description: On mouse rollover, the banner displays a larger version of
itself or an entirely new image. Please review the details below. Flash is not
allowed for this type of ad.
Ads expand on roll over only
Ad Specifications
Positions Available Weight Expansion Limitations
banner Expanded dimension direction
weight (including initial unit)
weight / dimension
Leaderboard (728x90) 40kb 80kb / 728x 315 down 1 panel,
Wide Skyscraper 40kb 80kb / 460x600 right 1 click through
Belo 32
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Additional Information
Data Collection Guidelines
General Description: Data Collection pages are used to gather user information
on behalf of clients. These pages must be structured such that they conform to
Commercial Content Guidelines.
Please refer to Commercial Content Guidelines for additional information.
Disclaimer for Customer Data Supplied to Clients
In those cases when we are asked to collect personally identifiable information
from our consumers on behalf of our advertisers, we need to be clear about
whether we are collecting and storing that information, or if our advertisers will be
redirecting consumers to their registration process and storing the information
themselves.
When We Collect and Store the Customer Information:
If the client is asking us to collect and store the personally identifiable consumer
data in order to share with them, we need to:
1. Clearly delineate data ownership. Ideally, we would have ownership of
the data and we would share aggregate data with advertisers. In the case
that the client is requesting personally identifiable information, we will
retain ownership of the data, and share information with advertisers upon
the satisfaction of the following conditions.
Advertiser has a privacy policy
Advertiser privacy policy or link to policy is posted on the page
collecting the data.
2. Understand exactly what information is being requested by our clients.
Please note that there are some personal questions deemed
unacceptable by Belo Corporate Legal including questions of ethnicity,
sexuality, health status and others. It is required that you consult with
Legal to gain approval on the questions requested by your client that
exceed the information normally collected by BIM registration.
3. Alert our customers that we intend to share their personally identifiable
information with our advertisers and offer them the option to not continue
with the process of submitting their personal information.
4. Advertiser must post their privacy policy.
Requesting a Form to Collect the Information:
Belo 33
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
To ensure your data collection form is properly requested, and all necessary
parties are alerted, please follow these few steps:
1. Determine if the form needs custom development, or if you are able to use
the standard registration form, based on your client‟s information gathering
needs. If you determine that you need a custom form, please work with
your design contractors to create forms that populate external data
management tools like „relevant tools‟.
2. Submit a creative production request through your site‟s designer and
provide details about the form needed. Include a link to the client‟s
privacy policy, as the client‟s privacy policy is required on the form for
customers to access and review. If the client does not have a privacy
policy, the form must be hosted on their web site.
3. If you are requesting a custom developed form, please submit the
information that your client would like to collect and a description of the
program to Belo Legal (Lela Clifton). Please allow a minimum of five
working days to gain legal approval for your customer registration form to
receive approval.
Including Notice to Customers of Our Intent to Share Data
Belo must clearly and conspicuously alert customers when their registration
information will be shared with a third party, such as an advertiser. Three items
must be included on the form:
Notification of data sharing. A copy of the appropriate notification must be
clearly displayed on the form, preferably at the top of the form, prior to beginning
the registration process
Operable link to the client‟s privacy policy.
Inclusion of a required check box for the consumer to indicate their agreement
with their data being shared with the client. (This will not be pre checked)
NOTICE
You are providing your personal information through [Belo Web Site Name].
Through an agreement with this specific advertiser, [Belo Web Site Name]
reserves the right to share your personally identifiable information with this
advertiser only. If you do not choose to have such information disclosed, please
do not submit your personal information.
Belo 34
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Required Checkbox Message:
[ ] I understand that by completing this form, my information will be shared with
(Advertiser Name Here).
Including Notice to Customers of Third-Party Data Collection
When our audience is redirected from a Belo promotion site, advertorial
campaign to a client page that collects personally identifiable data, it is in Belo‟s
best interest to alert customers. Two items should be included in the advertising
or promotion prior to being redirected to the client‟s data collection form:
Notification of third-party data collection. A copy of the appropriate notification
must be clearly displayed prior to data collection, preferably in the advertising or
promotional message.
Operable link to the client‟s privacy policy.
NOTICE
By [Description of Action – entering this contest, responding to this email, etc.],
you are providing your personal information directly to [Advertiser Name]. [Belo
Web Site], and Belo Corp. shall have no responsibilities or liabilities whatsoever
for the use or dissemination of your personal information by [Advertiser Name]. If
you do not choose to have such information disclosed, please do not submit your
personal information.
Belo 35
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Client Supplied Creative
In page Ad Units (banners & tiles)
1. Ad units can be served in three formats. (gif, jpg and swf)
2. Flash files
All files (.swf) files must be published in Flash 6 or higher format
All files must include the following code on each button
on (release) {
getURL(clickTAG, "_blank");
}
All source files (.fla) and fonts must be submitted with artwork
3. All creative must be reviewed by the creative department before it is sent
to ad traffic.
Belo 36
Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Political Advertising
“Political advertising” means advertising by, on behalf of, in support of, or in
opposition to a candidate for public office, political party or ballot proposition.
This policy applies to candidates for federal, state and local office.
Political advertising must adhere to these policies:
Prior to acceptance of any political advertising, local station‟s Director of
Sales or President/General Manager must obtain the name of the client and
the advertised entity (candidate, issue, organization, etc.) in addition to the
name of the advertising placement agency (if applicable). Reference the
recommended political advertising request sheet to ensure all pertinent
information is collected.
All political advertising must be paid for in cash in advance.
All political advertising shall be sold at standard commercial rates for
comparable locations; and political rates shall be published. There shall be
no special discounts for political advertisements. There shall be no free
political advertising under any circumstances. Stations should use their local
online rate card.
As of May 12, 2006, the Federal Election Commission extended to the
Internet certain sponsorship identification obligations. One of the three
following sponsorship identification disclosures must appear clearly and
conspicuously in each political advertisement:
o ADVERTISING PAID FOR AND AUTHORIZED BY “X” CANDIDATE:
"This communication has been paid for by [name of candidate's
authorized political committee]."
o ADVERTISING AUTHORIZED, BUT NOT PAID FOR BY “X”
CANDIDATE: "This communication has been paid for by [name of
purchaser] and is authorized by [name of candidate or candidate's
authorized committee]."
o ADVERTISING NOT AUTHORIZED BY “X” CANDIDATE: "This
communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee, and has been paid for by [full name of the purchaser, along
with a permanent street address, telephone number, or web address]."
o Although not required, stations recommend that when space is
available the ad include the address of the individual or organization
identified.
Banners or buttons that contain a message which would be understood as
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promoting a candidate or political issue, with or without a link to other web
pages, should contain the identification disclosure described above.
Exceptions may be made in certain instances in which it would be highly
impractical to include the disclosure, or if the banners or buttons serve
primarily as links to other web pages containing the political advertising, and
the pages to which they link contain the disclosure. All such exceptions will
be made on a case by case basis only by the local Belo property Sales
Director.
No sponsorships will be sold. Home page positions or top banner positions
on other areas of the site are acceptable if they meet all other requirements of
this policy. All political advertising must be delivered in a Belo approved IAB
standard ad unit.
If online advertising is bundled with broadcast advertising, the price paid for
the online advertising should be separately stated and satisfy the pricing
standards stated above. Online political advertising will be billed to clients in
an invoice separately generated from the television advertising.
No political advertising shall be sold on an exclusive basis. Where space
limitations prevent having multiple advertisers, political advertising shall be
placed on a first come, first served basis.
No web page content shall be posted on behalf of or at the request of a
candidate except for paid advertising as described above and containing the
required identification disclosures.
Belo email database can be utilized to send political advertisements. All
political email campaigns must utilize Belo‟s designated political email
template for delivery.
In case of any questions concerning the propriety of a proposed advertising plan,
please consult the Belo Legal department. Do not guess, because state and
federal campaign finance laws are very strict and ever changing.
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3rd Party Ad Serving Guidelines
All advertisers utilizing a third-party service to deliver their ad creative on a Belo
Web site are required to comply with the following guidelines:
1. Provide a written explanation of the third-party‟s impression measurement
methodology. Examples include:
a. Immediate impression count when the ad tag is loaded
b. Immediate impression count when Belo‟s ad server calls for the ad
creative
c. Impression count sometime after the call arrives from Belo
d. Impression count when the third party is loading the ad creative
e. Impression count after the ad creative is completely loaded
2. Deliver traditional ad tags from the third-party provider a minimum of four
working days prior to the campaign start date. For highly technical ad
tags, including special delivery or out of the ordinary reporting capabilities,
please allow a minimum of five business days for testing and consultation.
3. For the first three weeks of any third-party delivered campaign, the third-
party must provide weekly ad delivery reports. Beyond the first three
weeks, the third party is to provide monthly ad delivery reports for
continual auditing. Upon auditing the reports, Belo may require weekly
reports for an extended period.
In cases where a consistent discrepancy of 10% or more exists between
the third-party ad delivery reports and Belo‟s reports, Belo may request
that the third-party include BI‟s tracking code within the third-party served
content that references our servers so that Belo may audit the third-party
reporting.
4. Contact information for the third-party service provider is preferred.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Commercial Content Guidelines
General Description: It‟s sometimes called “advertorial.” The old
News/Operations guidelines defined it this way: Any informational content
supplied by an advertiser or sponsor, whose underlying purpose is to promote
the advertiser or sponsor and their products. Such content is understood to come
from a point of view that benefits the advertiser and may lack editorial balance.
To distinguish from other forms of Web advertising or news, this definition
presumes that:
Commercial content is significantly more detailed than a Web display ad in
traditional inventory; for example, a sponsored, topical Splash page.
The content is furnished specifically by, or deliberately in favor of, one or
more advertisers, and is not generated by BI or Belo news organizations.
Commercial content may require development of additional text-link or
graphic promotion from a site‟s news-oriented content sections.
Commercial content has significant potential to be mistaken, visually or
verbally, for news/editorial content.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Commercial content design practices
When Belo produces and hosts a special advertising section or “Micro site,” its
design should adhere to these guidelines:
Belo site branding and navigation should be a part of a commercial
content section if we are the hosts under our domain, but the page should
not be designed to look like a news section.
Site branding should be a small header, with limited navigation across
the top that goes back into core sections of the site.
Within the header and the commercial content section should appear a
bar or ribbon that indicates the nature of the content (see Appendix A
for examples of approved labels).
All Micro site content below the header should be designed to the
sponsors’ specifications, except to the extent that those specifications
make the commercial content look like a news section. To avoid that
problem:
o Do not mimic the use of dashed rules between headlines; red
triangle icons in front of them; or horizontal or vertical divider
elements that resemble news page designs.
o Do not mimic a site‟s default color scheme.
o A link to a BIM disclaimer and sponsor‟s copyright in the footer (see
Appendix A for examples approved by BI Legal).
o Do not link back to news/editorial articles or sections from within the
sponsored content areas.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Commercial Content page disclaimers
Following are points carried over from the original Gold Standard commercial
content acceptance guide.
Labeling
Commercial Content must be clearly, consistently and prominently labeled to
distinguish it from non-commercial content. Labeling occurs from the first
instance where a site visitor may encounter the commercial content, and is
carried through subsequent pages using the same label. Labels may include:
“Marketplace” navigation entry
“Advertising” or “Paid Advertising”
“Sponsor‟s ad”
“Ad”
“Paid advertisement”
“Special Advertising Section”
Disclaimer
A disclaimer appears on every commercial page that indicates the content is not
created or endorsed by the site or Belo.
Belo Legal provides the following disclaimer for your use:
(section name) is a paid advertising service of (site name).
The information presented and the opinions expressed are those of the
advertisers and not of (site name), (offline partner name) or their
employees.
Example:
Real Estate Professionals is a paid advertising service of PE.com.
The information presented and the opinions expressed are those of the
advertisers and not of PE.com, The Press-Enterprise Co. or their
employees.
The advertiser‟s copyright may also be applied to the commercial content page.
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Specials (Email Advertising) Guidelines
Belo is dedicated to providing excellent service when assisting you with
your client's email marketing campaigns. To ensure that our service
continues to meet high-quality standards, we ask that you work within
the Specials and Brokered Mailing Guidelines and adhere to the
requirements for creative development.
Specials Mailing Guidelines
Assets Required
Text Version in .txt file
HTML Version (externally hosted or attached as HTML/txt file)
Image Files in .zip file
Suppression/Opt-Out List in .txt, .xls, or .csv file or Suppression Waiver
Seed List for Tests and Approval (email addresses)
HTML & Text Requirements:
MAXIMUM Dimensions: 650 pixels wide and 1000 pixels high
Only .gif or .jpg images, NO FLASH, VIDEO, or JAVASCRIPT
Cannot exceed 100K (all images combined)
HTML Minimum Ratio of 25% text to 75% image
o Clickable links with text
o Fonts that are HTML Email Friendly
Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif Arial Black, Gadget, sans-serif
Georgia, Times New Roman, Times New Roman, Times,
Times, serif serif
Palatino Linotype, Book
Courier New, Courier,
Antiqua,
monospace
Palatino, serif
Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida
Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
Grande, sans-serif
Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif MS Serif, New York, serif
Trebuchet MS, Arial, Lucida Console, Monaco,
Helvetica, sans-serif monospace
Comic Sans MS, cursive
o Text needs to be coded as text, not coded as image.
Maximum of 25 Images total - including duplicates.
o Use ALT tags in the HTML code for each image used in the HTML
design.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
o Add style=”display:block” for all images
PROBLEM CODE:
imgXsrc="http://www.someurl.com/images/image.jpg"
height="100"Xwidth="100"
CORRECT CODE:
imgXsrc="http://www.someurl.com/images/image.jpg"X
height="100" width="100"Xstyle="display:block"
NO Background Images are allowed. Use background colors.
o Example:
o All images must have the image source in its coding
img src=”images/example”
Content only required:
o Please have the content formatted with an open and close table
tag. ,
o NO , or , , , tags
NO USE OF JavaScript and Linked Style Sheets
o inline CSS styles accepted
o NOTE: the more complex the email, multiple styles, complex
tables have been shown to not test well on all email platforms,
especially MSN, Hotmail and Gmail.
o HINT: Regular html with tables always works great.
NO IMAGE MAPS
NO On-Click events within the body of the html, all images that should
click thru should be hyperlinked individually.
Image Paths should be absolute*. Relative paths will display broken links.
o This is for verification of placement of images while building and
testing creative.
o All images will be served on StormPost.
Character Set is Latin 1 ISO 8859-1
o Please use symbols, characters and/or punctuation which are
compatible with this set.
o Please code special punctuation within the html text. (i.e. bulleted
lists, the bullets should be coded as • not inserted as ●)
Subject Line 50 characters or less
o No All CAPS
o Limit punctuation and special characters, 2 or less.
o DO NOT begin subject line with Punctuation, Special Characters
or Numbers.
Select Category for Mailing
Automotive Beauty
Dining Entertainment
Health and Fitness Home and Garden
Investment/Finance Political (non-site affiliated)
Shopping Specials (default)
Travel
*Brokered mailings require images to be absolute served on site‟s image server.
No image file (zip) is required on brokered mailings.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Creative Recommendations
Focus design efforts on areas that can maximize responses and deliverability:
Use fonts that are universal on the Internet such as Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, or Times
New Roman. Any other fonts will resort to a default font if the recipient doesn‟t have it
installed on their computer.
Minimize the number of fonts, sizes, and colors used in the design for easy flow and
professional look.
When possible, avoid using white (#FFFFFF) text. Spammers sometimes use white text
on white backgrounds to prevent visibility of some text, so Spam filters may flag usage of
white text.
A colored background behind a small but important part of the e-mail message to
distinguish it.
Minimize graphics and images to logos, photos of products, or situational photos that
support the message visually. Don‟t rely on graphics and images for the main contents of
the message.
Keep the length of the email short, concise, and about one page maximum in length.
Newsletters may be longer, but the further details of a message should be left on a
hyperlinked web page.
Use bullet points to identify key points in the message.
Clearly identify what the call to action is that you want the recipient to make to act on your
offer.
Make the hyperlink prominently displayed and in multiple locations if the purpose is to
drive customers to your web site and measure results by click-throughs.
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Brokered Mailing Guidelines:
Assets Required
From Line (advertiser name)
Subject Line (less than 49 characters is recommended)
Recommendation from the query request
HTML Creative
o Final Creative Copy needed
o Images Hosted on site‟s image server
o Links embedded
o Opt Out Link in footer, if you don‟t have one we can provide one for an additional
flat fee
o Postal Address of the advertiser in the footer
Text Creative
SEED List for Test (email addresses of anyone who would like to see the tests for
approvals/revisions)
SEED List for Final deployment (email addresses of anyone who would like to see the
final mailing)
Suppression/Opt-Out File for CAN SPAM compliance or Broker Suppression Waiver.
HTML Design Requirements
Use HTML software such as Dreamweaver, MS FrontPage, or Adobe GoLive to create
the HTML. Do not use MS Word, MS Publisher, or other graphics/desktop publishing
software. ImageReady or Fireworks can be used in some instances along with HTML
software for designs if used properly. Hand coding is also acceptable.
Do not use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, Submission Forms, Layers, or
Rich Media (i.e. Flash movies, animation). These cause deliverability issues which can
affect the campaign responses, hinder our deliverability for future campaigns, and do not
render correctly in many email ISPs.
Use basic HTML tags for the coding. If your HTML software uses CSS for formatting,
adjust the preferences to apply formatting using basic HTML tags only. If absolutely
necessary, inline style sheets are an acceptable substitute for CSS.
Do not use comments in the HTML code of your email as they can potentially flag spam
triggers.
Provide a hyperlink to a related web site or at least an email address that the recipient
can contact if there is not a web site available.
Keep the width of the HTML message under 650 pixels to ensure the design is not cut off
in preview panes for recipients and eliminate the need for scrolling horizontally to see the
whole design.
Keep the message size under 50KB for consumer emails, and under 75KB for business
emails to optimize download time and deliverability.
Whenever possible, minimize use of graphics/images in the design to avoid these
potential issues:
1. The more images/graphics there are, the more time it takes for a recipient to
download. Potential customers will be lost if they have to wait for images to
download in order to read or act on the message.
2. The higher the ratio of image-to-text area in an HTML, the higher the SPAM score.
We recommend no more than 1/3 of the design area be images or graphics, and the
rest should be formatted text.
3. Many recipients have images/graphics disabled in their email account on emails from
unknown senders, so they won't see any information that is in the images/graphics.
If they have formatted text in the HTML, the recipient can at least read the text part of
the HTML if images/graphics are disabled. After being able to read the text and
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
discover what the message is, they will be more likely to enable the images/graphics
and act on the offer.
4. Any print that is part of the image/graphic can be fuzzy or blurry, making it difficult to
read. This happens because graphics/images are optimized or compressed to
reduce file size and maximize download speed.
Opt Out Line (unsubscribe link) and postal address of marketer should be included in the
footer of the creative.
TEXT Design Requirements
Text copy should be done in Simple Text or Notepad. NOT done in Word
Text should be in plain font; no bold, no underline, no bullets
Body of the creative: 80 characters or less is recommended
Links need to be written out on their own separate line so that they can be hyperlinked
(they cannot be hidden under “click here”)
Opt Out Line (unsubscribe link) and postal address of marketer should be included in the
footer of the creative.
Please Note: Brokered list query requests require additional research time due
to the additional process steps involved with locating list providers that match the
advertisers‟ requests, qualifying the lists, and verifying counts with Belo.
Please Note: All email campaigns are delivered Monday through Friday.
Reference Web Sites
1. To reference zip codes for queries, try
http://www.melissadata.com/Lookups/index.htm or http://www.zip-
codes.com/. It allows you to compile zips by county, radius and other
options.
2. Latin 1ISO Character Set: http://casa.colorado.edu/~ajsh/iso8859-1.html
3. HTML punctuation coding:
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/web/codehtml.html#punc
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Creative Guidelines For Advertising I
Contact Information
Nerissa Brooke
Advertising Operations Supervisor
nbrooke@belo.com
214-977-4004
Kelly Nitsche
Director of Interactive Operations
knitsche@belo.com
214-977-4053