--- title: "Banner types — decision guide" description: "Which banner type to pick for each placement type, which fields each type shows, and where preview is available." type: "howto" audience: [network-manager, advertiser] keywords: [banner type, creative type, placement type, decision guide, preview] ui_path: "Account → Advertisers → campaign → Add new banner" --- Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/llms.txt. Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. Append .md to any documentation page URL to get its markdown version. # Banner types — decision guide A banner is one creative. Two things decide what the form asks you for: - the **placement type** — where the creative can serve, chosen first; - the **banner type** — what you actually supply: a file, a URL, markup, a template, native assets or a DSP connection. You pick the placement type from the **Add new banner** menu, and the form's **Banner type** combo then offers the types valid for that placement. ## Who this is for Anyone creating banners — advertiser users in the campaigns shared to them, network managers on the advertisers they own. The **Banner type** combo offers the types the chosen placement accepts *and* your role holds a permission for (see [Which types your role sees](#which-types-your-role-sees)). ## Prerequisites - A [campaign](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/campaigns.md) you can edit. ## Steps 1. On the campaign, open **Add new banner** and pick the placement type the creative is for (**Add banner for Site Placement**, **…for Video Placement**, and so on). An entry you lack the banner permission for is not listed. ![Add new banner dropdown](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banners-overview/add-banner-dropdown.webp) 2. On the create form, pick the **Banner type**. The list depends on the placement you chose — a site placement offers up to five types, a video placement up to nine. The shots below were taken with the **Open RTB** permission granted; without it the **OpenRTB** entry is missing from both lists. ![Banner type combo on a site placement](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banners-overview/banner-type-combo-site.webp) ![Banner type combo on a video placement](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banners-overview/banner-type-combo-video.webp) 3. Fill the type-specific fields and **Save**. A new banner opens on its own edit page; link it to placements from its **Linked placements** card. Until you do, its header reads **Not serving**. ## The type matrix Placement columns: **S**ite, **N**on-standard, **M**obile site, **V**ideo, **A**pplication, **E**mail, **Nat**ive. | Banner type (UI name) | S | N | M | V | A | E | Nat | You provide | Preview | Guide | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Local File | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | uploaded image + click URL + size | ✓ | [Image banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image.md) | | External File | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | creative URL + click URL + size | ✓ | [Image banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image.md) | | HTML Code | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | your HTML/JS markup | ✓ | [HTML & Template](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-html-and-template.md) | | Template | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | — | — | a system template + its properties | ✓ | [HTML & Template](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-html-and-template.md) | | OpenRTB | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | a DSP partner connection | — | [OpenRTB (DSP)](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-openrtb-dsp.md) | | Local Native | — | — | — | — | — | — | ✓ | native assets (icon/image/video + texts) | — | [Native banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-native.md) | | External Native | — | — | — | — | — | — | ✓ | native asset URLs + texts | — | [Native banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-native.md) | | Local Video | — | — | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | — | uploaded video file | — | [Video banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-video.md) | | External Video | — | — | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | — | hosted video URL | — | [Video banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-video.md) | | Third Party VAST/VPAID Tag URL | — | — | — | ✓ | — | — | — | a VAST/VPAID tag URL | — | [Video banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-video.md) | | VPAID Framework | — | — | — | ✓ | — | — | — | a framework + its parameters | — | [Video banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-video.md) | | Advanced Local Video(s) (Beta) | — | — | — | ✓ | — | — | — | multiple media files (auto-transcoded) | — | [Video banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-video.md) | **Preview** marks the four types that get a preview button: HTML Code, Local File, External File and Template. The same four gate the preview icon in banner grids — it is one shared list, so if a type has no preview on the form it has none in the grid either. ### Which types your role sees Every type is its own permission, and the combo lists only the types your role holds — see [User roles](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/admin/users-and-roles.md). A type you need but don't see is one your network administrator has to grant in **Admin → Users & access → User roles & permissions**; native banners also need the *Native Placement* entry of the **Add new banner** menu granted before anyone can create one. ### What each placement opens with | Placement | Types offered | Pre-selected | |---|---|---| | Site, Non-standard, Application | Local File, External File, HTML Code, Template, OpenRTB | Local File | | Mobile site | the same five | Local File | | Video | Local Video, External Video, Third Party VAST/VPAID Tag URL, VPAID Framework, Advanced Local Video(s), Local File, External File, HTML Code, OpenRTB | Local Video | | Email | Local Video, External Video, Local File, External File | **Local File** | | Native | OpenRTB, Local Native, External Native | Local Native | > **Note:** the pre-selected type is not simply the first one listed. On an **email** placement the > combo opens with Local Video at the top of the list but Local File selected. If your role lacks > the permission for the pre-selected type, the form opens on the first type you do hold. Read the > combo rather than assuming. An **application** placement also opens with its own extras pre-set — **Ad category** (*Banner Ad*) and **Application OS** (*iOS*) — above the creative fields. A banner is offered only to application placements with the same OS and ad category. ### Click-through placements A click-through placement takes no banner. No banner type accepts it, so there is nothing to create: you configure the redirect on the placement itself. > **Corner case:** the **Add new banner** menu can still show a *Click-through Placement* entry if > your role is granted click-through banners. It is a dead end — > the form opens with an empty **Banner type** combo and cannot be saved. Don't grant that > permission expecting a working path. ## Fields that follow the type The form shows and saves *only* the fields relevant to the chosen type + placement combination. A hidden field is never submitted. | Field | When it appears | |---|---| | Size (**Ad unit**) | **Required** for Local/External File on every placement, and for HTML Code on Site and Video. **Shown but optional** for HTML Code on Mobile site, Template on Site and Mobile site, and OpenRTB on Site, Non-standard, Mobile site and Application. **Absent** for HTML Code and Template on Non-standard and Application, for native, and for every video-file type. | | **URL** (click-through) | Required for Local/External File, and for Third Party VAST/VPAID Tag URL, where it is the tag itself. Optional for the other video types, where it becomes the VAST ad's click-through. Absent for HTML Code, Template and OpenRTB; a native banner has its own URL inside the Native assets fieldset. | | Target | **Always** for Local/External File — on every placement, Video included. For other types: on Mobile site and Application, all except HTML Code and OpenRTB (and Template only on Application); never on Video; elsewhere only when the form carries an image field. | | Install conversion action | Mobile site and Application only, and never for OpenRTB. | | VAST tracking card | Video placements only, only once the banner is saved, never for OpenRTB, and only with the *Manage Banner's VAST Events* permission. | | Passback | HTML Code on Site, Non-standard and Mobile site; Template on Site and Non-standard — and only for a role that holds the AJAX invocation-code permission of that placement type. | | Native assets | The **Native assets** fieldset: **Icon**, **Image** and **Video** (each with a min size and a file or URL), then Title, Subtitle, Description, Call to action, Rating, URL and Customization parameters. Native placements only; the min-size rows need the *Native Banner Sizes* permission (on by default). | ![The Native assets fieldset on a saved native banner](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banners-overview/native-form-fields.webp) ## Corner cases and gotchas > **Corner case:** the Banner type combo is **permission-filtered per type**. If a colleague sees > "Template" and you don't, your role lacks that banner-type permission — the form gives no hint > that a type was hidden. > **Corner case:** Local and External Native are offered on **native placements only**. The type > list is built from each type's placement list, but the console then drops the two native types > for every placement kind except Native, so on a site or mobile placement they are deliberately > absent from the combo. > **Warning:** switching the Banner type on an existing banner **and saving clears some of what > the old type owned**. A switch to **HTML Code** clears the stored image and video file names, the > URL, the Title and the template with its property values. A switch to a **video** or **VAST** type > also clears the HTML markup (and the template). A switch to an **image** type (Local or External > File) clears the video file and the template but keeps the markup. Several of the switches also > remove the banner's stored files. Switching back does not restore what was cleared. Until you > save, flipping the combo changes nothing. > **Corner case:** saving an **existing** banner can offer to link it to matching placements — only > when **New placements auto-linking** (Advanced settings) is on for the banner or for its > campaign, and your role holds *Link Placements to Banners* or *Auto-linking settings*. Creating a > banner never shows this prompt. Declining leaves the banner unlinked, and an unlinked banner serves > nowhere unless matching rules are switched on: the header reads **Not serving**, then **Serving · > N** once a placement is linked, or **Rules only** when only the rules are on. ## Per-role notes - **Advertiser** — creates banners in the campaigns shared to them. On the stock Advertiser role that means Site Placement banners from a Local File, and a saved banner has no **Frequency capping** or **Linked placements** card: capping and linking are switched on by your network manager. See [What your network controls](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/roles/advertiser.md#what-your-network-controls). - **Network manager** — the same form, on the advertisers they own. - **Can view share** — the form opens read-only: the type combo cannot be changed, each card carries a **Read-only** pill, and there is no Save. ## Related - [Banner types reference](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/reference/banner-types.md) - [Placement types reference](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/reference/placement-types.md) - [HTML code and Template banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-html-and-template.md) - [Image banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image.md) - [Native banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-native.md) - [Video banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-video.md) - [OpenRTB (DSP) banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-openrtb-dsp.md)