Companion ads

This guide is intended for publishers interested in adding companion ads to their iOS IMA implementation.

Prerequisites

  • iOS Application with the IMA SDK integrated.
  • An ad tag configured to return a companion ad.
    • If you need a sample, check out our FAQ.

Helpful primers

If you still need to implement the IMA SDK in your app, check out our Get Started guide.

Add companion ads to your app

Create a UIView for your companion

Before requesting a companion, you need to create a space for it in your layout. In your storyboard, drag and drop a View onto your ViewController and size it to your companion ad. Then, make sure your companion slot is tied to a variable in your implementation (this example uses a variable called companionView). In the screenshot below, the light gray view is the companion ad view:

Image of creating a UIView for your companion.

Create an IMACompanionAdSlot

The next step is to build an IMACompanionAdSlot object from your view. The IMA SDK populates the companion ad slot with any companions from the VAST response that have dimensions matching the view's height and width. The IMA SDK also supports using fluid sized companions.

ViewController.h 
@property(nonatomic, weak) IBOutlet UIView *companionView;
 ViewController.m 
self.companionSlot =
    [[IMACompanionAdSlot alloc] initWithView:self.companionView
                                       width:self.companionView.frame.size.width
                                      height:self.companionView.frame.size.height];

Pass the companion ad slot to your ad container

Lastly, you need to let the SDK know that this companion slot exists by passing an array of your companion slots to the IMAAdDisplayContainer constructor:

ViewController.m 
return [[IMAAdDisplayContainer alloc] initWithAdContainer:self.videoView
                                           viewController:self
                                           companionSlots:@[ self.companionSlot ]];

That's all there is to it! Your application is now displaying companion ads.

Display fluid companion ads

IMA now supports fluid companion ads. These companions ads can resize to match the size of the ad slot. They fill 100% of the width of parent view, then resize their height to fit the companion's content. They're set by using the Fluid companion size in Ad Manager. See the following image for where to set this value.

Image showing Ad Manager's companion ad settings. Highlights the companion sizes option.

Update iOS apps for fluid companions

You can declare a fluid companion slot by initiating the IMACompanionAdSlot with only the view parameter; excluding width and height.

ViewController.m 
self.companionSlot =
      [[IMACompanionAdSlot alloc] initWithView:self.companionView];

FAQ

I followed the guide, but I'm not seeing companion ads. What should I do?
First, check to make sure your tag really is returning companions. To do this, open the tag in a web browser and look for a CompanionAds tag. If you see that, check to make sure the size of the companion being returned is the same size as the UIView in which you're trying to display it.