Monday, July 31, 2017

Upcoming changes to standard placement tags in DCM

Beginning in August 2017, DoubleClick Campaign Manager (DCM) will no longer export standard tags for placements larger than 1x1. This is the next step in a phased rollout of changes aimed at aligning DCM's impression counting methodology with the latest Interactive Advertising Bureau and Media Rating Council guidelines. A full overview of these changes can be found in the DCM partner help center.

How will this affect DCM/DFA Reporting and Trafficking API users?

On August 22, 2017, the API's placements.generatetags endpoint will stop returning standard tags (PLACEMENT_TAG_STANDARD) for non-1x1 placements. Users will still be allowed to include this tag format in all generatetag requests without error, however responses will only contain standard tag data for 1x1 placements. This will be a retroactive change affecting all API versions.

What can API users do to prepare?

Users should begin updating their API workflows to request alternative tag formats, such as PLACEMENT_TAG_JAVASCRIPT or PLACEMENT_TAG_IFRAME_JAVASCRIPT, for all non-1x1 placements. Although standard tags will still be returned for 1x1 placements after August 2017, users leveraging pixels for impression tracking are encouraged to use tracking ads for this purpose, instead.

Existing non-1x1 placements trafficked using standard tags will continue to serve until October 2017. Any such placements which are part of a campaign ending later than this must be re-trafficked using an alternative tag format. Instructions for identifying these placements can be found in the DCM partner help center.

Questions about this or anything else DCM API related? Contact us via our support forum.