---
title: "Advertiser playbook"
description: "How to run campaigns in Epom as an advertiser — open the accounts shared with you, build campaigns and creatives, target and cap them, link them to inventory, and read the results."
type: "concept"
audience: [advertiser]
keywords: [advertiser, demand, campaigns, banners, creatives, conversions, targeting, capping, frequency capping, analytics, playbook, shares, templates, placements, read-only, spend, charges, what your network controls, permissions]
ui_path: "Account → Advertisers"
---

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.

# Advertiser playbook

As an advertiser you work the demand side of the network: the advertiser accounts you created or
that were shared with you, the campaigns and creatives under them, and the reports that show how
they did. This page walks through the work in the order you usually do it and points to the guide
for each step.

It describes the **stock Advertiser role**, the one a new network gives its advertisers. Your
network can widen or narrow it; [What your network controls](#what-your-network-controls) lists
what is off by default. When a card or option described in a guide is missing for you, that table
is the first place to look, and your network manager is the person to ask.

## Where you work

![An advertiser's account area, with the advertisers shared with them in the tree and one open for editing](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/advertiser/advertiser-view.webp)

A stock Advertiser has six tabs:

**Dashboard · Advertisers · Analytics · Conversion Actions · Templates · Preferences**

- **Dashboard** — the advertiser dashboard: **Charges**, **Impressions**, **eCPM**, **Clicks** and
  **CTR** over the period you pick. See [Dashboards](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/analytics/dashboards.md).
- **Advertisers** — your advertiser accounts, and every campaign and creative under them.
- **Analytics** — the report builder.
- **Conversion Actions** — the conversion actions you own or that were shared with you.
- **Templates** — creative templates shared with you, read-only.
- **Preferences** — the set-cookie pixel for cookie targeting, a login IP whitelist, notification
  recipients and your scheduled e-mails.

There is no **Publishers** or **Shares** tab on the stock role. The user menu (your name, top right)
carries color theme, density and the trees or grids view. There is no change-password card; use
**Forgot password?** on the sign-in page or ask your network manager to set a new one, and ask them
to change your personal details.

## 1. Find your advertisers

Open **Advertisers**. You see the advertisers you created and the ones shared with you. A share
sits on the advertiser and reaches every campaign and creative under it, at one of three levels:

| Your level | What you can do |
|---|---|
| **Is Owner** | Everything your role allows — what you get on an advertiser you created |
| **Can Edit** | Build and change campaigns and creatives under it |
| **Can View** | Open it and read every figure; nothing can be changed |

The **Sharing type** filter above the tree separates the accounts you run from the ones you only
watch. An empty list means nothing has been shared with you yet: create an advertiser with
**New advertiser**, or ask your network manager which accounts you should have.

See [Advertisers](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/advertisers.md) and
[Sharing & permission model](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/concepts/sharing-permission-model.md).

## 2. Build a campaign

Select an advertiser and click **Add new campaign** in its header (or the **New campaign** icon on the rail). On the stock role a campaign page carries:

- **Basic information** — name, the **Active** switch and **Weight**, which you can see but not
  change.
- **Targeting** — see [step 4](#4-target-the-campaign).
- **Pricing** — **CPM** or **CPC** and the rate agreed with your network. See
  [Pricing](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/delivery/pricing.md).
- **Limits** — the flight's **Start date** and **End date**, which you set, and the total and daily
  **Budget**, which your network sets and you can read. See [Limits](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/delivery/limits.md).
- **Exclude competitors campaigns** — campaigns that must not appear on the same page view as this
  one. See [Exclude competitive campaigns](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/campaign-competitors.md).

The campaign's **Actions** menu copies a campaign, uploads many creatives at once with **Mass
banner upload**, and runs **Run diagnostics**, which lists what blocks delivery.

See [Campaigns](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/campaigns.md).

> **Note:** moving a campaign to another advertiser is checked against the advertiser you move it
> from; copying is checked against the one you copy it to. You need working access at both ends.

## 3. Add creatives

Use **+ Add new banner** on the campaign. The stock role adds creatives for **Site Placement**
(standard display slots on web pages), as a **Local File**: an image you upload, with its **Ad
unit** size and the click-through **URL** (required). For many images at once, use **Mass banner upload** in the campaign's **Actions** menu.
Use **Preview** to see the creative rendered before it runs.

See [Banners overview](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banners-overview.md) and
[Bulk banner operations](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banners-bulk-operations.md).

> **Note:** other creative kinds — HTML code, external files, templates, video, native, mobile and
> in-app creatives — are role permissions. An existing one under a campaign you can edit opens
> normally; to create new ones, ask your network manager.

## 4. Target the campaign

**Targeting** is a card on the advertiser, the campaign and the creative. The levels stack: the
advertiser narrows the campaign, and the campaign narrows the creative. Set broad rules once at
the top and keep the creative card for exceptions. The stock role targets by country, IP range,
browser, operating system, time of day and day of week, protocol, proxy, device release year,
app package and cookie value; other targeting types are added by your network. See
[Add targeting](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/targeting/add-targeting.md).

## 5. Get the creative onto inventory

A creative serves only once a placement is linked to it, by hand or by the network's matching
rules. The stock role has no linking card on its banner page and no **Publishers** tab, so the link
comes from your network manager. Tell them which campaign and which sites or sizes it is for. See
[Hierarchy and linking](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/concepts/hierarchy-and-linking.md).

## 6. Conversions

On **Conversion Actions** you create, edit and delete your conversion actions and their
attribution windows. Attaching an action to a campaign (the campaign's **Conversion actions**
card) and the tracking code — the pixel or the postback URL — are not part of the stock role: ask
your network manager to attach the action and send you the code, or to switch those on for your
role. See [Conversion actions](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/conversions/conversion-actions.md) and
[S2S and pixels](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/conversions/s2s-and-pixels.md).

### Got a code from your network manager?

- **A pixel** goes on the page that confirms the conversion (the thank-you page), as the network
  manager sent it — see [Pixel tracking](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/conversions/s2s-and-pixels.md#pixel-tracking-browser-side).
- **A postback** needs the click ID to travel with the click: add `?easclid=$$CLICK_ID$$` to the
  landing URL of your creative (`&easclid=$$CLICK_ID$$` when the URL already has a `?`, as with
  UTM tags), or ask your network manager to switch on auto-tagging for the
  campaign; your system then sends the click ID back — see
  [Click ID](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/conversions/s2s-and-pixels.md#click-id).
- **Test it** once the creative is linked and serving: click your ad, complete the conversion,
  then check that the action's **Activity** badge on **Conversion Actions** reads **Live** and
  the **Conversions** column of a General report counts it — see
  [Test a conversion](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/conversions/s2s-and-pixels.md#test-a-conversion).

## 7. Read the numbers

On **Analytics**, keep **Type of reports** on **General**, set the date range and granularity,
choose what to group by and which columns to show, filter to the advertisers, campaigns or
creatives you care about, and **Run report**. Your spend is the **Charges** column (on the
dashboard, the **Charges** tile) — what you are billed, unless your network adjusts the figures
shown to you; if an invoice differs, ask your network manager. Save a set-up you will want again, and schedule it to arrive by
e-mail. See [Run a report](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/analytics/run-report.md) and
[Saved and scheduled reports](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/analytics/saved-and-scheduled.md).

Reporting is not limited by share level. A Can View advertiser reports in full.

## What your network controls

| Capability | Stock Advertiser | Who switches it on |
|---|---|---|
| Create advertisers, campaigns and Local File (image) creatives for Site placements | Yes | — |
| Targeting, CPM/CPC pricing, flight dates, competitor exclusions, **Run diagnostics** | Yes | — |
| Create and edit conversion actions | Yes | — |
| Other creative kinds: HTML code, external file, template, video, native, mobile, in-app | No | Your network manager |
| Budget, impression and click limits | Budget is read-only; impression and click limits are not shown | Your network manager |
| Frequency capping | No — the card is not shown | Your network manager |
| Conversion actions card on a campaign, conversion tracking code (pixel, postback) | No | Your network manager |
| CPA pricing | Set a price on your own conversion action — yes; switch a campaign to CPA — no | Your network manager |
| Change a campaign's or creative's weight | No — shown read-only | Your network manager |
| Link creatives to placements | No — there is no linking card | Your network manager, or the network's matching rules |
| **Publishers** tab | No | Your network manager |
| Share advertisers, **Create user & share**, **Shares** tab | No | Your network manager |
| Create or edit templates | No — shared templates are read-only | Your network manager |
| Delete advertisers, campaigns or creatives | No — **Delete** is refused | Your network manager deletes, or grants Delete |
| Creative review before serving | Off | Your network manager |

The internal names of these permissions are what your network manager sees when editing your
role, for example *Frequency Capping*, *Manage Action Tracking*, *Link Placements to Banners* and
*Banners Moderation With Deactivation*. You do not need them; describe what you want to do.

## When your network grants more

**Sharing.** With the share permission you can pass on an advertiser you hold at Is Owner or Can
Edit, up to your own level, from its **Sharing settings** card, in bulk on the **Shares** tab, or with
**Actions → Create user & share**, which creates a read-only statistics account for a client. See
[Shares](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/shares.md). Without it, schedule a saved report to e-mail the
client instead ([Saved and scheduled reports](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/analytics/saved-and-scheduled.md#schedule-recurring-emails)).

**Creative review.** If your network reviews creatives, new and edited ones carry a **Pending** or
**Rejected** badge on their edit page, and **Actions → Submit for approval** sends a fixed creative
back. Depending on the setting, a waiting creative either keeps serving or is switched off until
approved.

> **Corner case:** if review switched your creative off, approval does not switch it back on.
> Check that an approved creative is active again.

## Corner cases and gotchas

> **Corner case:** a Can View advertiser shows fewer cards, each marked **Read-only**. Ask for
> Can Edit and the full set appears.

> **Corner case:** a read-only campaign still offers **Add new banner**, but the save is refused.
> Do not build creatives under a read-only advertiser.

> **Corner case:** **Delete** is offered and then refused: the stock Advertiser role cannot delete
> advertisers, campaigns or creatives. Once the network grants Delete, only Is Owner can.

> **Corner case:** where a rule names a site or advertiser you have no access to, you see a
> generated id such as `SITE_412` instead of the name. The rule still applies.

## Related

- [Quick start for advertisers](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/start/quick-start-advertiser.md)
- [Roles, permissions, and sharing](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/roles.md)
- [Campaigns](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/campaigns.md)
- [Banners overview](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banners-overview.md)
- [Add targeting](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/targeting/add-targeting.md)
- [Limits](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/delivery/limits.md)
- [Conversion actions](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/conversions/conversion-actions.md)
- [Run a report](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/analytics/run-report.md)
- [Dashboards](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/analytics/dashboards.md)
- [My ad is not serving](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/troubleshooting/ad-not-serving.md#if-you-are-an-advertiser)