Tracking advertisements

Several leading advertising networks now support standardized tracking methods in Flash SWF files. The following guidelines describe the supported tracking methodology:

Create a button or movie clip button

Use standardized dimensions outlined by the IAB. For a list of standardized dimensions, see the IAB website. For more information on creating a button in Flash, see Create a button.

Add a script to the button

Executes when a user clicks the banner. You might use the getURL() function to open a new browser window. The following code snippets are two examples of ActionScript 2.0 code you might add to Frame 1 of the Timeline:

myButton_btn.onRelease = function(){
	getURL(clickTAG, "_blank");
};

You might add the following code to Frame 1 of the Timeline:

myButton_btn.onRelease = function() {
	if (clickTAG.substr(0, 5) == "http:") {
		getURL(clickTAG);
	}
};

The getURL() function adds the variable passed in the object and embed tags, and then sends the browser that is launched to the specified location. The server hosting the ad can track clicks on the advertisement. For more information on using the getURL() function, see ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference.

Assign clickTAG code for tracking

Tracks the advertisement and helps the network serving the ad to track where the ad appears and when it is clicked.

The process is the standard way of creating an advertising campaign for a typical Flash advertisement. If you assign the getURL() function to the banner, you can use the following process to add tracking to the banner. The following example lets you append a variable to a URL string to pass data, which lets you set dynamic variables for each banner, instead of creating a separate banner for each domain. You can use a single banner for the entire campaign, and any server that is hosting the ad can track the clicks on the banner.

In the object and embed tags in your HTML, you would add code similar to the following example (where www.helpexamples.com is the ad network, and adobe.com is the company with an advertisement):

<EMBED src="your_ad.swf?clickTAG= http://helpexamples.com/tracking?http://www.adobe.com">

Add the following code in your HTML:

<PARAM NAME=movie VALUE="your_ad.swf?clickTAG =http: //helpexamples.com/tracking?http://www.adobe.com">

For more information on advanced tracking techniques, see the Rich Media Advertising Center at www.adobe.com/go/rich_media_ads.

To download the Rich Media Tracking Kit, which includes examples and documentation, see www.adobe.com/go/richmedia_tracking.

To learn more about and download the Flash Ad Kit, which helps you deliver integrated and sophisticated advertisements, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_fl_flash_ad_kit.