Overview
An ad slot is a placement inside an Automated Game Plan playlist where an advert shows. You set its size, position on screen and timing. Then you fill it with an advert from your organisation, or hand it to the home or away club to fill.
This guide covers adding an Advertisement item to a playlist, setting it up, and choosing between a specific advert and a club slot. Ads added this way are detached ads. They can sit anywhere on screen at any size, separate from your graphics. If you want an advert inside a graphic's own ad area, see Adding in-graphic ads to playlist graphics. For the difference between the two, see Understanding in-graphic ads vs detached ads.
Before you start
You can access the Automation tab (Automation needs Graphics).
You have an Automated Game Plan with the playlist you want to add the ad to.
Your adverts are uploaded to your organisation, or the clubs are ready to upload their own through the Club Portal.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Go to the Automation tab and open your game plan. Choose Pre/Post Match & Breaks or In Game (Live), then open the playlist where the ad should appear, for example a half-time or pre-game playlist.
At the bottom of the playlist timeline, click Add Item to Sequence and choose Advertisement.
Choose what fills the slot: Image Ads, Custom Images, Video Ads or Club Slot. Pick a specific advert from your organisation, or choose Club Slot to let the home or away club fill it.
Give the slot a clear name, for example "Half time sponsor", so you and the club can recognise it.
Choose the size, from Small to Extra Large, to suit your layout.
Set the Start Time in mm:ss. This is when the ad appears within the playlist.
Set the Duration for how long the ad stays on screen. Leave it empty to keep the ad on screen for the whole playlist.
Drag the ad into place on the 1920x1080 canvas. Turn on Grid Snap for neat alignment.
Save the item. It now appears on the playlist timeline.
Want several adverts to cycle in one placement? Use an Ad Template item instead. See Add an ad template to a playlist.
Delegation Option
Instead of choosing an advert yourself, you can give the slot to the home or away club with Club Slot. You still set the name, size, timing and position. The club then fills it with their own sponsor.
Clubs see their slots on the Ad Slots page in the Club Portal. Each slot shows the playlist, when it shows and its size. The club uploads an advert to fill it, and it plays in their matches. For example, give Harbour City (HCF) a home slot in the half-time playlist, and when HCF host Ridgeview (RVR) at LIGR Demo Stadium, the HCF sponsor shows at half time.
For the full club side, see How to delegate ad slots to clubs through the Club Portal. If a club slot is blank on air, see Why a delegated ad slot is empty during broadcast.
Tips and common mistakes
Give every item its own start second. Two transitions on the same second can wipe each other, and the app shows a red warning when this happens.
Leave about 2 seconds between items so animations finish cleanly. A Hide all placed exactly on the ad's end time can cut its out-animation short.
In an In Game (Live) playlist, finish with Show scorebug or Hide all except scorebug so the scorebug comes back.
To show a sponsor during play with the scoreboard off, see Show sponsor ads during play without the scoreboard.
Use Preview to check the ad's timing and position before match day. See Preview a playlist.
Important Notes
Ad slots only show if the overlay on your match has ads turned on. This is a separate step from setting up the slots in your playlists.
On the Matches tab, find your match and expand it.
Open the menu on the overlay's row and click Configure. The UPDATE OVERLAY window opens.
In the Ads section, set Ad Type to Brands and switch Enable Ads on.
Click Update.
If Enable Ads is off, or Ad Type is not set to Brands, no sponsor ads show on that overlay, however your playlists are set up. For other causes, see Why ads are not appearing on broadcast output.
Playlist ads are one of two equally valid ways to run ads. You can also use Ad Allocation in the Ads tab. See Ad Allocation or playlist ads: which to use.