HPTO (HomePage Take Overs)
A Home Page Take Over refers to a ‘Take Over’ of all the ad spaces on a specified page for a specified amount of time.
These can either be run with an Skin + Standard Display formats or just Standard Display assets. The most efficient way to achieve this is via Skin assets. These are curated either by the client providing their own or the client providing assets that match the spec sheet below and the Ad Ops team turning them into Skin assets.
Wallpaper - InSkin
Skin Specs – for Sky Sports
Desktop asset dimensions in pixels:
Top: 1010×250
Bottom: 1010×100
Left: 250×1000
Right: 250×1000
Background Colour Hex: e.g. #000000
Tablet asset dimensions in pixels:
Top: 1010×250
Bottom: 1010×100
Left: 130×1000
Right: 130×1000
Background Colour Hex: e.g. #000000
Mobile asset dimensions in pixels:
Top: 740×240
Bottom: 740×200
Right: 148×760
Right (Scroll): 148×480
Background Colour Hex: e.g. #000000
Skin Specs – for Sky News
Desktop asset dimensions in pixels:
Top: 1128×250
Bottom: 1128×100
Left: 250×1000
Right: 250×1000
Background Colour Hex: e.g. #000000
Tablet asset dimensions in pixels:
Top: 1128×250
Bottom: 1128×100
Left: 130×1000
Right: 130×1000
Background Colour Hex: e.g. #000000
Mobile asset dimensions in pixels:
Mobile skins are not allowed on the Sky News Homepage
In-line Videos
You can also incorporate a video into either Top/Bottom asset as circled in red in the example image above.
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Maximum autoplay video weight: 1.4MB
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Autoplay video length: 0-15s
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User initiated video length: Unlimited (30s recommended)
Availability
HPTO’s are possible across any of our sports pages, including:
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Sky Sports Homepage
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Sky Sports Football Homepage
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Sky Sports Golf Homepage
InSkin Process
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Reach out to dl-digitalops@sky.uk with assets matching the spec sheet above, as well as any click through URLs or trackers.
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Ad Ops team build a Skin from those assets in 2-3 days and send preview links for client approval.
Delivery
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The delivery figures of a HPTO are dependent on a few of factors:
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The selected webpage (some pages receive more traffic than others, SS Home Page: 1-12M imps and other pages: 500k-1M imps)
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The dates over which the HPTO will be running
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Whether all assets have been supplied and set up within the required timeframe
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The sporting events that are running around the time of the HPTO
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Display/SFVOD
Display assets must also be supplied with Skins to ensure the client gets full ad autonomy over the site. SFVOD assets can also be supplied but are optional.
Display
Required (Desktop, MWEB and app): 728×90*, 300×250, 320×50
Optional: 970×250* and 300×600
*These assets won’t appear simultaneously with the Skin asset, they will be displayed on platforms where the Skin cannot eg. Sky Sports App.
SFVOD: The usual 640×480 video specs would need to be provided.
Sky Media HPTO FAQs
FAQs
Q: The spec sheet details text limitations on the left and right assets but the examples above have text on the left and right assets?
A: Sometimes text on the outskirts of the left and right assets can be cut off- depending on the size of the screen it is being viewed on. Most people shouldn’t have that issue; however, we advise people to incorporate text either to the top or bottom assets to rule it out completely. The choice is ultimately up to the client/advertiser.
Q: Can a HPTO only be achieved with Skins?
A: Skins are the most effective method of HPTO but not the only way. You can also run a HPTO with display assets only, the same principle of your ads being the only ones running on a specific page for a specific day still applies.
Q: Is it possible to run two different HPTOs on the same page if they have different geos?
A: Yes. Aside from selecting the page to run across, Geographic Targeting is the only other targeting you can apply to a HPTO.
Q: What formats can we send assets for a Skin build in?
A: Assets can either be sent as a JPG, GIF or PNG. We cannot accept PSDs as we don’t have the software to access the actual asset.
Q: Is there a “Safe Zone” spec to ensure text doesn’t get cut off of the Skins on Desktops of varying sizes?
A: For the Tablet & Mobile Skins, there is no “safe-zone” as the Skins are reactive meaning the content of a skin won’t be cut off depending on the size of the screen, however Desktop is not. If clients have content/writing within their Skin banners, these should be within the ‘safe zones’ of the banner to ensure they’re not cut off on Desktop screens with varying sizes.
Please continue to supply the Desktop Left and Right banners as 250×1000, just ensure any content / text exist is with the “safe zones” of 130×1000.
Standard Display
Snapchat
Snapchat offers brands the opportunity to place video ads alongside best-in-class editorial content
We support the ‘Coalition for Better Ads’ initiative to create a better user experience on desktop and mobile web. As such, all our ad formats and creative specifications fall within and must adhere to the Better Ads Standards as defined here.