Uploading Advertising Creatives with an Excel File

  • Updated

When you upload creatives for nonpersonalized display ads, you can associate them with a spreadsheet that provides essential information about the creatives and the ads that you want to run. As described in Upload Display Creative, you’re asked if you want to upload creatives with a spreadsheet in these two places of Demandbase Advertising:

  • Step 5: Creatives of the Campaign Builder
  • The Creative Library

Tip: Uploading creatives and landing page information with Excel (or CSV) documents is the safest, most reliable way to associate creatives with your Demandbase campaigns.

Demandbase understands that most of our Advertising campaign managers receive creatives and landing pages URLs in the form of a spreadsheet. By importing a properly configured spreadsheet, you don’t run the risk of introducing errors by copying and pasting landing page URLs incorrectly.

The creative upload wizard in the Campaign Builder is designed to parse most spreadsheets supplied by ad agencies or other third parties. The parser uses fuzzy matching to find column titles like Creative Name, Click URL or Landing Page, and (optionally) Tracking Pixel. The column titles don’t even need to populate row 1 of the spreadsheet because we’ve learned that many agencies include title and purchase order information in the top few rows.

You can upload your own Excel files or use a Demandbase template for the spreadsheet. Both routes, with variations based on creative file host location, are documented below.

Using Your Spreadsheet with the Upload Wizard

If you already have ad assets in spreadsheets, drag and drop them when prompted in Step 5 of the Campaign Builder. The upload wizard scans your spreadsheet to identify whether certain elements in the form of spreadsheet columns are in your submission. What exactly the wizard looks for depends on where your creatives are located.

Uploading Ad Files for Demandbase-Hosted Creatives

If Demandbase will host your creatives, make sure to upload the Excel spreadsheet and all creative files. Drag and drop the files into the upload field all at once. After you click Upload, the parser will cross-reference the Excel file against the creatives, and make sure there’s data for all of them. If the parser identifies more or fewer creatives than are listed in the spreadsheet, it will show you an error with an explanation.

The upload wizard scans your submission for the following columns when you plan to have your creatives hosted by Demandbase: 

  • Creative Name: This is the file name of the creative that you’re uploading. Make sure to include  the file name extension (for example, .png). (The following terms also work as the name for the column: File Name, Placement Name, and Ad Name.)
  • Landing Page/Click URL: The URL, including any UTM parameters, that the user is taken to when they click on this creative. (The following terms also work as the name for this column: Click URL and UTM.)
  • Impression Tag (optional column): If you’re using an impression tag, include it in this column. (Impression Tracker is also a permissible name for this column.)
  • Click Tracker (optional column): If you’re using a click tracker, include it in this column. (Alternatively, you can have a column named Click, and another one named Tag.)
  • DVTag (optional column): If you’re using a DVTag, include it in this column. (The term JavaScript also works as the column name.)
  • Ad Group Name (optional column, but highly recommended): The Demandbase Ad Group name to associate with the creative. Note the following about the Ad Group column:
    • To create an Ad Group for the creative or set of creatives, enter a new unique name. 
    • When you enter an Ad Group name that’s already used in your Creative Library, Demandbase will create a new group but append Copy 1, Copy 2, etc., to the name for differentiation.
    • If you don’t enter Ad Group names, Demandbase creates groups and assigns successive default names New_ad_group_1, New_ad_group_2, etc. This happens if you delete the whole column or retain the column but don’t provide entries in the Ad Group fields for creatives.

Uploading an Excel File for Ads Hosted Outside of Demandbase

If your creatives are hosted outside of Demandbase, drag only the Excel file into the upload field when prompted. The creative upload wizard will associate the URLs with the landing pages and trackers provided in the spreadsheet.

The upload wizard scans your submission for the following columns when creatives will be hosted on a non-Demandbase server:

  • URL: This is the URL where the creative is located.
  • Creative Name: This is the file name of the creative that you’re uploading. This column  determines the name displayed in the product for this creative. (These terms also work as the column name: Name, Placement Name, and Ad Name.)
  • Landing Page/Click URL: The URL, including any UTM parameters, that the user is taken to when they click on this creative. (These terms also work as the column name: Click URL and UTM.)
  • Impression Tag (optional): If you’re using an impression tag, include it in this column. (Impression Tracker is also a permissible name for this column.)
  • Click Tracker (optional): If you’re using a click tracker, include it in this column. (Alternatively, you can have a column named Click, and another one named Tag.)
  • DVTag (optional): If you’re using a DVTag, include it in this column. (The term JavaScript also works as the column name.)
  • Ad Group Name (optional column, but highly recommended): The Demandbase Ad Group name to associate with the creative. Note the following about the Ad Group column:
    • To create an Ad Group for the creative or set of creatives, enter a new unique name. 
    • When you enter an Ad Group name that’s already used in your Creative Library, Demandbase will create a new group but append Copy 1, Copy 2, etc., to the name for differentiation.
    • If you don’t enter Ad Group names, Demandbase creates groups and assigns successive default names New_ad_group_1, New_ad_group_2, etc. This happens if you delete the whole column or retain the column but don’t provide entries in the Ad Group fields for creatives.

Using a Demandbase Template to Upload Creatives

If you don’t already have a spreadsheet containing your creatives information, you can use one of the template files attached to the end of this article. The template file name indicates for which hosting environment the file is suitable. Using a spreadsheet to upload is more reliable than manual entry of the asset information in the upload wizard because:

  • You can double-check your work before uploading. 
  • You will have a copy of what you uploaded to troubleshoot.
  • You don’t risk the chance of accidentally closing the modal in the middle of copy and pasting in all the landing pages.

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